Stacy Rody
Currently browsing: Gluten-Free Snacks

Gluten-Free Snacks

  • Gluten-Free Meal Plan for the kids!

    Gluten-Free Meal Plan

    Gluten-free meal plan prep has become a way of life for our family.  With myself and my daughter, highly gluten intolerant, we really have to be careful.  I wanted to show you an example of what I have given my daughter.  Practicing packing lunches for my kindergartener and I think this combo might be a hit!  Here is what I packed for her, food items I use all the time:

    • Organic Sausage
    • Almonds
    • Carrots
    • Raspberry
    • Cantolope
    • Black Bean BBQ Organic Chips
    • Hummus

    These items really are part of my gluten-free meal plan.  Now to get frilly toothpicks because these plain ones just won’t do. I love going the extra mile to treat my little girl like a lady.  She is only small once, I will never get this opportunity again. 😉

    This gluten-free meal plan list, is really just a mix and match.  These are the main foods I give my kids.  I really stay basic and consistent.  I don’t really make it a big list.  My kids hardly ever have soda, and have never had fast food.  That is not to brag, we just don’t have those things as a family and we educate our kids on why.  We also keep our meals simple.  We have found they love all these food items probably because we just have not introduced them to the junk that we had before we got healthy.

    • Oranges
    • Bananas
    • Chicken (Organic breast and thighs from Costco)
    • Tacos (gluten-free tortilla shells, ground turkey, lettuce, home made guacamole, salsa, green onions, romain lettuce, yogurt, and black beens.)
    • Grapes
    • Eggs
    • Spinach/Kale/Lettuce
    • Dried Fruit
    • Fish of any kind
    • Gluten-Free Toast – we love Udis or Rudis.
    • Organic Peanut Butter
    • Vegan Chocolate Chips (the kids love these, we get them at a co-op near where we live.)
    • Organic Fruit Snacks (Costco has some bulk options)
    • Any vegetable!!
    • Pamela’s Gluten-Free Pancake Mix (My husband makes pancakes once a week, but only uses about half a cup of mix and includes 7 to 8 eggs.  He calls them his “protein pancakes”.  It is probably the kids favorite meal.)
    • Broccoli (it is a staple and our most eaten vegetable.  Just steamed with a little himalayan salt.)
    • Coconut Chips (I already have a write up on these.  Love them!)
    • Shakeology (Yep, they have it everyday….I practice what I preach!)

    I will continue to add to this list.  But our gluten-free meal plan is simple.  Take basic healthy foods and have our kids eat them consistently.  (Here is another lunch idea I posted.)  We don’t keep them from eating junk occasionaly, but their main treats are included above.  Literally this is the list we eat from 5 to 6 days a week.  My husband BBQs chicken every week, he makes a braised leafy green and egg mix every day, which he shares with our son.  It is crazy how well our kids eat and mostly it is because we share what we eat with them.  We just all eat the same thing.  No one gets different food at dinner.

    So be encouraged and make your own gluten-free meal plan.  It is not hard, but you have to be consistent with your kids and you need to eat it with them.  We can’t expect our kids to eat things we aren’t willing to eat.  Oh and I also give them gluten-free waffles for breakfast occasionally!  Anyways, I hope this helps, please share your ideas….I need all the help I can get!

     

     

  • Healthy Filling Snacks aren’t easy to find!! Coconut Chips!

    Healthy Filling Snacks

    Healthy filling snacks are not always easy to come by.  If you have not tried these coconut chips, then maybe you should start now. 😉 I love clean treats that won’t make me feel terrible or super boated after I eat them.  I am also gluten-free, so these work in that area too.

    Some rules I have about what treats I eat that might help you:

    1. Read the label!!! The least amount of ingredients, the better. If you’ve ever even looked at the back of a Quaker Oats bar for example, you’ll see way too many ingredients. So many of them are not needed or are damaging to our bodies.

    2. Stay clear of lots of food coloring and artificial anything. Look for different brands that use better ingredients for the color.

