I feel like I need to include every sort of disclaimer here because these foods are not perfect and I am sure many will find reasons to criticize them. However, I will absolutely admit how hard it can be to switch your family to a whole food based diet when coming from the standard American diet. While theses foods are not ideal and can be very inflammatory due to poor quality oils, sugar, non-organic, high in x,y,z etc. they may help reduce free glutamate exposure or are slightly cleaner options when switching to a whole food diet. Strictly avoiding processed sources of free glutamate has been essential to our health, especially our son’s neurological health. Please keep in mind that many of these foods can also feed underlying pathogens which can additionally create a surge in glutamate. The following items have been linked via Amazon and/or Thrive Market affiliate accounts where I may earn a commission from. Products may need to be sourced based on availability and/or pricing.

Snacks: most of the time we snack on whole foods, but some of these may work when on the run. Take a look at these recipes and the Pinterest snack page for more ideas (REID adjustments are indicated in the comments section on the Pinterst post)

FreeYumm Allergen Free Honey Apple Oat Bars (Nut Free): These are sweet and taste more like a cookie than a bar to me. While I wish these were organic (especially with the oats), they saved the day on a recent trip.
Amazon link for FreeYum Honey Apple Oat Bars

FreeYumm Allergen Free Chocolate Chip Oat Bars (Nut Free): These have more sources of processed sugar and are also not organic but may be tolerated by some. Chocolate and oats can be tricky, watch for reactions
Amazon link for FreeYumm Chocolate Chip Oat Bars

Yes Bars- some of their other flavors are clean but check ingredients (contains nuts)
Amazon link for Yes Bars

Grain Free ONA Cookies- This is the closest thing I’ve had to shortbread cookie that I’ve had in a long time. While the maple syrup ingredient is not ideal and carries some glutamate risk, I LOVE THESE!!! SO good.
Amazon link for ONA Grain Free Honey Sweetened Maple Pecan Cookie
Thrive Market link for Grain Free ONA Cookies

EatingEvolved Coconut Butter Cups- We recently discovered these coconut chocolate cups but have not tried them yet. The ingredients look relatively clean but as with everything, I would watch for a reaction.
Amazon link for EatingEvolved Coconut Butter Cups
Thrive Market link for EatingEvolved Coconut Butter Cups

Living Kitchen Goji Berry Cookie Bites: These paleo cookies are made locally to us and are a relatively cleaner option (the coconut sugar and vanilla extract are not ideal). I will admit that I am not a huge fan, but my son loves them and they freeze well for a last minute birthday party or celebration.
Amazon link for Living Kitchen Goji Berry Cookie Bites

Living Kitchen Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites- again, my son loves these but I am not a huge fan. They’ve recently changed the ingredients to include vanilla “powder” but we’ve never noticed a negative reaction from this. This is a rare treat for us but we will store them in the freezer
Amazon link for Living Kitchen Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites

Raw Crunch Bars- some of their other flavors are clean as well but check ingredients (contains nuts)
Amazon link for Raw Crunch Bars

Naturally Clean Eats Peanut Butter Bar
Amazon link for Naturally Clean Eats Peanut Butter Bar

Popped Sorghum- Homemade can be easily made as well
Amazon link for Popped Sorghum

Kettle Brand Organic Sea Salt Potato Chips- while the oils used in this product can be extremely inflammatory but it is nice to have a low glutamate option on hand. There are several other “sea salt” options out there that are technically low glutamate but it would be best to source one with better quality oils and organic ingredients
Amazon link for Kettle Brand Organic Sea Salt Potato Chips
Thrive Market link to Kettle Brand Organic Sea Salt Potato Chips

Go Raw Pumpkin Seed Bars- some of their other bars are clean but be cautious with ingredients
Amazon link for Go Raw Pumpkin Seed Bars
Thrive Market link for similar Go Raw Cookies

