5: Easy, Anti-Inflammatory Snacks

Maybe you have your meals figured out, but you wonder what you should eat for snacks? With an anti-inflammatory diet, there is a place for snacks...but they shouldn't take the place of balanced nutrition.

In this episode of The Family Fork we're diving into the importance of snacks in an anti-inflammatory diet, looking at how to choose the right snacks, and understanding the significance of balanced nutrition.

Plus, we'll even talk through practical, easy snack ideas (and no, we're not talking about carrot and celery sticks here!)

• Click here to learn more about the Supper Club, where you'll get recipes and guides for every meal and snack of the day!
• Grab the FREE 7-Day Dinner Guide for satisfying dinners, and headstart on savory breakfast options.

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Transcript

Ashley Malik (00:11.654)
One of the most common questions that I get asked about an anti -inflammatory diet is what can I eat for snacks? So if you're hungry in the afternoon or even in the mid -morning, you're probably going to tend to gravitate towards your old standbys like chips or a chocolate bar or coffee even if you're trying to clean up your nutrition and eat anti -inflammatory.

So this question really does have a straightforward answer. And if you listen all the way to the end, we're gonna talk about exactly what you should eat. But the question also deserves a bit more of a deep dive. So let's dig in to how you can use snacks on an anti -inflammatory diet and uncover exactly what you should be eating to feel your best.

Ashley Malik (01:09.464)
So for me, growing up, snacks were actually a really big part of my life. I mean, I remember coming home from after school, a long day of school, and I would have a snack and I would watch days of our lives. Anyone remember that? I also remember like snowy days. My mom would stay home from work. And when I would come home, she would have these amazing homemade chocolate chip cookies. She was such a good cookie baker.

So that was always a nice treat. And then even at bedtime, you know, we would often have a snack and it was something moderately healthy like fruit or jello or maybe a homemade muffin. But interestingly, when I talk about this with my husband, he didn't grow up in the United States and he thinks that here in this country, we place a really big emphasis on snacks. It just really wasn't part of his growing up and he might be right.

But when it comes to anti -inflammatory eating and an anti -inflammatory diet, I definitely think that there is a place for snacks as long as it's the right snacks for the right reasons. So when you're just starting out on an anti -inflammatory diet, it can be really easy to have unbalanced nutrients because you're learning a really different way of eating than you probably have before.

And what I see is I often find women who are eating higher amounts of protein than they're used to or than they have been before. They're eating the same two veggies because it's easy and they're not really sure like how to cook other veggies. And then there's a lot of confusion around carbs. So the nutrition isn't really balanced. And I get that. You know, when I was starting an anti -inflammatory diet,

I know for me, I was eating a ton of nut flour, like almond flour and coconut flour, which is not nut, but almond flour, coconut flour, and all of it was really high in fat. And before I started eating anti -inflammatory, I really loved baking. And so as I got started in this new style of nutrition, I really needed to find anti -inflammatory alternatives. I was just doing the best that I could.

Ashley Malik (03:27.456)
and trying to basically replace like a one -to -one for things that I was eating with gluten and dairy and trying to find substitutes for those things. And so as a result, if you've tried this, you might notice that you end up with this like unbalanced nutrient profile throughout the day. So.

Before we start looking at anti -inflammatory snacks that can fill in some of those nutrient gaps or to help keep you full throughout the day, there are a few questions that I want you to ask yourself. We've got three. So the first one is, how much food am I actually eating every day? So I am always amazed at the women who tell me that they forget to eat during the day. So if this is you, I don't know how you do that.

This is definitely not my issue. I prefer to eat a lot. And so I can't imagine not eating during the day. But if you're forgetting to eat, you're probably not having a good array of nutrients throughout the day. Now there are various theories, but I really personally recommend eating five to six times a day. And I know that that seems like a lot. But if you're doing that,

What you're doing is you're balancing your calories throughout the day. And if you have this balanced food intake, it will usually mean that you have balanced blood sugar, especially if you're eating the right types of foods. When your blood sugar is balanced, you're going to have fewer cravings and you're going to feel like you need to snack less. It's just not going to be something that you think about. So I really want you to ask yourself, how many times am I eating throughout the day?

And then really get curious, am I having a good mix?