    3. Look for dark chocolate or dried fruits that taste sweet and are fulfilling but will still be a benefit and fuel your body. Trader Joe’s has some really great treats. These you can grab at Starbuck’s and Whole Foods.  All three of these stores have a lot of different healthy filling snacks, these coconut chips are just one of my favorite.  You can go check out these tasty little treats on their website.

    When you are out and about, always take time to look at those nutrition labels.   I like to reiterate this point because it is so important.  The reason being, I forget to do it.  It is crazy how companies will add in extra little ingredients, especially in snack foods.  So I am extra careful when looking for healthy filling snacks.  I want them to be as pure and as natural as possible.  I also try to stock up on them when I can.  Some of these types of snacks won’t get replenished all that often.  So make sure to grab a few bags for the road.  Thanks for taking the time to check out my tips, please feel free to share with me if you have any healthy filling snacks that you love!

  • Gluten-Free Lunch Ideas! Veggie Soup on the Go!!

    Gluten-Free Lunch Ideas

    Being gluten-free, I am always looking for gluten-free lunch ideas.  I am going to be consistently looking for more an more simple ideas, that you can buy while on the go.  I find that almost anyone can make gluten-free lunch ideas at home….but what about at work or while out with the kids.  Here is one I love!

    Veggies are so hard to get in when life is crazy busy. We live by eating whatever is in front of us in this fast paced life.  Fall ?and Winter❄ are so great for soup and you can hide tons of veggies in a yummy way.  The other reason I love it?  My kids will eat it!  You can’t beat that!  Finding food that my kids will eat that is healthy for them, on the go, is a win-win in my book.

    This is a hearty veggie soup with kale, carrots, potatoes. Yum!!!!!  It is at Metropolitan Market.  This is one of my all time favorite grocery stores.  They have all kinds of unique items.  The market actually labels which soups are gluten-free.  It is so nice to quickly jump in the store, pick up what I need and then pay and get back in the car, within five minutes.

    Do be careful.  A lot of the canned soups are not that healthy and can have hidden junk in them.  Make sure to always read the labels.  A lot of gluten-free items are made with quality ingredients, but I am seeing a trend of more and more that are not good.  It seems like we can never get away from the junk!  So, I will continually search for gluten-free lunch ideas.

    Do you have a favorite “go to” soup? I would love to hear it!!  This time a year, I start making them weekly.  They are great to have for leftovers.  Comment with a recipe of the one you can’t live without!

     

  • Paleo and Gluten-Free Meal Plan!

    Gluten-free meal plan?  Paleo?  I don’t need any of that stuff…. little did I know.  It feels like yesterday that I was pregnant with my baby boy and this sweet girl and I would roam around town doing whatever we wanted. We mainly ended up at a Starbucks because we’d split a Chonga bagel as our snack. Almost every day.  I am a licensed esthetician and I worked right up the road from a wonderful little restaurant!  It was called Taco Time!  Yep, one of my favorite fast food stops.  I would get done with a client, go grab a couple crispy burritos, a Coke and head back to work.

    My second pregnancy was much harder and I couldn’t figure out why. Bloated, tired, swollen are words I used often. I would talk to my midwife and chiropractor and a few times they both said to me, “sounds like a gluten allergy.”

    I obviously didn’t want to hear that because the thought of going “gluten-free” sounded so overwhelming. So intense. Plus, breaking up with the Chonga bagel and fast food was overwhelming to consider while pregnant. So I did what any other busy mom would do. I waited until conditions worsened. Baby girl had a diaper rash that would not leave and my hand eczema was getting more intense. I remember having that full, swollen feeling during my #HIIT workouts, too. Jumping would hurt.

    Immediately my doctor took us both off gluten as soon as she saw our conditions. She saw the writing on the wall instantly. If I snuck some bread or pizza after I had cut gluten out, I would look 5 months pregnant again almost instantly. ??  It was time for a gluten-free meal plan!

    I share this to tell you that living this lifestyle has helped my fitness results a TON!! I’ve learned to pre-plan before parties and events because I can’t eat most of the food there. I am forced to eat more whole foods because processed and packaged foods usually make me feel yuck. It also keeps me away from maple bars ?!!

