Podcast Episode #285: Healthy Snack Ideas

Topics

1. News and updates from Diane & Liz [2:05]
2. Something I'm digging this week: new baby line from Beautycounter and Primally Pure [4:14]
3. Healthy Paleo Snacks [6:47]
4. Our favorite snacks [13:11]
5. Grab and go snacks [22:55]
6. Let's talk about nachos [26:56]
7. Talking about jerky [35:09]
8. Drinks [37:45]

 

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You’re listening to the Balanced Bites podcast episode 285.

Diane Sanfilippo: Welcome to the Balanced Bites podcast. I’m Diane; a certified nutrition consultant, and the New York Times bestselling author of Practical Paleo and The 21-Day Sugar Detox. I live in San Francisco with my husband and fur kids, and I’m bringing an extra suitcase with me to LA next weekend for Expo West, so I can bring home lots of goodies to sample and try for you guys; snacks included.

Liz Wolfe: You are so giving. You are just so, so kind and giving to do that for all of us. And I’m Liz; a nutritional therapy practitioner, and author of the Wall Street Journal best-seller Eat the Yolks; The Purely Primal Skincare Guide; and the online program Baby Making and Beyond. I live on a farm in the mystical land of the Midwest, outside of Kansas City, and I’m in the computer.

We’re the co-creators of the Balanced Bites Master Class, and we’ve been bringing you this award winning podcast for 5 years and counting. We’re here to share our take on modern paleo living, answer your questions, and chat with leading health and wellness experts. Enjoy this week’s episode, and submit your questions at http://blog.balancedbites.com. Before we get started, let’s hear from one of our sponsors.

Liz Wolfe: The Balanced Bites podcast is sponsored in part by the Nutritional Therapy Association. The NTA trains and certifies nutritional therapy practitioners and consultants (including me; I’m an NTP), emphasizing bio-individuality and the range of dietary strategies that support wellness. The NTA emphasizes local, whole, properly prepared nutrient dense foods as the key to restoring balance and enhancing the body’s ability to heal. Nutritional therapy practitioners and consultants learn a wide range of tools and techniques to assess and correct nutritional imbalances. To learn lots more about the nutritional therapy program, go to http://www.NutritionalTherapy.com. There are workshop venues in the US, Canada, and Australia, so chances are you’ll be able to find a venue that works for you.

1. News and updates from Diane & Liz [2:05]

Liz Wolfe: Hey everyone, it’s me Liz, here with Diane.

Diane Sanfilippo: Oh hey.

Liz Wolfe: What’s going on in your world, friend.

Diane Sanfilippo: Hmm, what’s going on? Well, similar updates to the past few weeks here. But NTA conference is this weekend in Portland, so make sure you stop by and say hey. And next weekend, as I mentioned in the intro, I’ll be down at Expo West in LA. And I was not kidding about bringing an extra suitcase with me that will be empty on the way down and hopefully full on the way back, because a lot of these vendors like to give out some pretty hefty samples, so I’m pretty stoked about it. This episode is about healthy snacks, but I’ll bet I have even more to say about it after Expo West.

And, the other note here; we’ve got the next big 21-Day Sugar Detox community group kicking off on Monday; that’s March 6th, coming up. And the next groups are May and October. So if you don’t want to miss this round, join us starting on Monday. What’s up with you?

Liz Wolfe: Well, I’m really, really enjoying our Master Class. Our Balanced Bites Master Class live videos and hearing from the students and the folks going through the program. It’s been really, really, really awesome. So I wanted to give kind of a shout out to our group, and give them some love, because it’s really been kind of the highlight of my week, getting to hop on a Facebook live with you, Diane, and have all these bright, shiny faces hop in there and ask great questions. It’s been really, really fun. So I’ve just been thrilled with it.

Diane Sanfilippo: It kind of brings back the old times, doesn’t it?

Liz Wolfe: Yeah!

Diane Sanfilippo: Like, “Oh, remmeber when we used to hole up in a hotel and then have early mornings where we’d be hustling to get to the gym and teach our seminar.” {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: Yeah. We’d sometimes see people that were about to go to the seminars; like in Starbucks, we’d be grabbing a coffee or a tea, and we’d be like; “It kind of looks like they’re about to go to a nutrition seminar, does it not?”

Diane Sanfilippo: Totally.

Liz Wolfe: We’d see them 10 minutes later. Yeah, and it reminds me of why we did this, which has been really cool.

2. Something I’m digging this week: new baby line from Beautycounter and Primally Pure [4:14]

Diane Sanfilippo: Mm-hmm. Yeah, it’s awesome. So, do you have something that you’re digging this week?

