GFCF Snack ideas

SNACKS:

• Tortilla chips (and salsa!)
• Regular potato chips — Most plain/unflavored chips are GFCF. Lays Stax have all g.f. ingredients, and are now even labelled as gluten free!
• Fruit
• Fruit leather (most fruit rollups and many packaged ”fruit snacks” are GFCF, but good old-fashioned plain fruit leather is still my favorite)
• Popcorn — virtually all microwave popcorn is NOT GFCF. So, get reaquainted with a large, lidded pan, some oil and kernels, and get poppin’! We almost always sprinkle ours with cinnamon sugar.
• Dried fruit (raisins, cranberries & apricots are all reasonably priced at Trader Joe’s)
• “Snow cones” (crushed ice with a drizzle of snow cone “juice” and a spoon in the back yard!)
• Popsicles
• Homemade popsicles when I have my act together – Add frozen juice concentrate to coconut milk, mix and freeze in molds.
• A rice cake topped with jam or prepared GFCF frosting. Lundberg Farms makes the BEST rice cakes, and they come in a wide array of flavors. Read labels thoroughly, but most Duncan Hines frostings are g.f. Some of them do contain dairy and/or other allergens, but are properly labelled. At the time of this writing, Creamy Home-Style Dark Chocolate Fudge is GFCF and free from other allergens, as well. (All of Betty Crocker’s frostings contain wheat starch.)
• Jell-o
• Trail mix made with Gorilla Munch (or another GFCF cereal, like Perky-O’s) and whatever else I have on hand (usually dried fruit and choc. chips)
• Pickles
• Rice crispy treats made w/ g.f. rice crispies and GFCF margarine or Spectrum non-hydrogenated shortening.
• Take a trip to the Asian supermarket! Not everything is GFCF, of course, but they have a wealth of snacks and treats that are, which you are probably unfamiliar with. Start with fruit jelly cups and rice-based Korean cookies.
• Trio bars, or other treats from Mrs. May’s. I find mine at Costco.
  

MARZIPAN COOKIES

• 3 cups almonds without skin
• 3 cups hazelnuts without skin
• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 2-3 egg whites

In 2 cup batches, grind the nuts to a fine powder in the food processor. Mix with sugar in a large bowl. By hand, knead in 2 egg whites. If the dough does not stick together, then knead in a bit more egg white. Knead by hand until well-mixed, a minute or two. Then roll the dough out 1/4 inch thick and cut into small circles or diamonds. Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C), take out and let cool on the pan for 2-3 minutes. Turn the cookies over, and brush with a glaze made of a few tablespoons of powdered sugar mixed with a bit of water just until the glaze is runny. Place cookies back into oven, and bake for 3-5 minutes, just until edges begin to brown.

Smart Snacks
GF pretzels	Unsalted nuts	Trail mix with GF granola, dried fruit, nuts and seeds
Rice cakes or rice crackers	Cheese (cubes or string), hummus, nut butter with banana or apple slices	GF snack bar mad with seeds, dried fruits, and healthy GF grains (amaranth, flax, quinoa)
Fried corn chips	Salsa and shredded cheese	Baked corn chips with low-fat cheese and sour cream; popcorn
Celery sticks	Peanut butter, cheese spread, or low-fat cream cheese with raisins	Carrot or turnip sticks, peppers, cherry tomatoes, broccoli or cauliflower
GF cookie	Fresh fruit and a glass of milk or enriched GF dairy substitute	Add brown rice, flax or quinoa to the recipe; choose ready-made cookies that are lower in sugar and fat or make with non-hydrogenated oils
GF brownie	Mug of steamed milk or enriched GF dairy substitute	GF crispy rice square (still not so nutritious, but often less fat)
GF muffin with white rice flour	Chopped nuts, mashed banana, dried fruits (raisins, cranberries, apricots, dates), ground flax	Pumpkin, pineapple, carrot, or banana muffins made with brown rice or bean flour
Full-fat fruit-flavoured yogurt	Fresh fruit and nuts	Plain low-fat yogurt with fruit and nuts