Updated 11/17/12

BUY IN A STORE

Almond Butter and Flackers, I like to keep snacks in my office that I don’t really like but also aren’t awful.  The reasoning is that if I really like it, then I’ll eat it because it’s there and tasty.  If it’s just “ho-hum”, then it will sit in my office and will be there when I realize I’ve had to stay late at work and am starving and have no other Paleo food around. Get the cinnamon & currant Flackers (flax) at Roots and the small portable packets of Justin’s Almond Butter at Wegmans  or MOM’s. They will keep forever and require no refrigeration.  Rating = 5 as an office food item, Rating = 3 for taste.

Nori Wrapped Power Wraps, Gopal’s brand. These contain all ingredients that I like individually – sunflower seeds, brazil nuts, coconut, nori (fish free), and salt. However, when combined the result  is absolutely terrible.  I first tried the Italian flavor and thought maybe it was just the seasoning.  Then I tried the Masala flavor and realized it wasn’t the seasoning, they were just awful. Rating = 1 (FYI – the cat actually liked it).

Sweet potato chips with Sea Salt, Terra brand crinkle cut or regular cut or Food Should Taste Good Brand Kettle Cooked. These chips have sweet potatoes, sea salt and oil (canola and/or safflower and/or sunflower). They are both good, but the Food Should Taste Good Brand are better. Rating = 5.

Pumpkin seeds, Gopal’s sprouties, Savory seasoning includes tumeric, lemon, ginger, cayenne, and salt The seasoning is okay but nothing special and certinly not worth the pricetag. Rating = 3.

Sacha Inchi seeds, AKA Savi seeds, sold at MOM’s for $2.79/1oz.  Rating = 0 (seriously, the cat wouldn’t eat it).  These taste like bitter grass that has been compacted into a ball and then coated in a slightly rancid oil. The main claim to fame of the seeds is that they have a lot of Omega 3, but how do they stack up to fish oil supplements?  I use Carlson Fish Oil supplements (orange flavor, soft gels) which have 320mg omega-3’s per soft gel, and you can buy them for $33.90/ 240 soft gels. After doing some math, it turns out that you get 2500mg of omega-3 per dollar from the Savi seeds and 2300mg per dollar from the fish oil capsules. Since the cat ended up with the seeds, the capsules are a much better value. On the topic of supplements – I recently bought some Barlean’s Organic Fish Oil supplements and later realized that they contain soy, so be sure to check all the ingredients!

Plantain Chips. You can get them at BJ’s, Marshall’s, and Lily’s Mexican market. BJ’s are made in palm oil and Trader Joe’s in sunflower oil; to me they tast very similar except BJ’s are saltier and, therefore, more addictive. Marshall’s occasionally also carries Sweet Plantain chips as does Lily’s.  Rating = 5.

Vegetables. We cut up a bunch of carrots, celery, and peppers and take them into work as a snack. I also keep a huge bowl of cherry tomatoes in my office. We buy the cherry tomatoes at the farmers market or BJs because they are good and cheap.

MAKE YOURSELF

Fried Plantains. Cut the plantain into circular slices ( you may want to cut it while still in the skin if it’s extremely ripe to prevent squishing),  and fry in coconut oil until brown on both sides. Add whatever you like for seasoning. I like cinnamon or cayenne pepper; poppy seeds give them a little extra crunch, salt is always good, and for variation try ginger, cardamom, or curry powder. The longer you let them ripen, the sweeter they will be (if they are black then they will be deliciously sweet). Rating = 5.

Hard-boiled eggs.  Boil up a dozen or so, peel them all at once so they are quick to snack on; Rating = 3.5. You can also devil them by mixing mashed yolks with a tablespoon or two of guacamole, salt, mustard, and lime juice (evolved campfire recipe); Rating = 3.5. Or you can do 6 eggs plus 1/2 C olive oil, 1/16 C vinegar, 1.5 tsp lemon juice, and seasonings of choice (yahoo answers); Rating = TBD.

Updated 11/25/2012

BUY IN A STORE

Note:  Most of the items below, including things like Lara bars, have enough sugar that they really should be considered a dessert or more akin to a candy bar.  Remember, Paleo does not always mean healthy!  So, if you’re just trying to satisfy that sweet tooth, then let me recommend the tastiest candy bar I’ve had in ages: Justin’s Almond Candy Bar.  This bar is not Paleo, but has high-quality ingredients which you can check out here http://www.justinsnutbutter.com/productsCandy.php. The taste is similar to a snickers or a Mar’s bar, but much less sweet and with higher quality ingredients. You can order them from the website above, but I’m trying to find a place to get them in town.