Liz Wolfe: I actually do. I just this morning did a little Facebook live video; my first one in my parenthood group, to show folks the new diaper bag from Beautycounter. I try to keep that a really marketing free space, so it wasn’t like, “Hey buy this.” It was just like, “Hey, I got this bag, it’s awesome.” I know everybody worries about what’s the right diaper bag to get, so I decided to show it off in a little live video to the group. It’s this new diaper bag; huge center pocket, tons of side pockets. I’m using it as a toddler maintenance station/work briefcase/purse, so I wanted to show it off. They’ve got the new baby diaper bag, and they’ve got a new diaper cream, which is also excellent.

We talked in a previous episode about Primally Pure’s baby balm as well, and if folks go to http://realfoodliz.com/ and check out my new, newish diaper cream post, you’ll see both of those in there. Why I love them, and who I love them for, and you can kind of see which might be right for you.

Liz Wolfe: This episode of the Balanced Bites podcast is sponsored by our friends at Primally Pure Skincare. Primally Pure makes 100% natural and nontoxic skincare products that support radiant skin, a healthy body, and a happy self. They use ingredients like tallow from grass-fed cows; organic and fair trade coconut oil, and organic oils, herbs, and extracts to formulate effective products that also smell amazing and look beautiful sitting on your bathroom counter. At www.primallypure.com, you’ll find their bestselling natural deodorant that actually works; face mists made from locally sourced and organic rose and orange blossom hydrosols, and their brand new baby line. You’ll also find Diane’s favorite Primally Pure product, dry shampoo; and Liz’s favorite, the Everything Spray with magnesium. As a special bonus for you, Primally Pure is offering a free lip balm with your first purchase of one item or more. Simply add a lip balm to your cart along with any one item, and use the code “balancedbites”, one word no caps, during checkout to receive one of their lip balms for free with your order. Head to www.primallypure.com and check out their range of safe and effective all natural skincare products.

3. Healthy Paleo Snacks [6:47]

Liz Wolfe: Alrighty. Well we’ve got a fun topic today, do we not?

Diane Sanfilippo: We do.

Liz Wolfe: We’re talking {laughs} healthy snacks.

Diane Sanfilippo: We are.

Liz Wolfe: And this probably sounds a little bit basic; but trust us. As paleo people, we can make anything more complicated than it needs to be.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing}

Liz Wolfe: So let’s do that. Let’s do exactly that. We’re going to talk generally.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, we get a lot of questions about snacks, that’s the thing.

Liz Wolfe: Well, it is, and; well. I’m sure we’ve talked about this previously, but I don’t think we’ve ever done an actual episode on it, so we’re going to put it all in one place, and now we can refer people to this episode. Which will be nice. So we’ll talk about snacks and snacking; we’re also going to talk about mindset because that’s what we do. We’re going to talk about conventional snacks; what folks are probably used to versus whole food, real food, paleo snacks, that type of thing.

Diane Sanfilippo: Sounds good. People ask me all the time; the meal plans in Practical Paleo don’t have snacks planned into them. Should we not be eating snacks? Should we be eating snacks? And the reason I didn’t put snacks into the plan is that ideally, you’re going to design your meals in such a way that they will hold you until the next meal. And that’s not because I want people to just be hungry and never snack if they’re hungry. I think it’s just such a modern word, that we’re snacking. That it’s not a meal, it’s a snack. It’s just an instance of eating, really.

Liz Wolfe: {laughing}

Diane Sanfilippo: Like, let me make it less fun.

Liz Wolfe: You sound like an alien; {alien voice} “This human has had an instance of eating.” {laughing}

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} Or like we’re in a lab.

Liz Wolfe: Yeah.

Diane Sanfilippo: Well, here’s the thing. I know there are lots of meal plans out there, and some people will just call it meal 1, meal 2, meal 3. And every meal doesn’t have to be the same size. Just kind of the way we talk about breakfast sometimes as not having to be “breakfast foods” I think the same goes for snacks.

So to that end, there are a lot of reasons why I don’t like to tell people, “Oh, here’s a whole bunch of healthy snacks to have.” Even though we are going to talk about actual snack ideas and things that we munch on. And when I think of snacks mostly I think of traveling and little portable things for that purpose. Because I’m home a lot. You guys know, I work from home; so a lot of time my “snack”, which is just a nibble on something, it’s fresh food. It’s not always something that’s dry or whatever on a shelf.

So, there are benefits to waiting longer between meals, and I think part of that comes with, as we talk about a lot with blood sugar regulation, the fact that when we get away from eating higher carb and nutrient-poor foods; I don’t just mean sweet potatoes and fruit, I mean the refined junky stuff that spikes our blood sugar and doesn’t give us a lot of nutrition. You know, we tend to need a lot more snacks. So part of the reason I don’t plan them in the meal plans is to get people used to the fact that you may not always need a snack every day.

