It's springtime, friend. Praise God. With this season, often comes busier schedules, more yard chores and weekly sports practice. While these are great and wonderful things, they can create obstacles to preparing food. Planning can be pivotal for success when it comes to your food choices, especially if you'll be home less as the weather gets warmer.
I want you to be successful this season. I want you to recognize that your body still has needs even though your schedule may be ramping up. That's why this week, I'm bringing you easy, grab-and-go snacks that you can pack and take along wherever your plans take you. Put these items on your grocery list and snag them the next time you're at the store! I encourage you to keep the nonperishable ones in your glove compartment to have as a backup if ever you find yourself in a pinch!
Snack items to keep handy
Dried Edamame. I've talked about edamame before, but I didn't mention that you can buy them dried! This makes them nonperishable and a very convenient option to keep on hand. One way to increase your snacking satisfaction is to bring in different textures and these beans are great for that because they have great crunch. Add them to mixed nuts for a homemade trail mix.
​​Good Culture Cottage Cheese. Can I get an amen for individually packaged cottage cheese? This cottage cheese has the best texture and is very high in protein. You can easily add in some berries, unsweetened cocoa powder, hemp seeds, coconut flakes and cinnamon for a delicious parfait that takes barely any prep.
Alternatively, you can make a savory snack by adding Good Culture to some salsa and black beans to use as a dip for veggies or tortilla chips.
Turkey Rollups. These are great to pack in a cooler while on the go. Take turkey slices, spread guacamole, hummus or cream cheese overtop, place sliced cucumber or bell pepper in the middle and roll.
Popcorn. While I am in complete disagreement with the brandname of this product, they make a great popcorn. The name "Lesser Evil" definitely promotes diet culture because it insinuates it's evil to eat other popcorn. This aside, the flavor is amazing and popcorn is a high fiber snack. Sprinkle nutritional yeast on this for extra yumminess!
Roasted Chickpeas. This brand tastes delicious, or you can also make your own at home easily. Roast on a baking pan at 425 for 20-30 minutes with desired seasonings.
Should I be snacking?
Depending on your diet history, you might be asking yourself,
"Should I even be snacking?"
"How many snacks should I be having?"
"Snacking was frowned upon in my last diet. But you're giving me options to do so?"
These are all valid questions. There's a lot of mixed messages about the topic. Unfortunately, there is not a cut and dry answer on this topic. For some, snacking is not as essential, for others it is imperative that they snack in order to meet their nutritional needs. If you are noticing that you are ravenous by the time your next meal comes around, you might need to add a planned snack to your day.
I have found it's better to plan a snack than to try and "make it" to your next meal because you will likely just end up snacking on whatever is most readily available while you're making your next meal if you let yourself get too hungry.
Here are some other hints that you might need to add in snacks:
You're "on the hunt" for something else after dinner
You are constantly thinking about food, even though you just ate a balanced meal
You get a 3pm energy crash everyday
If you have a killer snack that I haven't listed above, post a photo of it on social media and tag me in it @mikyahhonestnutrition this week and I'll share it with others!
Heaps of Blessings,
Mikyah Owens, RDN, LD, CD
