The 3 key food components that keep your blood sugar balanced include protein, high-quality fat, and fiber. These will slow down how quickly your body digests carbohydrates and converts them into sugar.
Here are some of the best options:
- Protein: pastured eggs, organic poultry, grass-fed/grass-finished meats, wild-caught seafood, grass-fed dairy, organic soy, nuts, and seed.
- Fat: extra virgin olive oil, olives, nuts, seeds, grass-fed ghee, and avocado.
- Fiber: beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, vegetables, whole unprocessed grains, and fruit (especially berries).
I always encourage my clients to make sure they incorporate each of these 3 key components at meals and at least 2 with snacks. It is also important not to graze too often or go too long between eating, both of which can throw off your blood sugar. I suggest eating a balanced meal or snack about every 3-4 hours, or every 2.5-3 hours if you are feeling nauseous or not able to eat much at one time without becoming uncomfortable. Yet, despite the best of intentions, sometimes this can be hard to do, especially if you are traveling or out of your normal routine. It may even be difficult during your normal routine if you are simply in a rush! Therefore, we put together a list of our top blood sugar balancing snacks to have on hand, both homemade and packaged, to help you avoid getting into a “food emergency”!
Homemade Snacks
1. Veggies with hummus or guacamole.
2. Chia seed pudding – thoroughly mix 2 Tbsp chia seeds with 1/2 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk and let sit overnight in the fridge. When ready to serve, top with some berries and cinnamon!
3. Hard-boiled eggs.
4. Handful of mixed nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, and macadamia are some of the best)!
5. Fat bombs- here is a great recipe example.
Pre-made Snacks
1. Organic air-dried kale chips, seed crackers/chips, and “salad to go” bags are all super flavorful and loaded healthy fat, fiber, and even some protein!
2. No-bake energy bites with healthy protein and fat that allow you to control the sugar content.
3. Protein Bars – this is technically a 2 in 1 recommendation. Paleo Valley makes high-quality protein bars high in fiber that contain grass-fed bone broth protein. They also offer grass-fed meat and pasture-raised turkey sticks.
4. Nut butter packets are perfect for travel and provide you with healthy fat, fiber, and some are high in protein as well.
5. Paleo Bread – are we recommending bread?! When it’s made with ingredients like eggs, nuts, seeds, and fiber and doesn’t contain any refined grains…absolutely! If you have some time, smear some avocado on top and you’ve got yourself a delicious avocado toast snack.