I also have had situations where folks have asked me, “what can I snack on at work.” And then the question I follow up with, which is the obvious follow-up question, isn’t it, “Well why are you snacking?” Because somebody might assume it’s because this person was hungry, but the truth was it was because she was bored. And I’m like, “well why are you bored at work?” “Well I don’t like my job.” “Well why don’t you quit?” I’m not kidding, less than a year later this person came back and told me she quit her job, as a result of asking me what she should snack on.

So, we’re just putting it out there, this idea of why are we snacking; are we really hungry? Are we hungry because we didn’t eat properly at our meal; which kind of to your point, Liz, in a previous episode just talking about being a new mom and maybe not paying attention to your appetite as much because you’re paying attention to your kid more. And I think that as we learn how to properly nourish and fuel ourselves, most of the time I think we can do better to eat a more satisfying meal, and then wait for the next meal to eat.

But of course, sometimes we just need a little something in between; or we want a small meal before we go to a party. We don’t want to have to worry about being starving there if there’s not a bunch of food we want to eat. So we get it. Sometimes you just need something to snack on. So I think it’s a worthwhile discussion. Do you have other mindset, sort of background about snacks thoughts before we talk about actual food to eat?

Liz Wolfe: I think that sometimes we just find things to spin our wheels about rather than just jumping in and making different decisions. And for a lot of people, we just want to spin our wheels about snacks.

Diane Sanfilippo: I’m not going to argue about that.

Liz Wolfe: Alright. {laughs} Can I get an amen?

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, amen. People are just often looking for approval; like, this is ok and this is not.

Liz Wolfe: Yeah.

Diane Sanfilippo: And I think folks know that we’re sort of not the types to really try and put a stamp of approval on something. Because here’s the problem with a stamp of approval; is that now {laughs} this is getting a little deeper than maybe we anticipated, but I’m just going to say it, and then we’ll carry on. If we stamp something as approved by Diane and Liz or whatever; “Diane said to eat it, Liz said to eat it.” You stop thinking about it, and you just eat it. And we don’t want you to ever stop thinking. And I know that we do want the decision making process to be easier and easier; right? We want you guys to get to a place where you don’t have to sort of rethink and redecide every time, because that’s stressful. You do need to flip a package around again and again, even if you’ve purchased it before; like maybe 6 months or a year later, just double check. Because sometimes ingredients change. But I think that’s something that Liz and I both always stand by, in terms of, even if we say we like it, you may not like it or it may not be the right thing for you. So we don’t want to just approve it and then you get it just because we said so, you know what I mean?

Liz Wolfe: Absolutely.

Diane Sanfilippo: So there’s that.

Liz Wolfe: There’s that.

4. Our favorite snacks [13:11]

Diane Sanfilippo: Alright. {laughs} So that being said. Should we talk about our favorite snacks?

Liz Wolfe: Yeah!

Diane Sanfilippo: Or things to snack on, or things to bring? Ok. Why don’t you start.

Liz Wolfe: Well my favorite snack is just bites of whatever is in the refrigerator. But if you need something portable, I guess you have a couple of different options. You can buy paleo friendly snacks.

Diane Sanfilippo: Mm-hmm.

Liz Wolfe: Or you can make your own snacks. So maybe I’ll talk about making your own snacks. Hardboiled eggs; Diane has been known to take premade hardboiled eggs on planes. {laughs} Which is always lovely, slicing open her little hardboiled egg and her little salt and pepper packet and eating it next to, whomever. What did you always say? If people can eat their nasty Chinese food from the airport?

Diane Sanfilippo: No, it was like fast food. Usually it’s really greasy fast food.

Liz Wolfe: Greasy.

Diane Sanfilippo: Greasy. Or if you’re going to plop down next to me smelling like an ashtray, I’m like, I’m going to open up whatever stinky food I have.

Liz Wolfe: Amen.

Diane Sanfilippo: And you’ll survive.

Liz Wolfe: Sardines on a plane. That’s going to be the sequel to Snakes on a Plane. Hardboiled eggs, a tin of sardines, a tin of oysters, a whole fruit. One of the things I think folks get so afraid of fruit when they transition, they start to think of it like; “oh gosh, I might as well eat a Ho-Ho! I mean this is just sugar.” That’s completely not the case. A whole piece of fruit is a perfectly acceptable snack barring horrendous blood sugar issues. Little packets of coconut butter.

Really, when we started out doing this, Diane, five years ago, there weren’t that many options. But now they’re everywhere.

Diane Sanfilippo: Totally. Yeah, I mean we had maybe a couple of brands that had something portable, and now there are just so many more. So I’m trying to think too; the times that I have snacks. First of all, if we have snacks in the house, like, I don’t know; snacky foods. Crackers, crunchy things, etc., a lot of times it’s because companies send them to us to try. So I have this whole shelf of just stuff that’s there. So I’m like; what have I been eating? It’s stuff that people just happen to want to send to try. I haven’t really been looking for things at the store. But I really do love chicharrones to snack on.