Ashley Malik (05:25.742)
So I want you to ask yourself, how many times am I eating throughout the day? Am I getting a good mix of protein, veggies, carbs, and healthy fats? It's really, if you're looking to snacks to fill yourself up, it's really important to make sure that you're eating enough calories throughout the day in your major meals. So personally, I eat five times a day. I breakfast, lunch, have a mid -afternoon snack, dinner.

then a protein smoothie after dinner because having a chocolate smoothie like later in the evening means that I'm not eating something unhealthy for a dessert but it actually helps to fuel my body in the right way. So I'm really balancing my nutrients throughout the day so I never feel hungry and I never feel like I need a snack and I also find that I have so few

Ashley Malik (06:25.696)
I also find that I have fewer cravings this way. So speaking of cravings, number two, the second thing to ask yourself is what did I eat for breakfast? So I know that it's really common to start your day with a bagel, maybe some coffee, maybe a flavored yogurt or overnight oats are really common. And when you're eating anti -inflammatory, I often see women

that are having high carb and or high sugar breakfast, even though they're eating anti -inflammatory because like for example, you might be having yogurt, it's coconut yogurt, but if it's flavored, there is a ton of sugar tucked into that. And so like we just talked about, the result is that you're gonna have this big slice.

And so like we just talked about, the result is that you're going to have a big spike in your blood sugar, which is going to crash just as fast. And what that does is it leaves you hungry and tired and searching for a snack by like 10 or 10 30 in the morning. So instead, I really encourage you to start your day with a savory protein rich breakfast. So we want to think a little bit out of the box here. And I know this is going to sound weird.

But I want you to think about like eggs, sauteed spinach, roasted broccoli. It's definitely okay to include some carbs, but you should absolutely prioritize your protein and your veggies. My breakfast bowl is...

Ashley Malik (08:09.366)
My breakfast bowl every day is roasted broccoli, grilled chicken, and brown rice or sometimes roasted potatoes and some kind of sauce or dressing. I really like bitchin sauce, which is like an almond based sauce. Now I know, I know I've talked to so many women, this is probably outside of your comfort zone for most of you and that's okay. But I want you to consider.

When you start your day like this, you are gonna find that you have fewer cravings throughout the day and snacking just won't be on your mind as much. So what I recommend is if you struggle to get started with this kind of breakfast, I want you to look to last night's dinner and think about having that for breakfast. Because for dinner, we usually have a much more balanced plate than what you might normally choose for breakfast.

And really, once you start eating like this and you realize how much energy you have, you will never go back to bagels and oatmeal again. All right. The third thing to ask yourself is, how am I feeling? Now remember, I've mentioned a number of times that here at The Family Fork, we talk a lot about mindset. And so I want to do that right now. So if you're really craving a snack, I need you to check in with your

feelings. Maybe you are anxious or you're worried. Maybe you're worried about a meeting or a presentation or you're anxious about a difficult conversation that you had with your partner. Maybe you've got a super full schedule for the week. Or maybe when you check in with your feelings, you realize that you are procrastinating or avoiding something like a work project or a project that feels hard.

or maybe I have this all the time, a project that's sitting right in front of you and you just don't know what to do next on that project. And so instead you think, maybe I can have a snack. Boredom, boredom is another feeling that we feel and that it often fuels this need or this desire to have a snack. So snacking is a really common way of dealing with feelings. And because you're probably pushing away that feeling,

Ashley Malik (10:27.042)
You know that feeling doesn't feel good like anxiety or procrastination, but when you have a snack, when you eat, you get a little dopamine hit, which actually makes you feel better. And since your brain is wired to avoid pain and seek pleasure, that brain is going to push you to the thing that feels good, which in my case, it used to be a Snickers bar. That used to be my favorite afternoon snack. So,

If you feel like you really, really need a snack, I want you to check in with your feelings to be sure that you're not eating to avoid the hard or the challenging work or that you're eating to sort of avoid that difficult feeling.

Ashley Malik (11:17.618)
All right, so you've asked yourself these three questions. Am I eating enough during the day? What did I have for breakfast? And how am I feeling? Like really, truly how am I feeling? So now what? Maybe you've decided that yep, an anti -inflammatory snack is going to be a great idea. But what in the world should you actually eat? And this is the question that I get all the time. But you can see we have to understand what our body needs first.

before we just default to diving into a snack. When you think of healthy snacks, maybe you're like me and think about carrot and celery sticks. And I just have to say no to that. Unless you really, really enjoy carrot and celery sticks, I definitely don't. I don't think that they're a great snack. If you're gonna have a snack, it should be something that is good and that actually supports your nutritional goals.

and it should definitely taste delicious and help you feel satiated. Because if it's not, you're going to find yourself rummaging through the office snack supply closet or your refrigerator because what you're eating isn't actually satiating you. So I also know that not always do you have time to make a recipe. When I was getting ready for this podcast episode,

I googled anti -inflammatory snacks and what came up was a bunch of recipes. Well, I don't have time for that always, I'm sure you don't either. So I think it's really important to have some anti -inflammatory snacks that you can actually just grab at the grocery store because this is going to help you stay on track with your new nutrition goals. So let's start with chocolate.

If you have been around me for any amount of time, if you've ever traveled with me, you will know that I eat chocolate every single day. And I can do that because I have found a chocolate brand. It's called Hu Kitchen, H -U Kitchen. And it is definitely my go -to choice.

Ashley Malik (13:32.224)
It's made with ingredients that really don't cause any extra inflammation. So I actually feel really good about eating it. And my favorite is the salty dark. It's a little bit of sweet, a little bit of salty. It is so perfect. So you have to go find that one. But outside of chocolate, maybe you're craving something that's a little bit more filling. You know, if you're eating a couple of times a day and you're spacing out your calories in those four or five, six times that you eat throughout the day,

you want to have some meals that have a little bit more calories. So one of my favorite brands to look to is Siete Foods. They have a ton of grain free and anti -inflammatory options for things like tortilla chips, tortillas, cookies. They have these Mexican wedding cookies that are amazing. And so I would recommend grabbing some of the Siete chips. I prefer the fuego style, which is the hot and spicy style.

and a single serve guacamole and all of a sudden you have a really delicious snack that's going to make you feel good. It's going to give you some energy, but it's not going to derail your overall health goals. So I really recommend everything from the Siete brand. Those products are really good choice.

Ashley Malik (14:54.018)
Simple Mills is another great brand to look for. I really love their cookies, their bars, and they have a bunch of baking mixes. But one of my favorite snacks is to take their Rosemary Herb Crackers, which, my gosh, they're so good. And especially sometimes when you're an anti -inflammatory, you miss the crunch of like a really good cracker or a really good piece of toast. So these Rosemary Herb Crackers are really good. And I pair them with a nitrate -free deli meat.

and some slices of cucumber and bell peppers. And if you want a little like extra fat source for your snack, dip those crackers in almond butter. It's gonna taste so, so good. So you can see it doesn't have to be boring carrot sticks and celery. You can just have a lovely appetizer plate made with some of these crackers and some veggies and some almond butter. If you're needing a boost of protein,

to fill you up and give you some energy. I would definitely encourage you to check out West End Chicken Skewers, which are really good. Adels is a brand that has, they have meatballs and sausages, but I really like their meatballs. And then Applegate is a brand that has deli meats that are nitrate free and gluten free. They're really good and healthy. And a couple of slices of the turkey or the ham, and you're gonna,

you're going to feel so good. Because remember, protein is going to keep you fuller for longer. So protein, a protein snack is always going to be a good choice. Now, let's talk about protein bars. I'm going to give you some tough love here. I want you to stop eating protein bars. They typically, if you look at the ingredients and you look at the nutrition profile on the package,

they typically only have a little bit of protein, like 10 grams, because we're trying to aim for like 20 grams of protein here. Also, these processed protein bars tend to be much higher in carbs and sugar. And remember, just like we talked about with breakfast, those carbs are gonna give you a temporary boost in energy and alertness, but if you have a protein bar in the afternoon, you will crash before dinnertime, and you're gonna want a snack, and you're gonna feel hungry, and you're gonna feel tired.

Ashley Malik (17:17.942)
So if you need something that's on the go or like something that's really portable or shelf stable, I've got a couple of brands for you to try. RX bars are really good. Tru bar or midday squares. Now, when you're eating these, I want you to remember, watch the sugar content because some of them are higher in sugar. And I really want you to pair these with another protein source, like a deli meat or sausages or something.

The protein quote unquote protein bar isn't going to be enough on its own. So you really want to add some protein there if you really want to fill yourself up. Now, I know all of this probably seems really overwhelming. But if you just take a look at some of the brands that I recommended, look at your grocery store, find some of those brands, you're going to already start building a pantry that has some really good snacks for you.

And I do have some tools to help you. So if you check out the Supper Club, I'm gonna link to it in the show notes. In the Supper Club, not only do you get recipes for anti -inflammatory dinners, but I also give you my guides for breakfast and lunch options too. They're really, really great. And in the Supper Club, you get my grocery grab and go guide, which shows you exactly what to shop for.

so that your kitchen is totally stocked with these anti -inflammatory snack foods. And I'm also gonna link in the show notes the seven day dinner guide, which what you can do is you can make those dinners, it's a free guide. And so you can make the dinners in that guide and then use those leftovers for that savory breakfast that we talked about. Whether you're eating an anti -inflammatory diet, balancing your nutrients,

Ashley Malik (19:16.792)
When you're eating an anti -inflammatory diet, balancing your nutrients throughout the day is so important, especially if you want to feel good and have energy. And snacks are a great way to help round out your nutrition, especially if you know exactly what to eat. So check in with yourself first, make sure that you've eaten enough, that you're having savory breakfast, and that you've done a feelings check -in. And then,

Pick a snack from the things that I've talked about here so that you can fuel your body with your health goals in mind.

Ashley Malik (20:00.43)
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