    GLUTEN-FREE MEAL PLAN AND FREE GROUP!

    I run groups on Facebook all the time.  This free, 5 day #Paleo and gluten-free meal plan group is one I run on a continual basis. You’ll have a sneak peek into the foods we eat, new recipes for you to try and hopefully pick up a new habit or meal idea.

    It’s a free private group you’ll have access to so go to this LINK and fill out your info!  Remember to invite a friend.  The gluten-free meal plan can always use new ideas!  The more the merrier!

    #mealplan #newideas #health #byebyebloat
    It’s gonna be fun!!!??????

    Free Group Paleo

  • Healthy Gluten-Free Lunch for the Kiddos!

    A Kid Friendly Gluten-Free Lunch

    Oh school….how I miss my baby girl!  She is in all day kindergarten and I have to come up a gluten-free lunch everyday.  It has killed me to not hear her beautiful melodic voice throughout the house during the day.  To watch her color a drawing, running over to me to have me give her approval, then squealing with joy when I say I love it. I will miss watching her mumble to herself as she plays with her toys, in her own little creative world.  I will miss those feet stomping through the house as she is focused on finding this or that.  Okay…enough of my mommy depression!! 😉

    After about two weeks of gluten-free lunch packing, I have gotten a bit better. Here is a look into what Sam eats:

    Applegate roasted turkey
    Van’s gluten-free cheese crackers
    Strawberries and Cucumbers

    But the best part is……..frilly toothpicks! They make it more fun.  Finding those little things that make it special are Sam and my special little bond.  She loves those little things as much as me!  My husband just roles his eyes, but it is so amazing to see that little sparkle in her eyes.  She has even mentioned it when she gets home after the long day.  It makes it so worth it!

    Oh, and she’s a true girl which means a little dark chocolate to get her thru the day ???

     

  • Gluten-Free Lunch, easy with the 21 Day Fix Extreme!

    Gluten-Free Lunch Meal Prep, Easy and Quick

    This is a gluten-free lunch, (cause I’m super gluten intolerant), that I think I’ve decided is my favorite food prep combo.  It is simple, healthy and is balanced in every way.  It fills me up perfectly and gives me energy for long lengths of time.  I love it.  Do you have a “go-to” meal that is balanced?  This one is also easy to make in bulk.  I can make enough to last a week and none of these items go bad super quickly, so it works out wonderfully.  Having it placed in my handy-dandy little food prep containers, it is a pretty easy scenario.

    1. Wild salmon {I buy the individually wrapped pieces at Costco}
    2.  Green Beans
    3. Roasted Sweet Potatoes
    4. *Cooked brown rice, grilled chicken and steamed broccoli is a close second.

    Finding variation and little add-ons is so paramount to enjoying healthy food.  I don’t believe that I have to enjoy every bite I eat, all the time, sometimes I need to eat to get the right nutrients, but this mindset has come over time.  It has come from seeing what “always” enjoying food does to my body.  I really love this one though, it really is tasty and great for me.  Have you ever tried the garlic aioli mustard from Trader Joe’s? It is has no dairy and is actually one of the most amazing dipping sauces and a free food on the 21 Day Fix Extreme!!

    If you’re not familiar with 21 Day Fix Extreme, I need to tell you how amazing this program is.  It is 30 minute workouts, you do at home, with little to no equipment needed.  It is intense, fun, challenging and comes with containers for meal prep as well.  It is one of my favorite programs and is perfect as a quick and hardcore 3 week, (get ready for an event) workout.  I know many of my clients do it multiple times in a row and have had great success.

    Thanks for taking the time to read.  Please ask questions below, I love engaging and helping others with their health.  Gluten is no joke, so make sure you test to see if you have an allergy to it.  This gluten-free lunch, really does the trick.

    gluten-free lunch, gluten-free meal prep

     

  • Gluten-Free Snacks!! So Much Yum!