Liz Wolfe: Mmm.

Diane Sanfilippo: So, pig skin, and 4505 Meats is one brand that I really do like, just because their sourcing is definitely going to be better than some of the others out there. There’s one called Pork Clouds; not sure about the sourcing on that one, but I can find it sometimes at like Newark airport, which is totally random. But I can sometimes find that. And I'm trying to think what else is over there, in terms of packets and things I would grab. Lovebean fudge is a yummy one.

Liz Wolfe: Mm-hmm.

Diane Sanfilippo: It’s like a coconut butter fudgy almost like Nutella; but not nuts and not hazelnuts for sure. So something I can eat and tolerate. And I like to bring that stuff on a trip, but then I tend to; well, I’ll get to that in a second. {laughs} I’m trying to think what other snacky things we have.

We have some Mary’s Gone Crackers seed crackers that we’ve been enjoying lately, so they’re a gluten free seed cracker, and they’ve got an everything flavor. We can do those with that goat gouda that I’ve talked about a bunch of times. I like that. And when we travel, and by we I guess I mean by whoever I drag along with me on a tour, for example {laughs}. Like Cassy Joy last time, you know we’ll run into a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s or something and pick up a bunch of things. And the stuff I tend to grab is pretty similar. Maybe it will be like Jackson’s Honest chips and some guacamole; maybe it will be kale chips, or I’m trying to think, like dried mango. We talked about the Lovebean fudge packets, Justin’s nut butter does packets too. You just have to read the ingredients; some of the packets will have some other weird stuff in them. But those are all really good. I’m trying to think what else. Do you eat certain bars? Are there any bars that you’ve been grabbing lately?

Liz Wolfe: One, it’s not a bar, but Steve’s Paleo Goods has these sticks; these beef jerky sticks. And they’re lovely because I can share them with my kiddo. They’re not too tough; they’re actually quite moist. I know some people don’t like that word.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: They even have a moister option, and then a less moist option. I’m sorry, people are screaming into their iPhones right now. So I really like those. They’re a little bit easier for me to deal with just at this stage than beef jerky because; I’ve got to supervise the kiddo with beef jerky a little bit more closely.

And of course; Steve’s Paleo Goods has a ton of yummy paleo snacks that are family friendly, and they also do really great work in the community where they’re located. I used to work with them and for them, so I’m a big fan. So that’s really my favorite right now. I’ve also made the bars that we talked about in the last episode that we did together; the no-bake energy bars that are on my website, which I think are good. And I eat oatmeal; I allow my child to eat oatmeal. Sometimes there are these; I forgot what they’re called. I think the word whole is in there somewhere. And it’s basically an oatmeal based bar that’s just oatmeal and dates and maybe some flax or chia; I’m not sure. And they’re in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods.

Diane Sanfilippo: Hmm.

Liz Wolfe: So those have been really good too. I’ve always loved oatmeal, and I do really well with it. So I’ll do that as well, sometimes.

Diane Sanfilippo: That sounds pretty good. I think Whole Me, or Healthy Whole Me is a brand? I don’t know. I don’t think that’s the one you’re talking about, but that’s another bar brand. A lot of the bars that are out there, I really can’t eat, as I’ve said before, because of the whole nut thing. I haven’t tried cricket protein bars for that reason, just because they always have nut flour in them as well, which I’m like; eh. I want to try one.

Liz Wolfe: Do they really? I never noticed that. I really like the; I do like the cricket bars. I keep meaning to order them, but then I keep forgetting {laughs}.

Diane Sanfilippo: Mm-hmm. So there’s a couple of different brands. I know Exo is one. I don’t know all the different brands. But yeah, I would definitely be trying those. And I know a lot of folks are really big fans of RX bars. I don’t know if you have had them or if you like them. I personally didn’t care for the texture of them. I don’t tend to like to mention things that I don’t like, but I know people are curious about them. The one I could eat was a peanut butter one; I just didn’t enjoy eating it. So those wouldn’t be something that I would vote for just because I didn’t care for the texture of them, but I don’t know if you’ve had any of those bars.

Liz Wolfe: The Exo bars I have had. That’s it.

Diane Sanfilippo: You haven’t had others?

Liz Wolfe: I haven’t had any of the other ones that you mentioned.

Diane Sanfilippo: Ok. So, I have also tried; now here’s a bit of the nut allergy anomaly, and it could just be because I haven’t eaten most of the nuts that I know I couldn’t eat for a while. I haven’t eaten them in probably a couple of years, but I did try the Primal Kitchen macadamia sea salt bar. And it has some other nuts in it besides macadamias, but I don’t think that many in terms of relative amount. I like them, but I’m not like the biggest fan of the monk fruit sweetener.

