Are you a snacker? I am, now. Before I had Hannah 7 years ago, I didn’t eat breakfast most days and rarely snacked. I had a Diet Pepsi or Diet Dr. Pepper for breakfast, fast food of some sort for lunch (loved my Spicy Chicken Sammies & fries from Wendy’s) and dinner. Not the healthiest meal plan by far. I was fortunate that I was able to remain thin, but that doesn’t mean I was healthy. I didn’t exercise at that point in my life either, unless you count running around shopping, showing apartments or chasing after Jon. Once I was pregnant, I began to eat breakfast & snacks & haven’t stopped. This is a much healthier way to eat. Eating 3 meals + 2 – 3 small snacks/day helps keep your metabolism up and your body fueled with energy throughout the day.
Here is a list of healthy, gluten-free snacks:
Low-fat cottage cheese (4 oz): 90 calories (Daisy is my new fav!)
Raisins (50 or about 1 oz): 85 calories
Skim milk latte (8 oz): 85 calories
Air-popped popcorn (3 cups or 1 oz): 95 calories
Ener-G Wylde Pretzels (40 sticks or 1 oz): 130 calories
Celery or raw carrots (5 pieces) with peanut butter (1 Tbsp): 100 calories
Unsweetened applesauce (1 cup): 100 calories
An apple (small) with low-fat cheese (2 oz): 150 calories
Baby carrots (10) with hummus (1/4 cup): 150 calories
Peanuts (a handful or 1 oz): 160 calories
Raw almonds (a handful or 1 oz): 165 calories
Greek yogurt : 90- 120 calories (add in fresh fruit, flax meal or a TBSP of GF granola for some extra flavor)
Tortilla chips (12 chips or 1 oz) with salsa (1/2 cup): 175 calories
String Cheese: 80 – 100 calories
Lara Bar: 190 – 220 calories
Pure Bar: approx. 200 calories
Kind Bar: 150 – 200 calories
Portion out your snacks into small bags so you can grab them on the run. Don’t pay the extra money for the 100 calorie packs, there is no reason you can’t do that yourself. Set aside some time on Sunday to prep food & portion out snacks for the week. This way there is no excuse for you not to have a healthy option in your purse, fridge, backpack, etc.
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Make sure to check out my new post on The Examiner! All this talk about healthy snacks needs to be balanced out with some ice cream!
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If you can spare some prayers & positive thoughts for my 2 brand new, premature nephews, Wyatt & Jack, they are having a rough go of it. They can use all the prayers & thoughts they can get. Thank you.
