11 Quick & Easy Paleo Snack Ideas by Neely Quinn

11 Quick and Easy Paleo Snack Ideas

• Neely Quinn, Nutrition Therapist, Paleo Plan

Snacks are a common conundrum in the Paleo world, especially for the beginner. We’re so used to eating granola bars, candy, chips, baked goods, or other grain products for snacks that it’s hard to imagine anything else. The vending machine is out of the question, so you have to think ahead about your snacks.

Paleo Plan’s Snack Recipes

I’ve compiled a list of my favorite quick and easy snacks below, but I want to let you know that we have a whole section of Paleo snack recipes on Paleo Plan here. I would eat more of these more often – and they’re really delicious – but I don’t eat nuts and seeds. Here’s a smattering of what’s on Paleo Plan’s list of snack recipes:

• All-Natural Fruit Roll-Ups
• Ants On A Log
• Bacon Wrapped Dates
• Bananas with Almond Butter and Coconut
• Berries with Balsamic Vinegar and Almonds
• Berries with Coconut and Lime
• Better-Than-Store-Bought Apple Chips
• Chard and Cashew Sauté
• and many others… Check it out here.

Ok, so onto my personal favorites, which I have in my house all the time. I’m not a huge snacker, but most days I have one snack between lunch and dinner at around 3 or 4. I don’t like spending much time on my meals when I’m super busy, so these are pretty much as quick and dirty as they come.
As you can see, I use a lot of the same ingredients for my snacks, but there are so many different ways to combine them that I don’t get bored. However, I’m easily entertained by food, so keep that in mind.
One other thing to note here is that I pre-make some of these ingredients, which takes time, but at least it’s not taking time in the middle of the day when I’m trying to work or rush out the door. Also, I don’t mind eating food cold. I know a lot of people can’t stomach the idea of eating cold meat, although that really confuses me because Subway makes billions of dollars every year selling cold meat. Anyway, you can always heat these things up at work or home. And without further ado…

11 Quick & Easy Paleo Snack Ideas

• Sweet potato (I always have one or two already baked in my fridge) smashed up with coconut oil, cinnamon, and sea salt

• Fruits or veggies of any kind. I’ll often just eat a big carrot, a small apple, or a couple of figs to tide me over between meals.

• Leftovers. Just make more of whatever you make for dinner so you always have leftovers in the fridge (chile, soup, stew, all the dinners on Paleo Plan, etc…).

• Leftover chicken or turkey breast, pork chop, burger, or any meat with avocado/guacamole/guacachoke* smeared on top. You can just roast a pound or two of any kind of meat in the oven for 13 minutes or so and then have all that meat for snacks and meals for the week. Sometimes we make 3-pound hams in our smoker, slice it up, put it in a glass container and then I can just grab a piece of ham when I want it. Any meat will do!

• Paleo “yogurt”. Coconut milk (whole fat canned) mixed with unsweetened applesauce, a little splash of lime juice, and sliced fruit (and maybe a little honey or a few dark chocolate chips if you can tolerate the carbs). It tastes like yogurt :)

• Banana or apple with coconut manna or almond butter smeared on it

• Turkey slices rolled up with avocado and salami slices

• Hard boiled egg with a little salt sprinkled on top. Maybe smear it with some guacamole you have pre-made in the fridge. You can always hard boil a whole dozen eggs ahead of time for the week so you have them on hand.

• Banana tapioca crepes - again you can have this pre-made in your fridge and just add some almond butter, coconut oil, or coconut manna to it.

• Make a big batch of pumpkin muffins and keep them in your freezer. You can pull one or two out for a snack and they thaw out in like 10 minutes.

• Of course you can always just eat nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, but I can’t eat nuts and seeds, so I don’t have them in my house. They’re certainly a quick and easy snack, though!

*Sometimes instead of regular guacamole, I’ll make “guacachoke dip”, which is this: take a large can of artichoke hearts, an avocado, a quarter cup of lime juice, a pinch of cumin, and a pinch of chile powder and mix it up in a blender or food processor. You can add olive oil or coconut milk to make it creamier if you want. This little creation is amazing and can be served with pretty much any meat or veggie. Yum :)
There are actually a lot of Paleo snacks sold online nowadays, too. Some of them are more Paleo than others, but I just found this Paleo Fast Vending page that has a ton of them in one place for you to sift through: www.paleofastvending.com
I hope this helps, but please, please share your favorite snacks in the comments section to give people more ideas!

About Neely Quinn, Nutrition Therapist, Paleo Plan

I am a Certified Integrative Clinical Nutrition Therapist living in Boulder, Colorado. My role at Paleo Plan involves blogging and writing other educational content, seeing clients as a Personal Paleo Coach, and answering readers’ and members’ questions. I love my job, and I truly believe that eating Paleo allows most people to thrive. I started eating Paleo in 2009 after I realized my body didn’t tolerate grains or legumes very well, and it was the best dietary choice I’ve ever made (and I have experimented a LOT).