Liz Wolfe: I’m not either!

Diane Sanfilippo: Not for any ingredient purpose; I don’t care for the taste of it.

Liz Wolfe: Yeah.

Diane Sanfilippo: I find it a little sour sweet, or it’s kind of weird.

Liz Wolfe: It’s tastes like a chemical sweetener to me.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, so I don’t really care for it, but I have eaten them. I was sent some to try, and I’ve had them when I just randomly wanted a snack. Or threw it in my bag; and I think it is the kind of thing that if I have it here, I’m going to throw it in my purse and it’s a good kind of backup food, but that’s what I was going to say about snack foods like that. I tend to put them in my purse when I travel, or my bag, and I try not to eat them. So that might sound weird, but I’m a fresh food traveler, so I will do my best to carry my little bottle of travel olive oil, and I’d rather go eat a salad somewhere with conventional hardboiled eggs on it, and tomato or whatever else, and eat that with my olive oil and some lemon juice at the restaurant, than eat a bar from my bag. That’s just what I prefer, because I kind of don’t want to run out of my emergency food. {laughs} Like, I feel like you don’t know when you’re going to get stuck on the tarmac for three hours, because it’s happened to me before, and somehow be hungry and like, the world feels like it’s ending. {laughs} So I basically only eat the stuff that I bring when I travel that’s like that if I really, really need to. Does that even make sense?

Liz Wolfe: Yeah. It makes sense to me, but I’ve been doing this for too long.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah. Like I could bring the packet of Lovebean, and just be like; yes, I’m traveling, I’m going to eat my little packet of fudgy stuff. But I kind of just leave it there until I really need it. So that’s kind of how I deal with the snacks.

5. Grab and go snacks [22:55]

Diane Sanfilippo: Let’s see. Was there another one you might throw in your bag as you’re heading out the door, or if you’re at the grocery store; just kind of add it to your groceries because you know it’s a good one to tote around?

Liz Wolfe: So most of what I do now is like, it’s also kid friendly. And of course kids can eat whatever adults can eat, but we’re not going to tote liverwurst around when we go out anywhere, so that’s just the long and short of that. I guess we could do Epic bars with liver in them; that could be something we could try. But other than that, what we generally do is sometimes I’ll have a squeeze pack; sometimes I’ll have one of the oatmeal bars; and I also found these goat’s milk cheese sticks at Whole Foods that we stock up on every time we’re there.

Diane Sanfilippo: What? I need that.

Liz Wolfe: They’re really good. Yeah, you need that. It’s one of those things where if we’re leaving the house to get to a parent’s day out or whatever it may be, I will grab those three things. I try not to do it because it’s wasteful and there’s packaging and all of that stuff; but it just happens, and I’m not going to be dishonest about that. But there have been times where I’ve eaten two or three cheese sticks in a day, because I’m running around and that’s what I’ve got. And they last ok, unrefrigerated they’re a little bit soft, but it’s been a good option for us.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing}

Liz Wolfe: I just, I feel like we tolerate goat’s milk a little bit better than cow’s milk.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, I definitely do. And I think one of the things that I tend to look for in a snack, which is really different these days than it used to be. So, used to be; do people say things like that? Like you start the sentence with “used to be.” I don’t know how that works grammatically; but I feel like people say that.

Liz Wolfe: {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: Anyway; you’re the resident grammar expert. I am not.

Liz Wolfe: Don’t make me think hard.

Diane Sanfilippo: So, anywho. Back in the day, {laughs} we would look for the “100-calorie pack” or something we could snack on for fun or entertainment or distraction that wouldn’t be a lot of calories. So it’d be like; what’s the thing that I could eat the most of that won’t give me calories; like popcorn. But really, now, if I’m looking for snacks, I would say for the most part, I’m actually looking for really calorie, nutrient-dense snacks because I just want something I can have with me that will satisfy hunger when I need it. So for me, the snack is; as you just said, I’m out the door, or I’m bringing it with me because I don’t know how many hours I’m going to be gone, and I might want something. But it’s not so much the, “I just want something to snack on.” You know?

Liz Wolfe: Mm-hmm.

Diane Sanfilippo: It’s more of like an emergency food situation. {laughs} Not really an emergency; that might be a bit extreme. So here’s another one that I tried recently that I really liked, and I think I had it at PaleoFx last year, and I saw them again at last year’s Natural Product Expo; was Bubbas. And they do banana chips, but they do them savory; and surprisingly they really are savory. And here’s something weird, to me. I don’t care for a lot of plantain chips. There’s one brand, I think it’s Artisan Tropics; I’m ok with theirs because they slice them really thinly. I don’t really love the slightly thicker, starchier plantain chips. I think I just have a texture thing; let’s all just be ok with it. Alright, whatever.

