10 Great Snacks to Add into your day

I don’t advocate endless snacking. When people are constantly snacking through the day that is a clue that they are not eating enough during their meals and this will surely lead to unwanted weight gain. Snacks can be a great tool to add to your nutritional routine to make sure that you don’t fall into endless snacking and overeating at your next meal.

A few tips

Pair Fruits and Vegetables with Protein and/or Fat. We want snacks that will be satisfying and eating fruits and vegetables by themselves tends not to be very filling. Also pairing fruits and vegetables with protein and/or fat will not only slow down digestion but will also help to maintain blood sugar levels. Maintaining blood sugar levels will reduce the chance of reaching for that 3 p.m. sugar fix. Bananas tend to be the exception to this rule for me.
Take Note of your moods and snacking habits. Excessive snacking can be an emotional trigger so ask yourself WHY you’re reaching for snacks. People tend to excessively snack when they are stressed, bored, lonely, or angry. Pay attention to these cues.
Watch out for Health Halo marketing: You may see labels such as: All Natural, Organic, Whole Grain, Low Calorie, etc. These are all marketing gimmicks to fool consumers into believing these “foods” are “not that bad.” The worst offenders of this appears to be these foods marketed as “Diet Foods”. Many of these taste like chemicals and they’re not filling so you will end up eating more.

1. Raw Almonds

Easy and Portable, raw almonds make a great snack for mid afternoon munchies when you want a crunch. If you’re like me and tend to go back to the Nut job, either measure your portions out before hand or buy the Just a Handful of Almonds from Trader Joes. Even though Almonds are heart healthy and an awesome food, the calories still count! Pre measured nut portions prevent overeating.

Pair the Almonds with a piece of fruit for a filling snack.

2. Rice Cakes with Nut Butter

This is one of my favorites! Crunch and Almond Butter. How can you go wrong? Either go for Raw Nut Butters or splurge on Justin’s Nut Butters. Side Note: They sell Justin’s at Target now so you won’t turn up your nose at $14 Nut Butter. (I cannot!)

3. Hardboiled Eggs

Protein and Fat along with vitamins! Can’t go wrong but make sure that you stand outside when you eat your Hardboiled Eggs!

4. “Deviled Eggs”

Fill Hardboiled Egg Whites with your choice of Hummus, Avocado, or tuna!

5. Wild Caught Sardines with Wasa Crackers

If you’re in a group, then you probably want to take this outside. (I’ll get to that later) Sardines are a fantastic snack. Sardines contain one of the most concentrated sources of Omega 3 Fatty Acids which has been shown to be a benefit for heart and brain health.

6. Cottage Cheese and Fruit

A great pairing for fruit. Cottage Cheese is High in Casein Protein which is slowly released in the body. This is fantastic for tissue repair and again will help keep blood sugar levels stable.

My favorite fruits to pair with cottage cheese are: Pineapple, Blackberries, Blue Berries, and Strawberries

7. Cottage Cheese, Balsamic Vinegar, Avocado, and Black Pepper

In case you want more of a savory snack, try this combination Sounds like it would taste awful but it’s very very good. You just need ONE TBSP of Balsamic Vinegar. Avocado adds in heart healthy and filling fat.

8. Grapes and/or Apples with Mini Baybel Cheese

I have a love affair with the French and I think they get it ALL RIGHT when it comes to food. Grapes, Apples and Mini Baybel Cheese make a great pairing. Wine is optional.

9. Peppers, Cucumbers, and Hummus

This is a great way to get your vegetables in. I like to pair them with Hummus instead of the chips…and you still get the crunch.

10. Protein Smoothies

Sometimes you’re in a situation where stinky or crunchy food is not appreciated. This may or may not have happened this past summer when someone decided to open container after container of smelly food during a seminar. (I’m just saying). You may need to have a quick snack to drink quickly and this is where supplements can come in handy. A great smoothie for me includes: