Cora Regina Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 I'm on Day 4 of my second Whole30 and finding it much easier this time around, although still not easy, of course. One thing I'm focusing more on this time is eliminating excess nuts and fruits from my diet, which was a problem for me last time and which I know can be an impediment to a successful experience. However, the reality is that I have blood-brain barrier hypoglycemia, which means my blood glucose will test perfectly normal but my brain isn't getting what it needs out of it all. It's a life-long problem that no amount of proper eating can take care of, defective physiology in other words. Sometimes I get flat-out HANGRY and need something to give my brain a kickstart, and prevent myself from verbally eviscerating people until I can eat a proper meal. I know that Larabars are permitted as emergency snacks for situations like that (I don't like having hunger rage, or passing out for that matter), but about three weeks into my last Whole30 I got back some allergy testing results: Turns out that I'm allergic to almonds, which are an ingredient in all Larabars. Are there any other compliant bars that I can buy, or can anyone suggest a compliant recipe? I'd almost rather buy them, so that I only have a limited number on hand and am not tempted by a pan of them. I looked at every single bar I could find today and they all had sugar in them, usually as the first ingredient! I did see in another thread that Epic bars are ok, but they're painfully salty for me and it's the carbs that I need. I also looked at RXBars, which were also mentioned, but they all had sugar (by any other name). Any suggestions would be very much appreciated! <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen_Suep Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 I keep juice boxes for blood sugar (I'm a diabetic) and then if I need it I have it but I hate drinking juice straight so it's only an as needed thing for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cora Regina Posted June 5, 2016 Author Share Posted June 5, 2016 I keep juice boxes for blood sugar I didn't even think of that! I've spent so many years actively avoiding drinking my calories that I think I forgot they're a thing. When I could eat almonds, I loved the bar types of things because they had a sugar that acted quickly, and nuts that provided some stability to get me through until I could eat properly. Maybe a juice box (100% juice of course) and a small handful of some non-almond nut would do the trick? It would certainly be easier than making bars, and since I'm not a caloric drinker I'm not tempted by juice boxes and so on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen_Suep Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Perhaps. Or even a few epic bites? They'd have the protein to level blood sugar and not cause woozies and you wouldn't need to eat an entire bar. Or make your own jerky? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cora Regina Posted June 5, 2016 Author Share Posted June 5, 2016 I've considered making my own jerky. The problem is that I have three cats, and they, too, would absolutely LOVE it if I gave it a try. I can't do oven dehydration right now because it's so beastly hot and humid, and I don't really have anywhere to do other kinds of dehydration that they can't get at and into. (They're smart little buggers when they want to be.) I also have this weird fear about not getting it fully dehydrated and having it spoil, because I tend to keep the emergency snacks in my car, where it gets over 100 easy. I felt sick the last time I ate about a quarter of an Epic Bar, and I've tried a couple of different kinds. Some of them also have sesame in them, which hates me with a vengeance. But, the local co-op just might have some compliant jerky already made! I'll look into it and see what I can find. Also I will look for the Epic Bites and maybe try eating one with a whole lot of water to see if that dilutes it. It's weird, because I love salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted June 5, 2016 Moderators Share Posted June 5, 2016 How about keep leftovers around and eating a bit of a real meal when you get hangry? I mean seriously. Why eat snack crap when you can eat some real food? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cora Regina Posted June 5, 2016 Author Share Posted June 5, 2016 Because if I'm at home, I cook food and eat food. If I'm NOT at home, I'd rather have "snack crap" that's relatively stable and can be eaten quickly than something unrefrigerated and perishable that I've been dragging around with me for god knows how long all day. Are you advocating that I leave home with leftovers every single day, just in case, instead of being able to stash something in my car that won't go bad and will be there when I need it? I mean seriously. As I mentioned in the post literally right above yours, the emergency snacks are kept in the car (where it gets very hot and "real food" would spoil very quickly). In other words, for when I am not at home, and for the purpose of managing the hanger and preventing me from passing out while driving or something equally bad, until I can get home and eat a proper meal. Some of us have medical problems that mean we NEED to have access to an appropriate snack, often on very short notice. I am one of them. I had a very bad episode of this earlier today and didn't have an approved snack available, which lead to a phenomenally bad experience for not only me but my entire family, so your snark is sitting particularly poorly with me right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzibeck Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 You can look for jerky at a butcher shop too. My daughter just started working at one and they make fresh jerky. I have not checked yet if it is compliant but thought I'd throw it out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuilterInVA Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 A juice box is a poor choice. You could stick an apple in your purse for emergencies and it would be better than a juice box which is processed crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khogue Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 If you are still looking for something to have on hand for emergencies, look for bars called "That's It" These are a soft dried fruit bar. Non GMO, no added sugar etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medowsweet Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 My suggestion is to make your own trail mix. Trader Joe's has a bunch of kinds of nuts and dried fruit (just read the back to make sure no sugar is added) and keep some in a zip lock bag in your glove box. Kinda same thing as a Lara bar but you pick the kind of nuts and fruit and it's not a hassel to make b/c it's just nuts and fruit in a bag, and is car stable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcbn Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 As I mentioned in the post literally right above yours, the emergency snacks are kept in the car (where it gets very hot and "real food" would spoil very quickly). In other words, for when I am not at home, and for the purpose of managing the hanger and preventing me from passing out while driving or something equally bad, until I can get home and eat a proper meal. The best thing to manage 'hanger' (which should subside as you make your way through your 30 days & your body learns to burn fat when necessary) is protein/fat as it will not impact your blood sugar in the same way that bars/dried fruit will - I keep tinned fish and a fork in my car for such occasions, along with pouches of olives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtFossil Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Cora, please don't discount Tom's excellent advice, as it aligns with jmcbn's ALSO excellent advice, which is to eat protein and fat which will not impact your blood sugar in a negative way. As you read more here you'll find that both of these posters are dedicated moderators and have a wealth of wisdom we can learn from. Stay away from the bars and the dried fruit, etc, and the nuts especially as you say that one of your aims is to decrease your consumption of fruits and nuts! Nuts are primarily a fat and there are healthier fats. Yes, I carried "leftovers" every day of my Whole30! It's no big deal to plop a container into my neoprene lunch bag. Cooked foods travel and keep extremely well. Carrying a hard boiled egg or two is no big deal, nor is it difficult to pack some leftovers from dinner or breakfast. AND I also made sure I had tins of meat and small containers of olives, etc stowed away for emergencies. I was away from "home" for long hours nearly every day of my Whole30 and it was in my best interests to be prepared and to make sure that I had nutritious foods to eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunningWhol30y Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 What about Cashew Cookie Larabars? Those are just cashews and dates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtFossil Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 What about Cashew Cookie Larabars? Those are just cashews and dates. That Larabar isn't food. It's a product and it's a sugar bomb with only 6 grams of protein. Do you really want to eat a product when you could have food? Do you want to flood your system with 18 grams of sugar? Cashews and dates wouldn't be a good emergency meal and neither is this Larabar. What about tinned meats or fish, olives, jerky, canned vegetables, etc etc etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 When you're trying to control blood sugar, some people have vastly different reactions to fructose vs glucose, so keep this in mind with your choices. I avoid nuts and dates for emergency snacks, too high in Omega 6 and fructose for me. Small tins of tuna in olive oil, coconut butter, olives or a compliant preserved meal (if you can find them where you are) with meat and vegetables. Planning will also help you avoid the need for emergency snacks, these two words are worth thinking about. If you think you might get caught short, some planning can prevent some emergency moments. If you normally eat a lot of packaged food this can take time to get right but it's worth working on. Boiled eggs, vegetable soup, etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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