Raw Tigernuts-while these taste a little bit like maple syrup sawdust to me, my son loves to snack on them. They are very high in fiber!
Amazon link for Raw Tigernuts
Thrive Market link for Raw Tigernuts

Dang Sea Salt Toasted Coconut Chips
Amazon link for Dang Sea Salt Toasted Coconut Chips
Thrive Market link for Dang Sea Salt Toasted Coconut Chips

Organic Veggie-Go’s Fruit Leather- while most of these are clean, don’t forget to check ingredients
Amazon link for Organic Fruit Leather

That’s It- fruit bars (high sugar and not organic)
Amazon Link for That’s It Bars
Thrive link for That’s it Fruit Bars (more options available)

Many Lara Bars are clean, but please read ingredients! (not organic, high sugar and oxalate)
Amazon link for Lara Bars
Thrive Market link for Lara Bars (more options available)

Organic Lunderberg Thin Rice Stackers- their brown rice variety is also clean as are some of their traditional thick rice cakes. WE LOVE these for on-the-go snacking or for easy “sandwiches”. Absolutely, a staple in our house now that we can tolerate grains again.
Amazon link for Organic Lunderberg Thin Rice Stackers
Thrive Market link for Lunderberg Rice Cakes (More options available)

Mission Heirloom Yucan Crunch Crackers- Mission Heirloom is a California based restaurant that has worked extensively with Dr. Reid on removing the hidden sources of MSG. I was so pleased to find that they now offer these one ingredient crackers on Amazon. Make sure to toast them prior to consuming!!!
Amazon link for Mission Heirloom Yucan Crunch Crackers

LAIKI Black Rice Crackers: I found these quick treats while flying through the Chicago airport on my way to the CoMo Wellness conference with Dr. Reid. While these ingredients are relatively clean, they are not organic and can contribute to imbalances in the gut. They taste incredible but we are cautious not to go overboard with them.
Amazon link for LAIKI Black Rice Crackers

Plantain Chips- I wish these were organic but they have saved us a time or two. Our local Whole Foods also sells these in individual packages, which are great for classroom snacks.
Amazon link for Artisan Tropic Plantain Chips
Thrive Market option for Organic Plantain Chips

Cassava Chips- individual servings of the Artisan Tropic Cassava Chips. You can also buy the larger package
Amazon link for the Artisan Tropic Individual Cassava Chips

Organic Coconut Oil Popcorn-we personally do not tolerate popcorn, but this is a clean version that we can typically find at our Local Whole Foods
Amazon Link for Buddha Bowl Organic Himalayan Salt Popcorn
Thrive Market link for Buddha Bowl Organic Himalayan Salt Popcorn

Siete Foods Sea Salt Chips- pretty processed and higher oxalate
Amazon link for Siete Foods Sea Salt Chips
Thrive Market link for Siete Sea Salt Chips

Rhythm Beet Chips- Beets are also high oxalate
Amazon link for Rhythm Beet Chips
Thrive Market link for Beet Chips

Hu Chocolate Bars- While this isn’t a snack, we (aka myself) are OBSESSSED with Hu Chocolate Bars! Again, there is some glutamate risk with chocolate in general but we like that they use cacao over cocoa (lower glutamate risk with cacao) and coconut sugar over regular sugar. We did not tolerate chocolate originally, but are fortunate enough that we can consume it now (In moderation) without any reaction. It can also be high in histamine, oxalate and salicylate. Linking it to Amazon here but far better prices can be found on Vitacost.com or ThriveMarket.com
Amazon link for Hu Chocolate
Thrive link for Hu Chocolate

Heavenly Organics Double Dark Chocolate Honey Patties: Again, there is some glutamate risk with chocolate in general but we like that they use cacao over cocoa (lower glutamate risk with cacao) and coconut sugar over regular sugar. We did not tolerate chocolate originally, but are fortunate enough that we can consume it now (In moderation) without any reaction. It can also be high in histamine, oxalate and salicylate.
Amazon link for Heavenly Organics Double Dark Chocolate Honey Patties