Staying on Track with Snacks

Snacks matter when it comes to keeping yourself on track! Ever feel like you wait to long to eat again and then game over! Its like you cant get enough food shoved in at once to satisfy your hunger. Don’t be that person! Start staying on track by packing and preparing the right kinds of snacks.

Listed below are categories of some favorite snack foods and my favorite brands of each in blue that you can click the link and it will take you right to them! 

Beef Jerky: When choosing a good beef jerky there are a few things you want to look out for.

  • Sodium: this isn’t necessarily always a bad thing to have but you still dont really want a large amount of it.
  • Sugars: yes you read that right it says sugar. Most of us wouldn’t think that beef jerky contains sugar. If you went to the store right now I guarantee you would find that 9/10 beef jerkies contain it.
  • Added/Unwanted Ingredients: These can be a number of things and more than likely you may not even know what the heck these are or even how to pronounce them.
  • Type of Beef: If you can find it you want to get a good source of beef that is grass fed and organic.
  • Products I love:

Chips, Crackers, and Popcorn : This can be tricky when trying to find the right kind. There are a few things you want to look for in these as well.

Granola/Granola Bars/Energy Bars: This snack is tasty but gets a bad rep for its empty calories and sugary list of ingredients.

Cookies: Another childhood favorite that we seem to steer clear from because of the loads of sugar and unwanted fats that are usually present. These can also be treated like you would granola with the same types of rules.

  • Sugar rule: you want less than 10g sugar and/or at least 5g of fiber or protein.
  • Ingredient list: You want to have a short ingredient list that has only things that you know how to pronounce and that are considered a whole food.
  • Products I love:

Chocolate Candy:We all love a good chocolate bar or chocolate covered something but we tend to see most chocolate to be loaded with unwanted ingredients and sugar.

Protein Bars: These can be a hard choice as well but in a hurry you may need to have this option to get extra protein in your daily regimen.

Protein Shakes: These can be one of the easiest snacks to take due to their drinkability. All you have to do is pop the top and drink.

  • Protein amount: You want to get a good amount of protein in the shake so try to look for at least 12-20g in each serving.
  • Ingredient list: You want to have a short ingredient list that has only things that you know how to pronounce and that are considered a whole food.
  • Sugars and Carbs: Look out for any extra added carbs or sugar. You want your protein shake to be a true “protein” shake. We want protein to be a higher number than the carbs.
  • Products I love:

Other Snacks

Mixed Nuts: Back to Nature Cashew, Almond, and Pistachio Blend

Veggie Pops: Made in Nature Broccoli Cheddar Pops

Freeze Dried Veggies: Karen’s Just Tomatoes

Some snack ideas to throw together at home:

Protein packed yogurt and chopped nuts and seeds

Celery , raw carrots, raw bell peppers with hummus or primal kitchen ranch dressing

A mix of raw or lightly salted nuts and seeds

1 portion of beanitos chips with 1 100cal pack of wholly guacamole

Mix 2 tbsp of natural peanut or almond butter with one scoop of protein powder and spread on celery sticks

2 whole grain rice cakes topped with natural almond or peanut butter and sprinkled with ground flaxseed

2 whole grain rice cakes topped with mashed avocado or 1 package of 100cal wholly guac and sprinkled with sea salt and pepper

Kale chips ( like brads and rhythm superfoods )

2 Hard boiled eggs with 1 wholly guac. 100cal pack

Sliced tomato topped with sliced avocado and a basil leaf sprinkled with pepper and little sea salt

Cucumber sandwiches- 2 slices of cucumber with a little low sodium lunch meat and hummus between

Single serving packets of natural nut butter ( justins is a great brand)

Packet of tuna mixed with one wholly guac 100cal packets

Epic beef jerky or their beef jerky bar

Bacon and brussel sprouts kabobs

1/2c low ft cottage cheese with fresh strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries and sprinkled with ground flax seed.

1 iconic protein shake or your favorite protein powder mixed with almond milk

2 mixed and made birch benders paleo protein pancakes