Paleo People Granola

I love snacking. I definitely consider myself a bit of grazer. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m hungry or because I really like food…probably the latter. Either way, since I’m such a snacker, I would prefer my snacks be somewhat on the healthy side. If I’m going to snack, I try to stick to fruits or vegetables, but sometimes, I’m hungry now. Peeling a banana or chopping a cucumber just takes way too much time (joking…sort of).

In the past, this is why I bought snack bars. They are convenient, delicious, and relatively healthy (obviously depending on the snack bar). I still like to eat Lara bars and others that have recognizable ingredients, but within the past two weeks, I haven’t been buying too many. Since (sort of) starting the Paleo diet (I haven’t really made a commitment, just started experimenting with it) I haven’t bought any snack bars. I guess I sort of forgot about them? Instead, I’ve been focusing on whole foods like produce and nuts.

I still like Lara bars and bars like them and think they’re a great snack when you’re on the go. A number of their flavors are gluten free and fall in line with Paleo so no problems there! But it’s nice to have other options besides the same bar every day.

Since I’ve kind of been on a Paleo kick, I was so excited when Laura Keenan from Paleo People contacted me about their granola. Being a former CrossFit Affiliate and having a professional cooking degree, I had full confidence in her product even before trying them. I didn’t realize there were snacks out there that fit the Paleo lifestyle (obviously anyone can eat them!) so I thought that was pretty neat.

She sent me a bag of each flavor they carry: Apple Crisp, Banana Nut, Cacao Nut, and Cappuccino Crunch. The ingredients in their granola are naturally gluten free, wheat and dairy free, and without any fillers. Basically, they are a roundup of all the yummy cave dwelling foods our ancestors would have eaten.

Let me just say, if this was what our ancestors were eating, they were livin’ the good life. I am a big fan of this granola. My husband reminded me a few days ago to hurry up and take pictures since a few of the bags were already almost gone (I got these Monday by the way).

The ingredients are straightforward: mostly nuts, some dried fruits, seeds, and some honey. I think my favorite is Banana Nut…or maybe Apple Crisp. The Cappuccino’s pretty good too, there are actual coffee beans in the granola which I love (if you don’t like coffee…maybe not for you). I really do like all of them though and my husband does too.

I mostly just eat it straight from the bag (which is proving to be somewhat dangerous considering all the bags are almost empty) but I’ve also had it on yogurt, which is great!

The Paleo People granola comes in 5 oz. bags (those are the ones I received), 1 oz. bags for single servings (also got one of those, yay!), and 15lb. bulk bags (might need to buy some of those).

The great thing about these snacks is they aren’t limited to one kind of person. Sure, they say Paleo on the bags, but anyone can eat them. By anyone I mean vegetarians, vegans, gluten free folks, and everyone in between (I guess not people with a nut allergy…probably shouldn’t eat these), but most people can.

Laura, I love ‘em. Get that distribution rockin’ so I can always have me a stash in my pantry (by the way, here’s a link to where you can pick these babies up)!!

On a somewhat related note, I’ve decided to give Paleo a try. I just finished reading Robb Wolf’s The Paleo Solution because I wanted to understand some of the science behind the lifestyle. I finished it in two days so needless to say, it was interesting stuff. I also liked the way it was written: straight-forward with lots humor mixed in, just the way I like it.

I’m accepting his challenge of trying Paleo for 30 days, if I can’t tell a difference in how I feel, then I’ll go back to how I was eating before. If I feel better and look better, then great! It’s not only the challenge of eating Paleo for 30 days, for me, it’s also sticking with something for 30 days. I should be able to do anything for a month, it’s just a month! For some reason that sounds really overwhelming and scary to me and I don’t understand why? It’s not an eternity…just a month.

So, there ya go. I’m giving it a shot. I’ll keep you guys posted on how I feel and what I’ve been eating (hopefully you’re interested). Now I especially have to stay committed since I announced it on the blog…yikes!

Have you ever tried to stick with something, whether it be a diet, exercise, etc., for a long period of time? How’d it go?