There have been countless times where I’ve been STARVING between meals and I’m ready to grab just about anything to fervently stuff in my mouth. Unfortunately, if I don’t have snacks on hand what is usually consumed is more along the lines of cookies, fries, or baked goods….of the gluten-free variety of course.

In my case, I still struggle with eating to many carbs, even if they don’t have gluten. I also have PCOS, which is a condition similar to diabetes that requires me to eat lots of protein.

Let’s consider some healthy, gluten-free snacks that won’t leave you wasted with low blood sugar.

Almonds
These little guys go a long way. It only takes a few to satisfy hunger cravings, but heck you could have more than a few and throw in a few other nuts for a nice (filling) afternoon snack. My other favorite nuts are walnuts, cashews, pistachios, and macadamia nuts. The latter few are higher in fat, but if you get all of these in the raw it’s not a bad snack.

Turkey Jerky
Whole Foods and PCC both sell store branded turkey jerky. It’s all natural, free-range meat, however there is a small amount of sugar and soy used in the sauce, especially the teriyaki flavored ones. That said, the bags are perfect to shove in your purse. When I am on the go, I grab a piece of meat from my bag and don’t lose control of my blood sugar.

Plain Yogurt
I just love plain yogurt! Nancy’s is the best brand out there for plain, I’ve been eating their yogurt since I was a little girl! The only sugars are very low amounts of milk sugars, otherwise there is plenty of protein. Mix in fresh blueberries and almonds – you’ve got the perfect snack made fancy.

Protein Smoothies
Protein powders can be tricky because a lot of brands use all sorts of sugars like maltitol, sucralose, evaporated cane juice, fructose, the list goes on and on. Another problem is whey, I just don’t feel good from a smoothie with whey protein and most people living on alternative diets avoid dairy. Good alternatives to whey are egg and soy proteins, but again I haven’t had great results or taste from either. My favorite (newer) protein is Vega Protein. Derived from vegetable proteins, this nutritional protein blend also has fiber, essential fatty acids, supplements, and best of all it’s sweetened with Stevia. My favorite flavor is vanilla chai, what’s better is it tastes good enough just to mix directly with almond milk and nothing else. I typically have a Vega protein smoothie for dessert or before a work out, adding in frozen mixed berries, almond butter, bananas, dates, and almond milk.

Lunch Meat Roll-Ups
A what? Yeah it’s what you think it is…lunch meat (of the natural variety), rolled up. How many days this little roll-up has saved me I could never say. It’s easy; throw in some rice cheese and mustard and you’ve got a low-carb sandwich. Even better three of these make a satisfying lunch if paired with fruits and veggies.

Have more healthy snack ideas? Leave a comment and share!