SNACKS

I love snacks. Sometimes, I make a meal of all snacks- that's how much I love them.   But, we can easily be lured into not so healthy snacks like sugary drinks, chips, candy, donuts, or whatever is around the office or at work. 

When I counsel people, or when I need to decide what I want for a snack, I try to follow two guidelines.
1. Half my plate fruits or vegetables.
2. Make sure there is some protein or healthy fats to keep me full.

So, here are my favorite and TOP snack choices.

1. Veggies and Hummus.  This one is pretty obvious, but it is my go to snack because it has protein, healthy fat, and crunchy veggies like carrots, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes!
2. Fruit with energy bites and some nuts.  Or fruit with any nut butter.  
   
3. Smoothies!
4. Roasted Broad Beans. (link here)  These are my new favorite snack!  I also love them in salads or soup for a crouton alternative.  They are so tasty and crunchy.  As you can see I love anything crunchy!
   
5. Rice cake or pita with vegan cream cheese, sliced tomatoes, and herbs.  This snack is a play on my childhood snack of tomatoes and mozzarella with 1/2 cup of olive oil (no joke! but I had a big appetite when I was swimming) that I would soak up with bread.
   
6. Healthy low sugar bars or trail mix with a piece of fruit if you are on the run.  Bars I recommend are KIND, QUEST, and RX.  But, do not forget your fruit with it!  For trail mixes, try mixed nuts, dried fruit or coconut, and keep the added sugars and chocolate to a minimum.
7. Corn wrap with goveggie cheese, mushrooms, spinach, and a touch of siracha. This feels like a whole meal when I eat it, but that means it is a perfect snack and keeps me full through my tutor sessions and workouts.  
   
8. Healthy chips.  Since I love all things crunchy, of course I would like chips.  But, I try to find healthier chip options, like OfftheEatenPath Chickpea Veggie crisps. (link here)  Sometimes, with these I lose self control and over eat them (aka what I did last night when Mike took them back out to snack on at 9:30 pm. I already had some with dinner.  I ate "a few" and by 9:45 pm my stomach HATED me because I devoured like 1/2 the bag :(.  This brings me to my tips.
   

Tips

1. Pack snacks for work.  We all snack, but bringing your own snacks from home will help you stay away from the unhealthy options. 
2. Have an emergency pack of snacks in your car or bag of bars, trail mix, and dried fruit. This helps fight the urge to stop at a fast food place after sitting in ours of traffic.
3. Get rid of things that you tend to over eat.  (I guess that means no more Chickpea Veggie crisps for me).
4. Try to follow the guidelines. 1/2 your snack fruit or veggies and make sure there is protein and fat so that you stay full longer.

Hope this helps :)