Snacking - How to Indulge Cleanly

For those of you just joining me, I have been forced to eat in a completely clean manner due to food sensitivities/allergies. While I have been on this journey, I have discovered that I can lose weight by simply avoiding processed foods. Since I know many of you out there are seeking better health and fitness, I have decided to share what I learn/observe along the way!

No matter who you are, occasionally junk food sounds good and is the key to feeling human. Junk food. Comfort food. That thing we reach for in times of stress, sky rocketing hormones, etc. The problem, more often than not, is that after we reach for this incredibly delectable food it's pretty darned hard to stop eating it. You didn't need to read this blog, though, to know that many Americans are having problems with moderation.

What I have found, though, is that there are some wonderful foods out there that are clean from those horrible chemicals that truly feeling like an indulgence. At the beginning of my clean eating time I felt deprived all of the time. Seriously, all of the time. What this did, though, is set me out to search for something I could eating. Something that would feel like a guilty pleasure. I stumbled on a few items here and there that fit the bill, but then there was a new problem: Price. It seems that the fewer the ingredients there are in foods the higher the pricing always is. And that, for a family of four on a budget, is a huge problem.

How can I indulge when I know that my little extras are gradually eating away at my family's weekly food budget? Enter some brands I stumbled upon at my local Fred Meyers (Kroger for those of you not living in the Pacific Northwest). Now, please keep in mind that I am not one to parade my views of clean eating and bash those who decide against it. My lifestyle is not by choice, but by necessity. So while some ingredients may seem innocent to most people, they are not to me. In chocolate, for example, there is a sneaky, nasty little chemical called soy lecithin. Finding something sweet without that in it is near impossible. Finding chocolate without that in it that tastes wonderful and is easy on the budget is "to infinity and beyond" impossible. Yet a wonderful company named Theo has managed to do just that! At a mere $2.99 per bar, this is comparable in price to the chemical bomb of a Hershey bar, and is much, much richer and yummier.


Another, difficult snack food that is now inexpensively on the market for those of us hippy eaters are potato chips! Both Boulder Canyon and Kettle have begun creating potato chips that are - get this- made out of potatoes! Shocking, I know, but the ingredient list is shorter than the number of fingers on one hand totaling in at potatoes, sea salt, and olive oil. They are delicious, and hard to stop eating after the bag is opened (remember that comment on moderation earlier, it's really hard with these!).


 There are other options, as well (like fruit roll ups that are truly good) that are out there for people like me. But when it comes to that need to seem normal, to grab a chocolate bar or have a side of chips with your bunless burger these are the definite way to go! Bon appetite with your clean eating, my friends!