As lifestyles in North America continue to get busier, consuming snacks and meals on-the-go has become increasingly common. This article will provide insights and ideas for Primal Diet snacks that are designed for busy and active modern lives. Whether you’re looking for a quick energy boost while hiking or a protein-packed snack for your way to work, this will provide the perfect recipes for your needs.
1. Satisfying the Urge for Primal Snacking
We all crave the occasional intense snack – something crunchy, perhaps a little sweet, but definitely satisfying! If you’re looking for a snack that’s a little more primal than the processed snacks you find on store shelves, here are a few ideas for you:
- Nuts and Seeds – Nuts and seeds are an excellent source of protein and healthy fats, and many of them make for a great alternative to crunchy chips. Try almonds, walnuts, pepitas and sunflower seeds.
- Dried Fruit – You can find a variety of different fruits that have been dried to create a snack that’s sweet and tasty. Dates, apricots, cranberries and raisins are just a few of the options available to you.
If you’re looking for something a little more savory, there are plenty of options too. Jerky – including beef, turkey, deer and even fish – is an excellent source of protein. Other options include roasted chickpeas, roasted seaweed snacks, and vegetable crisps.
For a truly primal snack, grab an apple – or a pear, or an avocado – and enjoy it just as it is! If you want a little extra flavour, you can experiment with different dressings and sauces, such as guacamole, hummus or tahini.
Finally, don’t forget about the power of smoothies. Blended up with some frozen fruit, a handful of nuts and seeds, and a few other ingredients, it’s a great way to get a big hit of nutrients and natural flavours in one satisfying drink.
2. Making Room for Primal Convenience
Our lives have become increasingly busy and complex with every passing year, requiring us to prioritize convenience and time-saving techniques. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean that we have to give up on our primal roots completely. Bringing some of the convenience we’ve come to enjoy from modern life back closer to nature offers a healthy middle ground.
Start by embracing the importance of unhurried leisure. This might include allocating some of your free time to take a leisurely walk in a park, take a nap, or just gazing into the night sky. Such activities provide a good balance to our stress-filled lifestyles. They not only help you recalibrate but also bring back some sensation of being close to nature.
Flexibility and openness to can come in various forms. For instance, for a more efficient morning routine, take advantage of your closest wildlife friends. Start your day with a cup of freshly-brewed coffee or tea and greet the chirping birds. For a calming afternoon, pick up a pair of binoculars and enjoy a spot of birdwatching.
The sense of unity you experience when you engage in such activities often has its own rewards. Try including some of these activities into your separate routines and see the difference they make. You could find yourself more relaxed and fulfilled, and reaping the benefits of a healthy life balance.
- Embrace the importance of unhurried leisure.
- Openness to .
- Take advantage of your closest wildlife friends.
Enjoying the market of experiences available to us should include activities that remind us of our primal roots. Look for ways to bring back elements of convenience into nature that help us balance our lives in a healthier way and provide a sense of connection to the natural world.
3. Easy Tips for Primal Eating on the Go
1. Pack a Primal Picnic
When you’re pressed for time or in a pinch, bringing your own meals is the best way to ensure you’re eating primal foods. Plan ahead and put together a picnic of perishable items. A delicious salad with some homemade vinaigrette, hard-boiled eggs, lightly steamed vegetables, cold-cuts, or some leftover cooked meat will ensure you stay full and energized without breaking your diet. Make sure to pack a few items that don’t need to be refrigerated, like trail mix, nuts, dark chocolate, and jerky as snacks.
2. Find Primal-Friendly Dining Options
When you can’t bring your own food, there are surprisingly plenty of options to eat primal-friendly meals out. Start by finding local restaurants that offer grass-fed meats, organic produce, and non-processed side dishes. Salads with grilled proteins, fish entrees, and beef tacos are all great options. If you do decide to splurge and order something that might not strictly be primal, like a very small portion of fries or a few bites of dessert, make sure you’re keeping the rest of your meal as healthy as possible.
3. Raid The Fridge at Work or School
For longer days on the go, it can be helpful to keep a stash of pre-made meals. Pre-made lunches provide you with the added convenience and flexibility if you need to eat while out and about. Invest in some sealable containers and stock up on some Primal-friendly basics like tuna salad, hard-boiled eggs, cucumber and carrot sticks, omelets wrap, guacamole, or a fruit and nut mix. These easy-to-pack snacks and meals can easily be transported and most will stay good for at least a few days.
4. Make It More Convenient
If packing meals and snacks isn’t for you, make it easier by pre-preparing them in bulk ahead of time. Cook a few recipes like a big batch of chili or fajitas that can be divided up and frozen into meals or stored in the refrigerator to be accessed quickly when you’re in a hurry. Invest in a slow cooker and throw together some slow cooked chicken breast, salmon, and beef with vegetables. These healthy meals can be eaten for days and stored to keep you on track with your Primal diet.
4. Modernizing the Primal Diet for a North American Lifestyle
Adopting a primal diet may seem like an idle pursuit in the modern world. Even so, the basic tenets of this diet can serve well in a northern American context. Here are the four primary points to note in modernizing the primal diet.
- Emphasize plant-heavy meals. Nutrient dense plants need to be regularly incorporated into the primal diet if it’s to be optimized for a modern context. Fresh produce like leafy vegetables, nuts, and seeds are essential to a healthy diet and serve as modern primal versions of the food our distant ancestors consumed.
- Include processed foods, but avoid preservatives. Aside from being generally hard to avoid in day-to-day living, properly processed food can add essential nutrition to your diet if done correctly. Eating only whole foods can be difficult, so having an occasional processed product should be fine as long as it’s free of artificial colors and preservatives.
- Eat regional food. Sticking with food from your local area has multiple benefits. Not only does eating regional food reduce its carbon footprint, it also helps to provide a broad variety of nutrients that may otherwise be overlooked. This includes wild game and fish, berries, and honey.
- Try to consume a variety of food. It is also important to keep your diet diverse within reason. Eating the same food repeatedly can cause a nutrient deficiency if you’re not careful. While it may be tempting to eat your favourite foods all the time, an occasional shift in the food you eat will give your body the essential vitamins and minerals it needs for good health.
Maintaining a primal diet is a great way to stay healthy in our modern age. While the concepts are a far cry from what our ancestors ate, there are still great ways to eat like a caveman while still being mindful of the current context.
Adopting these four guidelines will help maximize the potential of the primal diet. But, at the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference. The primal diet may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean it has to be neglected in taking full advantage of what the modern world has to offer.
It’s time to leave the “grazing-in-the-dirt” lifestlye in the past and look to a future of convenient and healthy Primal Diet snacks on-the-go. Whether it’s a post-workout energy boost or a mid-day munch, you can now get the nutrition your body needs without sacrificing taste or convenience. So get out there and find the right Primal Diet snack to fit your North American lifestyle!