Dessert-type Things:

Almond Butter Cocao Truffle (agave), Two Moms brand, Roots $3.99/3oz. Rating = 3. I was very optimistic about these treats, but they were just okay. They tasted kinda like the Chocoalate coconut chew Lara bar, but with a substantially higher pricetag.

Caveman Alpine cookies (honey) – To me, these are really sweet. The texture is a bit like a Lara bar, but the tiny cookies didn’t have much of a taste aside from the honey. Rating = 3.

Gopal’s Nature’s Gift Almond Raisin cookie – (5g sugar per 1 g protein) -This has a firmer texture than a Lara bar, which is nice.  However, the flavors don’t quite work for me.  The almond and raisin combo is okay, but they’ve added a heavy dash of cardamom (which I generally like) that seems to not mesh with the rest of the ingredients. Rating = 3.

Raweo! Live Cookies (honey) – Alive & Radiant Foods brand, Mom’s $7.47/7oz  (4g sugar per 1 g protein) – These are cute looking cookies that taste amazingly bad.  I don’t know how you can put together such tasty ingredients (almonds, honey, cashews carob, coconut, cinnamon, and vanilla) and come up with this product. They smell odd (maybe from the carob?), have a Lara bar texture, and a non-descript flavor.  Rating = 0.

Energy Bars:

Bearded Brothers
Colossal coconut mango energy bar (chia seeds) – (3g sugar per 1g protein, 9g protein total)- This has a texture similar to a Lara bar.  It’s a little on the sweet side, but a tasty way to eat 9g of protein. Rating = 4.

Gopal’s Rawma bars.
Pumpkin & date (less than 2g sugar per 1g protein, 9g protein total) – If you like figs, this is a great alternative to all the date-based energy bars.  It contains dates, but you don’t taste them and there is no pumpkin flavor to it, just pumpkin seeds. It has the texture of lots of seeds packed into a Fig Newton. Rating = 4.
Pineapple & nut (6g sugar per 1g protein, 3g protein total) – This sounds like it would taste awesome, but you’ll be disappointed. It’s bland and nothing to write home about  Rating = 3.

Lara Bars.
Banana bread (3g sugar per 1 g protein, 6g protein total ) Rating = 2.
Carrot cake (8g sugar per 1 g protein, 3g protein total ) Rating = 2.
Cashew cookie (3g sugar per 1 g protein, 6g protein total ) Rating = 3.
Cherry pie (5g sugar per 1 g protein, 5g protein total) Rating = 4 (on taste alone it would    be a 5, but the sugar/protein ratio is pathetic).
Chocolate coconut chew (4.5g sugar per 1 g protein, 5g protein total) Rating = 3.
Coconut cream pie (8g sugar per 1 g protein, 3g protein total) Rating = 3.
Ginger snap (4g sugar per 1 g protein, 5g protein total) Rating = 2.
Pecan pie (6g sugar per 1 g protein, 3g protein total) Rating = 3.

Two Moms in the RAW
Gojiberry Nut Bar (agave), (~2g sugar per 1 g protein, 4g protein total ). This has a firmer texture with whole nuts and seeds. Rating = 4.

Banana Chips, vacuum fried from Trader Joe’s. These are a lot like the astronaut food – it’s an interesting novelty but doesn’t really taste very good.  Rating = 3

Pineapple Chips, vacuum fried from Trader Joe’s. These get points for novelty but that’s it. Rating = 2.

Dried fruits, soft – fruit bliss brand at Roots – these are dried in a way that it preserves the moisture of the fruit and makes it very soft and delicious.  You can get figs, plums, apricots, or a variety pack.  Very tasty with no preservatives but has to be stored in the fridge after opening. Rating = 3.5.

MAKE YOURSELF

Paleo PBJ – Spread some almond or any other nut butter into a Coconut wrap (see bread items), chop up a banana, add some cocoa nibs, and roll into a tasty snack. Rating = 5. There is a similar snack where you halve a banana, put on nut butter and add toppings, but this wrap is much tastier.