7 Healthy Snacks to Make Your Life Easier

Pack Healthy Snacks + My 7 Favorite Go-To Snacks

I can’t stress the importance of packing healthy snacks enough.  

My clients consistently mention snack time as the most difficult meal of the day.  Making healthy choices when you are starving and pressed for time can be a huge challenge and can make or break your health goals.

Nutrition is the most important component of maintaining good health.  Food is medicine!  The foods we put into our bodies play a pivotal role in our ability to fight off sickness, maintain good heart health, regulate mood, manage weight and sustain energy levels.

Our society loves big meals… it is the American way after all.  Eating two or three big meals during the day (my old M.O.) makes it difficult to maintain balanced blood sugar levels.  When you wait hours between meals you lose your control and willpower and wind up gorging on even more calories. 

That’s why planning and preparing for your snacks in advance is essential.  This will bring your whole day to another level of awesome!  

Don’t leave your snacks to chance.

My 7 Favorite Go-To Snacks

• Hummus with veggies (carrots, celery sticks, cucumbers, and colored peppers are excellent choices and add a great nutritional component to your afternoon snack)
• ½ banana with a scoop of all natural peanut butter (avoid the added sugars in the normal brand names of peanut butter)
• Edamame (they have frozen packs you can pop in the microwave for 1 minute – delicious)
• Smoothie (see my favorite smoothie recipe here and my secret ingredient for a delicious smoothie every time here)
• 100 Calorie Snack Pack of nuts (switch up the type of nuts and avoid the ones with added salt and sugar)
• Small square of 70% cacao dark chocolate (because chocolate is an essential component of life, but limit this snack to once or twice a week)
• Small serving of Quinoa salad (this makes a great side dish for Sunday night dinners and the leftovers become a great afternoon snack for the rest of the week – delicious cold!)

It is so important to prepare these snacks ahead of time.  I found myself making so much more progress when I started preparing my meals on Sundays.  

If I didn’t prepare my snacks ahead of time I would find myself becoming one of those people from the Snickers commercials – you know the ones, “I’m sorry, I can’t be held accountable for what I say when I am hungry…”  That was me!  I had no control over the decisions I made when that 3:00 afternoon slump hit.  Not to mention all the chocolate cupcakes, donuts and cookies that found their way into the workroom.  Preparation was key!

This is where the tiny snack sized Ziploc bags, 100 calorie snack packs and Tupperware will become your best friends.  Take 30 minutes of your Sunday to chop, measure and bag snacks.   It will make your week a breeze!

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Happy running!  #beyourpotential

Crissy Fishbane