In my house, we are in the middle of busy season with sports and training programs.  This means I have to think ahead more to be prepared when hunger strikes, and I am sitting in game #2 of the night. This is where I get stuck sometimes if I’m not careful.  If I don’t have a snack with me, I often choose to stay hungry until we get home, which is not all that bad except that when we finally do get home, I am ravenous and might overeat. I also get a bit cranky when I am that hungry.

The best-case scenario is that – I bring my own snacks.  Here’s the think though, snacks are one of the biggest culprits to sneakily undo our fitness progress. They seem innocent, just “getting us by” until we can go eat the healthy meal we planned.

The downfall is that snacks are many times full of fats and carbs that we kind of just negate because we don’t consider them a meal.  We get that large popcorn full of fake butter or enough salt to murder a bucket of slugs and then choose to forget that it even happened.

Here Is the solution…I think the best kind of snacks are a combination of protein and carbs.  The combo helps you to stop reaching for more and more, but still leaving you hungry.

Think along the terms of Macro-Friendly.  Sounds like something a fitness geek would say, but it works.  I work hard to make progress, which also means that I get hungry often and I don’t want to waste all my calories on something that doesn’t give me much good in return. If I am going to “waste” my calories, I want it to be for a piece of birthday cake or a home baked cookie, not some cheap packaged nonsense at a concession stand- you feel me?

So, to share the health wealth…here are some great options of snacks to take on the go that won’t ruin the work you are putting in:

Greek yogurt mixed with your favorite protein powder

Turkey roll-up with pickles (basically a pickle rolled up with turkey slices)

Roasted Edamame (one of my favorites, high protein, high fiber)

Fresh fruit (always a good one because of the fiber)

Hummus and veggies

Greek yogurt with honey and banana

Protein Coffee (cold brew with a protein shake)

Apple and PB (stands the test of time)

Chia Pudding

Homemade Protein Balls

This is an area where having a few simple things on hand that you can grab and go – really holds its value. But also, when I bring extras of MY snacks, my kids usually end up eating them too. Double win. I don’t have to preach it to them, I set the example for them and provide them better options.

I would love to hear about your favorite healthy go-to snacks!  Are you going to start implementing any of the ones above?  Email me at: [email protected]