Larabars
I'm not really that big on preparing meals, and I always like to have a snack or two in my bag for emergencies, so in my pre-allergy life I depended a lot on easy, totable food. With so many restrictions to my diet, it's hard to find grab and go foods. Pretty much every granola bar, trail mix, or pre-packaged snack is off limits. I guess that's mostly a good thing, since we all probably eat too many processed foods and whatever, but I can't even eat Nature Valley bars. That shit is wack.
Larabars have become my salvation. I can grab one in the morning for breakfast, throw one in my bag for an on-the-go snack, and not have to worry about any ill effects. Larabars have, on average, like 4-5 raw ingredients, which is fantastic for people like me that can't eat most ingredients in "bars" (Dude. I can't even eat Clif bars OR Luna Bars. It's ridic), or people who just want to know exactly what's in their food. You'd think it would get boring eating just one thing all the time, but Larabars come in a ton of different flavors, so there's always something new to try or switch to so you don't go crazy.
My Larabar consumption is actually the exact opposite of that: I only eat one flavor. I kind of choose one I like, and then I eat that until I get sick of it. It used to be the Banana Bread Larabars, but I reached critical mass on those suckers and now I can't stand them. My current love is the Chocolate Coconut Chew. Like I mentioned in my last post, I buy them in bulk from Amazon for between $20 and $22 for a box of 16. So far I haven't gotten sick of them, but there are like 20 other flavors to try if I ever tire of my Larabar du jour.
Like I mentioned before, Larabars are made with just a few basic, raw ingredients. The Chocolate Coconut Chew bars are made of dates, almonds, walnuts, unsweetened cocoa powder, and unsweetened coconut. And that's it. It's easy to see what the ingredients are not only because they're basic whole foods that you'll actually recognize, but also because they're printed in big letters on the side of every bar. No hunting through small print to see if you can or can't eat one. And as someone who has to scroll through long ingredient lists for everything I eat, I can say that the Larabar packaging is a welcome relief.
Larabars are pretty filling too. I've been stuck in some sticky food situations (like being in an airport where I have NO food options) and made a meal out of two bars. And it was completely satisfying, hunger-wise, since a bar has 5 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein. Larabars are the perfect companions for going on a hike, traveling, or just going shopping. I always have at least one with me, and on more than one occasion it's been an absolute life saver.
Larabars: Between $1 and $2 a bar