Snack Ideas

I happen to be a lousy snacker. It seems like we have something yummy (but not necessarily healthy for us)--say, pudding or Jell-O or chips--for the first two days, and eat it all up really fast, and then we move on to our pale supply of crackers or bread and PB. Kind of lame. And we tend to become a tiny bit crazy when we don't snack well--all of us except for Phill, who is somehow superhumanly immune to the I-haven't-eaten-for-an-hour-and-I'm-crying disease. I'm great at thinking up snacks. Not so great at executing. But Abby asked me for HEALTHY and FAST snack ideas, because she's been a lousy snacker too, and it's making us both bleh. Making and emailing a list for her today was really helpful for me, and I thought that I ought to share it with all of Blogtopia, too! I find a list like this really helped when I had just had Jax, and my dear Camilla brought me yogurt and carrot sticks and yummy salad. It also helps to have your options written out, and it helps to have your snacks sliced, blended, or whatever, and then stored in a really easy-to-reach way. Most of my ideas are from the web and from a nutritionist I had a long time ago, so it's not really original thought. Just others' thoughts organized into something easy to reach for me. So here's my list I gave to her:

ABBY'S SNACK LIST
Print and tape to your fridge, you silly girl!

Cut-up seedless watermelon--get those small watermelons; they take up less room in the fridge and they're easier to cut.

Mountain High Lowfat Vanilla yogurt--by far the best yogurt I've had, this has become a staple for me. Pair it with sliced peaches and baked oatmeal in the morning and it's like a dessert! This yogurt is also all-natural and loaded with probiotics, which help to regulate the good/bad bacteria ratio.

Cheese crackers with PB--easy to stick in your purse for when you're out and about. Plus the kids like them!

A bottle for water--Not a snack, but NECESSARY!!! Not a plastic bottle, a hard-plastic one. I just bought a really cool Rubbermaid one at Kmart. It's long and skinny and keeps the water cold for a long time. I also think that when I buy a new water bottle I'm more excited to drink water like I need to. Silly but true. :)

Chopped-up carrots--get the full-sized ones instead of baby ones. They taste better and you can have more at hand because the baby ones go so fast. (At least that's how it is for us!)

Whole-wheat pita and PB or whole-wheat bread and PB--you will be better satisfied with a protein-carb combo, and the sugars in whole-wheat pita or bread will enter your body slower than in white bread, so that you won't have that sugar rush and then sick bleh afterwards.

Sliced strawberries--the trick is to slice them right when you bring them home, and then store them in the appropriate storage container. Eat them with vanilla yogurt for a REALLY great snack.

Saltines and cheese or Saltines and PB--same carb-protein combo concept. Also easy to store in a Ziploc or Tupperware in your purse.

Baked Ritz crackers--have you had these? SO good! They're like chips, I guess. But not quite. They're so yummy. Just put a Ziploc of them in your bag, or portion them in easy grab-bags for when you just need to grab something easy at home.

M&M's--just because I firmly believe in a snack now and then that is not nutritionally valuable but deliciously valuable. :) Just make sure you drink some water while you snack on these, because at least for me, that seems to lessen a sugar rush. Go buy those mini packs that come several to a bigger bag. The peanut ones are even better than just plain because then at LEAST you're getting a bit of protein with your sugar.

Fruit cups
--PAIR THESE WITH CHEESE FOR SOME ADDED PROTEIN AND CALCIUM--
Applesauce

Hummus--Pair it with whole-wheat pita, whole-wheat bagels, or carrots. Hummus is made of garbanzo beans and has tons of wonderful stuff in it for you. Tons. Protein, garlic (which has loads of health benefits by itself), olive oil (which is great heart-healthy stuff)....

Oatmeal w/raisins

Cold cereal--I keep forgetting that this is a great snack, if you just eat one bowl!

Apples and caramel dip--the caramel is just a treat. :) But the apples are great.

Those little soup bowls that come in one-portion sizes. They're delicious. I think they're Campbell's Selects? Try the veggie and the chicken noodle. They come with slitted lids and a peel-back tin lid, so you just peel off the lid, put the plastic slitted lid back on, and then nuke it for a minute or so. Very easy.

Trail mix--I like the Sam's Choice mountain kind or something like that. It has m&m's in it. :) It's yummy!!!

Black bean mango salsa and blue corn chips--someone told me that the blue corn chips are better for you. Don't remember why.

Smoothies--This doesn't have to be complicated! Just buy frozen fruit, and blend it with vanilla yogurt and milk. Lots of protein and calcium and antioxidants if you do berries. If you do banana, then you'll get much-needed potassium and magnesium, the lack of which can account for several frustrating issues of lagging health, ex. nausea, fatigue, irritability, dizziness, lack of concentration.....the list goes on.