When it comes to food, one of the most asked questions are about snacks and what are some quick healthy snacks that can be made and be transported easily. I gave my mom the task this week and she didn’t let us down!
Snacks are an important component of a well planned out day of eating and I encourage 1-3 snacks per day. Snacks help fill the void between meals. Eating small meals often will tell the body to burn calories rather than store them since it is getting a continual supply of food. Snacks also prevent you from overeating at the next meal because you aren’t overly hungry. Snacks are very handy and can be taken anywhere with you. Finally, snacks help psychologically, because if you are eating every few hours, you know you don’t need to eat as big of meals. As always, include a protein in each snack and combine it with a carb or fat.
Here is my moms post!
Dustin told me that he is getting requests for ideas for healthy snacks, so that is what we will talk about today! I have been gathering my lists from various places so I will try to make a list that will be easy to print off-I like to tape this kind of info in the inside of a cupboard or pantry door, for easy reference-in fact, I just remember now that I actually did this for Dustin years ago, and that list is still up there…..okay, I just went and got it and this is really funny; I titled it, “Good Food For Dustin”! haha…..wish I knew how old he was. I’d guess maybe around 16 yrs. old……he started getting interested in eating healthy in connection with sports, probably trying to bulk up for basketball. Little did I know what the future held for him and that I’d be full circle with him and “healthy food” a few years down the road! So moms, take heart, keep up the good work with your kids; some day you will see the results! I’m going to have Eric scan this list and send it to Dustin-it’d be fun to include this original in this blog.
Anyway, some snack lists try to stick to so many calories, but I am not going to do that; we all know the approximate calorie content of every speck of food known to man! J
Dustin suggests including a protein with every snack and combine it with either a complex carb or healthy fat, so let’s see what we can do:
1. Lofat string cheese/1 slice w.w. bread
2. 12 almonds/1 c. sliced mango
3. 1/2 c..nonfat cot. cheese/1/2 c. applesauce
4. ½ oz. non-nitrate beef jerky/5 w.w. crackers
5. Apple/2 Tbls. natural peanut butter
6. 1 oz. non-nitrate deli turkey/1 c. raw veggies
7. Can of tuna/2 Tbls. lofat drsg./greens
8. ¼ c. hummus/1 c. raw veggies
9. 1/2 pb&j sandwich-all natural/w.w.
10. ½ c. plain nonfat yogurt/1 Tbls. ground flaxseed/1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
11. Can of tuna/1 slice w.w. bread
12. 1sm. banana/1 tbls. nat. peanut butter
13. 2 c. melon/2 Tbls. pumpkin or sunflower seeds
14. 1/2 c. jicama slices/1/4 c. hummus
15. 1 lofat string cheese/ 1 c. sliced cukes
16. 2 Tbls. nat. peanut butter/2 stalks celery
17. 1 c. snow peas/1/4 c. guacamole
18. 1 c. baby carrots/2 Tbls. nat. peanut butter
19. 1 whole grain rice cracker/1 Tbls. almond butter/1 tsp. nonsugar jam
20. ½ c. unsweetened pineapple/ 1/2 c. nonfat cot. cheese
21. 2 Tbls. raw cashews/1/2 c. grapes
Okay, this should spark some sharing of all the snacking that you do with your families, so we look forward to your ideas….especially with summer coming up, those portable snacks to have handy in the car will be needed! Don’t forget those insulated lunch bags for the perishable stuff.
Keep eating~healthy!
Dustin’s Mom~Joy
Check out these links for more great cooking ideas!
30 Healthy Snacks, 21 Healthy Snacks, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Tofu Pie, Pureed Vegetables, Roasted Veggies, Quinoa, Chicken, Omelet, Pizza, Guacamole, Hummus, Carrot Soup
Hi Dustin-
One of my favorite snacks is:
1/2 cup of yogurt topped with fresh or frozen fruit and then I sprinkle some Kashi cereal on top.
Thanks for all your great tips-
Heather
Hi Dustin & Mom -
I’m with Heather, a favorite snack is 1/2 cup plain, low fat yougurt with fresh fruit or a little bit of granola mixed in.
At first, I couldn’t take the taste of the plain yougurt; I was accustomed to the flavored kind. Todd gave me a tip – put a few drops of vanilla extract (orange extract is good too) in the yougurt for some flavor. I used less extract each time I ate it, and within a week I wasn’t using any extract and loving the plain yougurt.
Another favorite is hummus & crackers – I especially like Kashi’s Original 7 Grain. You can buy them in snack size packs, which I keep at the office for when you need something FAST.
I also cut up all of my fruit for the week on Sunday night, so I don’t have any excuses about not having something duing a busy week. A friend gave me a tip a few years ago about storing cut up fruit – keep the fruit in a salad spinner. This prevents the fruit at the bottom on the container from getting soft (and not tasting so good) before you’ve had the chance to eat it.
Dustin & Mom – thanks for the great tips! Laurie
I make fake ice cream sandwiches (an old WW trick). Take low fat chocolate graham crackers, spread on some sugar free raspberry jam and some non fat coolwhip. Then freeze & enjoy! I don’t really care for any of these ingredients on their own, but together they really do taste like an actual ice cream sandwhich, and for 50 (or so) calories!
2 of my fav snacks:
1) 1/2 cup oatmeal w/handful of walnuts, dash of cinnamon, and apple sauce
2) 1/2 cup cott cheese w/handful of blueberries, handful of pecans, 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin, and 1/2 scoop of protein powder
Hey, thanks gals for those great snack ideas-that makes 27 that we have now….with more coming this Friday, plus a snack recipe. Smart, using that salad spinner for the fruit, and, a 50 cal. ice cream sandwich-I’d think the real thing would have around 3 times that much!
1/2 plain,nonfat Greek yogurt whipped up with 1/2 natural peanut butter — add a bit of vanilla extract. Goes great with apples, but you can dip other fruits/veggies.
Oops – forgot to say thank you to Laurie (& Todd) for the vanilla extract tip. Tried it this morning in plain yogurt. Although not as good as the normal artificially sweetened stuff I have, it was tolerable. Also added it to my peanut butter/yogurt dip and it made it much better too
Thanks!
always a little later than everyone else, but here goes anyway. thanks for all the great ideas. yogurt seems to be a favorite. haven’t done this in awhile, but i used to take plain yogurt, mix in a little maple syrup and a small handful of nuts. i like the crunch and the flavor.
another snack i use quite often is a mixture i call my gorp: sunflower seeds,pumpkin seeds,walnuts or other nuts, organic raisins and dates. when i’m feeling naughtey,i’ll throw in a few dark chocolate chips! yummmm. and good for my bones. thanks again.
I love eating shelled cold edamame and 1/2 c packs some serious protein! Here’s the breakdown: 120 calories, 5g fat, 5g fiber and 13g protein!! I often substitute it for “meat” in my meals too.
Yogurt with some raw fruit and wheat germ is another favorite of mine.
Sugar snap peas are a great, sweet snack treat!
I also have been known to mix 1/2c precooked brown rice with some warmed vanilla soymilk. Ok so that’s not a “snack” food but it fills you up and makes for a nice alternative snack or meal!