Anyway, the Bubbas banana chips; they’ve got like a ranch or a zesty flavor; those were super delicious. If you haven’t tried those, I think you should definitely try those. I think you would enjoy eating those. I feel like those are kid friendly too. So anyway, that’s another cool brand if you guys haven’t tried that before.

Side note; I’ve got a whole list in the back of Practical Paleo second edition of brands and products that I like, and that are like paleo friendly. So if you guys are looking for some of these, I’ve probably mentioned a lot of them in the back of the book there.

6. Let’s talk about nachos [26:56]

Diane Sanfilippo: So should we talk about nachos, even though they’re not just a snack for you? I think they’re like a whole food group for you.

Liz Wolfe: Yes, we can talk about nachos. What do you want to talk about?

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} I think we should talk about chips. Do you want to talk about chips?

Liz Wolfe: Yes.

Diane Sanfilippo: Can we talk about what else goes on; sorry. What are your favorite chips to make your nachos out of. {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: Well. I like that I’ve been…

Diane Sanfilippo: “How long do we have?!” {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: Exactly. I’m glad I’ve been in this community long enough that I don’t think I can get excommunicated for my choices.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing}

Liz Wolfe: But I’ve said before; I don’t do this every day, three times a day. This is something I enjoy eating because I understand the cost benefit of different choices. And in my opinion, being overly restrictive in eating nothing but chicken, broccoli, and coconut oil is way worse than having nachos once a week. Or only eating nachos. Just kidding.

So yeah. The new Siete foods grain free tortilla chips are quite good.

Diane Sanfilippo: Mm-hmm.

Liz Wolfe: And I, about once a week, make nachos with Jackson’s Honest blue corn tortilla chips; cooked in coconut oil. It’s organic corn, the company itself has an awesome story.

Diane Sanfilippo: Love them.

Liz Wolfe: Built on basically trying to heal one of their children; it’s amazing. I posted something about it on the Real Food Liz Facebook page recently, and I think you might have seen that too?

Diane Sanfilippo: I did, and I’ve known about their story since the beginning. I mean, years ago when we first met them. I was like; coconut oil potato chips? This was before they had the corn chips. And the whole start of the company has an amazing story? Yes, I will eat your chips. {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: Abso-freaking-lutely. So Jackson’s Honest blue corn tortilla chips, and we’ll put on shredded chicken or shredded beef or ground beef that’s nicely seasoned. We’ll put on some tomato, avocado, jalapeno; just all the nacho veggies. Sautéed peppers, sautéed onions; load them up, and then top it with some grass-fed pepper jack cheese. Put it in the oven for a few mins to melt the cheese, and then you got nice nachos going. That was Carl Weathers. I don’t know if anybody will recognize that.

Diane Sanfilippo: Ok.

Liz Wolfe: But I eat those; we eat those probably about once a week. They’re delicious; it’s good for me; it’s a perfect way to start the day.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing} Is that breakfast? {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: Breakfast nachos. By Real Food Liz.

Liz Wolfe: Any time. So yeah, it’s just one of my favorite choices to make. It’s fun, it’s easy to make, it always tastes good, and supporting a good company, I’m not concerned about any of the after effects of eating nachos made with good, healthy food. I think it’s actually one of the best choices one can make for a little treat that one does not eat every day. Is that adequate discussion of my nachos?

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, adequate. So Jackson’s is a great brand for if you want to do some organic corn cooked in coconut oil; which I absolutely love that. If you can’t do corn, totally understandable. Siete foods just another great family; I mean I love both of those companies. Just from the ground up. There are a lot of great companies out there; but there are just certain people who, for some reason, when I meet then, I just, their energy just feels really good to me. {laughs} I feel like I’m just, I pick up on that, or whatever it is. Maybe I just tend to meet them when their companies are really, really, really young. So with both of these companies, same kind of deal. I see the founders all over at different events, and they’re just super warm, you know? There’s just something about that that I love.

I actually think I was halfway doing a workout with; and I’m totally spacing on her name right now, but the mom from the family who founded Jackson’s Honest Chips, at CrossFit Roots in Boulder last time we were there on tour. So it’s just a fun thing that I run into these people all the time. But I love their chips, and their salsa fresca corn chips from Jackson’s are the most ridiculous. They’re like a “healthy Dorito” is what I call them. You’ve been warned, you know. Those are definitely a snacky food for the sake of snacking, and they’re freaking delicious. So I really love those, but those are a food I just give you a big of warning on before you start in on the bag, because you’re going to finish the bag. They’re just awesome.

But I love the Siete foods chips; totally different. Much thinner, a little crispier type of texture. And the Siete foods ones are grain free. They’re cooked in avocado oil, and the lime ones are really, really good with my new Instant Pot chili recipe. They’d be great also with the chili recipe that’s in Practical Paleo. Those were my favorite flavor. If I’m comparing nacho Siete chips to Jackson’s salsa fresca chips; I think that’s what they’re called, I’ve got to go Jacksons on the flavored chips in that regard. So just in case anyone is wondering, love them both, but that is my honest take. I feel like I wanted to do a sports style, head to head on that, but I’m not going to do that.

Liz Wolfe: You don’t want to start sportsing?

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} I don’t want to sprats.

Liz Wolfe: {laughing}

Diane Sanfilippo: I feel like there was a cartoon a couple of years ago, where it didn’t even say “sportsing” it says “spratsing” and I was like, this one’s my favorite. Yeah.

So I’m trying to see if there’s anything else we didn’t cover. So, with snacking, here’s another thing that I do, and I’m not even kidding, and I know this sounds weird, and it’s like; really Diane? It’s not practical. But this is what I do, so just roll with it, alright. {laughs} If I’m out and about, and I’m somewhere where there’s a deli counter, I’ll just buy some meat, and just roll it up with my fingers and eat it. So I’m walking around on Polk street, and I go by Belcampo, and they have really good roast beef, I’m going to ask for a quarter of a pound of roast beef. And that could be a snack at some point. So, I think; Liz to your point about grabbing the cheese, or having something that is a little more purse stable. I think there is a time and a place for something that’s a little more fresh and let me eat it right now as a snack; and then there’s a time and a place for sort of the more emergency food snacks.

Liz Wolfe: Mm-hmm.

Diane Sanfilippo: So I think as often as possible, we should be thinking along the lines of fresher food, because obviously we know that that’s the stuff that’s just naturally going to be healthier for us in general. But, you know. There are a lot of other options there, too.

Liz Wolfe: Today’s podcast is sponsored by Vital Choice seafood and organics; purveyor of premium sustainably sourced seafood and a certified B corporation. Vital choice offers a wide range of fish, shellfish, humanely raised meat, protein rich bone broths, and paleo friendly snacks like organic dark chocolate, super antioxidant trail mix, and bison jerky. February is American Hearth Month; when we put in a good word for wild salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines; all rich in omega-3 fatty acids. A diet that includes marine sourced omega-3s may significantly reduce your risk of heart disease. It promotes healthy arterial function, reduced oxidation of LDL cholesterol, lowers triglyceride levels, and moderate blood pressure. Learn more at www.vitalchoice.com.

7. Talking about jerky [35:09]

Diane Sanfilippo: So, I didn’t mention this before, but in terms of jerky; you were talking about Steve’s Paleo. A brand that I talk about a lot is Sophia’s Survival Food. That’s one that I really like, also, just because it’s super simple ingredients; grass-fed. That one is made locally here to me in Northern California, so it’s another good brand. And you had mentioned before Epic bars; so what’s your take on Epic bars. Have you had them recently?

Liz Wolfe: I have. Well, my favorite from Epic right now is the pork; I can’t remember if they’re called pork rinds. They’re not calling them chicharrones.

Diane Sanfilippo: They’re basically; yeah, because they’re almost like a little bit more like a pork belly on them, too. They’re not as thin and crispy as chicharrones.

Liz Wolfe: They’re like, fluffy.

Diane Sanfilippo: First of all; they’re ridiculous, and delicious.

Liz Wolfe: Yes.

Diane Sanfilippo: But the serving size on the bag says 5; and I challenge anyone to get more than 2 servings out of that bag.

Liz Wolfe: {laughing}

Diane Sanfilippo: So I was like, I’ve got some problems with you people {laughs} when it comes to the serving size on this bag. But I digress.

Liz Wolfe: Must agree. But they are fantastic.

Diane Sanfilippo: They’re delicious.

Liz Wolfe: They’re delicious, and I just saw them at Natural Grocer’s yesterday. So it’s not something you have to order if you’ve got a Natural Grocers nearby.

Diane Sanfilippo: Whole Foods has them, too.

Liz Wolfe: Whole Foods has them? Excellent. They just sent me a batch of their new; they’re not sticks.

Diane Sanfilippo: Why didn’t I get those?! {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: They probably meant to send them to you, quite frankly.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing}

Liz Wolfe: {laughs} They just mixed things up. But I’ve tried them. They’re a little bit firm for me, but that’s entirely a preference.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah.

Liz Wolfe: Some people love that. My husband is obsessed with them. I prefer the Steve’s Paleo Goods thingies that I talked about earlier. It’s getting late; my neurons are not firing at full.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: “The thingies.” You know, the thingies?

Diane Sanfilippo: The sticks?

Liz Wolfe: Yeah. That’s my favorite from Epic right now.