    Gluten-Free Snacks

    It’s Friday and these are awesome gluten-free snacks!!! Traded my homemade chocolate chip cookies or a big greasy burger for dark chocolate instead. I still get treats but they don’t make me feel sick and bloated ?? Being ‪#‎glutenfree‬ isn’t so bad after all! Gluten-free snacks for the win in every way possible!

    About My Gluten Intolerance

    By the way, I am severely gluten intolerant.  I will break out in eczema all over my hands.  I will also have a distended belly that makes me look like I’m pregnant.  It isn’t a joke and isn’t to be looked at lightly.  Everything we do to our bodies compounds over time.  There were times where I would feel horrible for multiple days in a row and had no idea why.

    I literally knew none of what I know, and that was just four years ago.  Gluten-free?  Didn’t have a clue.  When my husband went through his transformation, my mind started going crazy.  He started really finding sensitivities in his own body and then pushed me to find out what was wrong with mine.  The saddest part….I know my body does way better without red wine.  So it’s not just gluten that hurts me.  The only reason I found this out, was because I had slowly removed junk out of my diet and finally found different areas that might be cause for concern.  I eliminated those areas and then I am seeing more and more change….for the good!

    The key is to test things.  On a lighter note….this little treats don’t give me any side effects!!  Yeah!!
    What “happy meal” are you going to splurge on this weekend?

    ​Just a little splurging is fine but don’t go too crazy or you’ll be bummed come Monday’s workout.

    gluten-free snacks

  • Fixate! Gluten Free/Vegan/Paleo Recipes!

    *************Who needs new recipes?************

    Fixate!

    The Fixate cookbook is out today!  It is finally here!  Now you have so many more easy options for 21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme meal plans!  Get the 21 day fix results that you have been looking for!  These two programs have changed the game for transformations that I am seeing.  In just three weeks you get that jump start and really see changes.  After 2 rounds you are very different and after 3 rounds, it is a whole new you!  With Fixate, you now have the variety to keep it fresh and exciting.  We all get bored with our food from time to time.  This recipe book, really removes all excuses.

    If you have the containers, the workout, the original recipes and Fixate, you are set!  There is not a more simple way of weight loss workouts combined with healthy quick meals, that really change you from the inside out!

    If you are like me and need fresh ideas all the time for your meals then Fixate is the perfect match for you. I’m getting mine today and you can message me really quick to get yours!! I’m hoping they don’t sell out!!

    This is going to be great for Fall and give us fresh ideas for the kids lunches, too! Our team is running a free 5 day group to help us mom’s get clean eating tips so be looking for that as August approaches.  Don’t wait any longer, just take the plunge!

    gluten-free snacks

  • How to Survive Celebrations the Healthy Way!!

    Celebrations the Healthy Way

    Grad parties, BBQ’s, Father’s Day, they take work to enjoy these celebrations the healthy way. Summer is in full effect and the hard part for me is, the busyness can hurt our progress if we let it. I mean seriously, when you get somewhere and all your food choices are empty carbs, chips and maybe some greasy meat. What do you do?

    Well, as I’m learning in business and in my health..planning is key. Never leave much to chance when it comes to your nutrition or fitness or you’ll look back and wonder how 2 months has passed and you’ve gained more than you thought possible in a short time.

    Here are my tricks:

    • Drink plenty of water early in the day. I shoot for 3 liters a day and one of those before 10 am.
    • Always have food before you go somewhere. That way you’re not starving and eating whatever you feel like.
    • For every drink or cup of coffee, drink two glasses of water to compensate.
    • Get your quick greens in for the day by blending a couple handfuls in your daily smoothie. You can’t even taste it.
    • Have a little bit of something if you just can’t resist and really enjoy it. Life is too short to be perfect all the time;)

    Last but the most important to me personally!!! Enjoy the company more than you enjoy the food. By this I mean, by tweaking your brain to focus on the conversation and not the food you’ll quickly realize it’s not that special anyway.

    Hope this helps and have a fun weekend, enjoy your celebrations the healthy way!

    eat healthy