Planning your Healthy Snacks

Everyone is busy in this day and age.  It is sometimes hard to find time in the morning to pack a lunch, pack some healthy snacks, and get out the door on time to make it to work.  The result: fast food and vending machines.  But you told yourself this year was going to be different! Healthy eating and exercise right? It just takes a little planning and prep on your part.  Each week, choose a day (I usually choose Saturday or Sunday early, so I can make it to the store before the crowd) to plan out your meals and snacks, write it down, buy the ingredients, and do some prep and packaging work. I try to get enough stuff to last me through the week, so I don't have to make another stop.  Little baggies or plastic containers are very helpful here so you can portion out your food, and grab it quickly in the morning to take it with you.  The key to sustaining your energy and blood sugar all day long is to pair a healthy complex carb (fruit or veggie) with a protein (nuts, seeds, hummus, peanut butter) at each meal or snack.  This prevents the crash in blood sugar that leads to cravings and binging (and later on down the road, diabetes and obesity).

So get out your pen and paper, your wipe off board, your healthy eating magazines or your computer to google clean eating recipes, and make a grocery list.

Healthy Snack Ideas
1. 20 grapes and 1 part skim string cheese (preferably organic)
2. 2 cupped handfulls of strawberries and a handful of raw almonds or cashews
3. 1 handful of carrots, 1 handfull of cucumber slices, and 1 tbsp of hummus (see recipe)
4. 1 cup plain greek yogurt, 1/2 cup of berries and 1 tbsp of raw nuts
5. 1 piece ezekiel bread with 3 scrambled egg whites, 2 slices of tomato and spinach
6. 1 apple or banana with 1 tbsp of all natural or organic peanut butter
7. Shakeology - there's also shakeology non drink recipes
8.  Homemade sweet potato or kale chips with a greek yogurt veggie dip
9.  Homeade granola or quinoa bars