Diane Sanfilippo: Ok. I haven’t had the bars in a while; I go back and forth on the texture of them. But I do generally like them. But I feel like they have a turkey one; oh chicken. No, there’s a chicken sesame one that I liked, flavor-wise. When I eat those, I tend to eat them with some dried fruit or something like that. But those are a good option. Again, with all of this stuff, again, some people love RX bars; some people don’t. some people love Epic bars, some people don’t. This isn’t a, you know, pro or con any specific brand. Everyone’s got different preferences when it comes to these flavors and textures and all that good stuff.

8. Drinks [37:45]

Diane Sanfilippo: Kombucha; have you been drinking kombucha lately?

Liz Wolfe: I haven’t. I can’t tell you why, I just haven’t really had the hankering. A lot of fizzy water, though. A lot of sparkling water; La Croix.

Diane Sanfilippo: Interesting.

Liz Wolfe: Mm-hmm.

Diane Sanfilippo: Is that how you say it?

Liz Wolfe: It is. No, it’s not. Wait, yes it is. Yes, it’s La Croix.

Diane Sanfilippo: Huh.

Liz Wolfe: It’s the opposite of sounding French. It’s not “la Croix.” Its La Croix.

Diane Sanfilippo: So it’s like, it’s not “Tar-jay” it’s Target.

Liz Wolfe: Correct. Correct.

Diane Sanfilippo: Ok. So fizzing lifting drinks only?

Liz Wolfe: {laughing} Yes.

Diane Sanfilippo: I wonder if fizzing lifting drink was kombucha back in the day; in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Anyway; I still like kombucha. I drink it now and then. Typically it’s the Synergy or the Brew Doctor. I love the Brew Doctor super berry. I believe that one is originally from the Portland area. Because I love all the food that comes from Portland. {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: Yep.

Diane Sanfilippo: I have a think about it. Portland food and Austin food; but I’m going to live here in San Francisco, and have all of it here. Yeah, I’ve been drinking it now and then. Not kind of super religiously, but it’s definitely one of the things that; again, if I’m traveling and I’m going to stash some things in the fridge in a hotel, it’s probably going to be a kombucha, maybe a green juice. If I do a green juice, I try to get one that doesn’t have fruit in it unless it happens to be lemon or lime. I try and keep it really veggie based. Goat milk yogurt is definitely something I’ll snack on and/or turn into a breakfast or whatever when I’m traveling especially, or even at homes sometimes, goat milk yogurt seems to be a good one for me. And as you had said, fresh fruit and things like that.

But yeah, I don’t know, I’m trying to think if there’s anything else that I snack on around here. Last call for anything else that you guys snack on.

Liz Wolfe: Last call for snacks.

Diane Sanfilippo: Last call for snacks. Scott; what snacks do we eat?

Liz Wolfe: {Laughs} Holler.

Diane Sanfilippo: Holler.

Liz Wolfe: You know sometimes I eat macaroons. That’s something that I’ll snack on. I do the fertility macaroon that I’ve talked about on the podcast and my parenthood group before, when I wake up at the very least if I don’t hit the ground completely running and frazzled by about 7:01 a.m. I will almost always have one of those.

Diane Sanfilippo: That sounds good. I’m trying to think; I think that’s pretty much it. I don’t know. I guess if I forget anything we’ll try and throw it out on the Instagram feed and be like, “I forgot about this one!”

Liz Wolfe: Yep.

Diane Sanfilippo: But, yeah. I’m actually just trying to think right now off the top of my head if there’s anything… I think also, from Vital Choice, like the smoked salmon.

Liz Wolfe: Mm-hmm.

Diane Sanfilippo: I actually like making snacky things out of that, kind of the same way I would with deli meat. Where I’ll use that with some of those seed, gluten free seed crackers. Those Mary’s Crackers. I’ll do that with a little bit of smoked salmon and chives or something like that, so that’s kind of a fun little. I don’t know; I like making snacks that are bites of things, you know. So it’s like a cracker, or a little cucumber slice or something like that. So that’s kind of a fun one, too.

Liz Wolfe: Alright.

Diane Sanfilippo: I think that’s it for today.

Liz Wolfe: I think we’ll drop the mic right there.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} We’ve got some other blog posts up on www.BalancedBites.com that you guys can check out, so we’ll link to those in the show notes. I think www.BalancedBites.com/paleo-snacks or something like that, so you guys can check those out over on the blog.

Liz Wolfe: Sounds good. That will do it for this week then. You can find me, Liz, at http://realfoodliz.com/ and you can find Diane at http://dianesanfilippo.com. And this week; please, we’d love it if you’d share something from our podcast Instagram account, Balanced Bites podcast, duh, with your friends and let them know what you love about the show. See you next week.