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Your Ultimate Guide to Healthy Snacking!
"But I'm too busy to eat healthy... I'm always on the go." Does this sound like you? This is a common issue that arises when someone tries to make a switch to a healthier lifestyle, especially in today's society. With all of the things going on in your life, whether it's work, school, sports... you name it, there always seems to be an obstacle in the way of healthy eating. By the end of this blog, you'll have all the information you need to be a pro at healthy snacking!
For most people I've talked to, breakfast and dinner seem to be relatively under control. A few eggs and some fruit for breakfast... chicken, rice, and veggies for dinner. The large chunk of time in between is where things can get messy really, really quick.
In the follow bullet points, I will lay out a couple of scenarios. Try to spot to common theme among them.
-You're at work. You had to rush through breakfast in the morning and barely had time to get breakfast together, therefore you didn't bring lunch. As the morning goes by, you feel hunger start to creep in. Lunch break comes around and you remember that you don't have food. There's no way you're not going to eat... but, what do you do? Next door to your office building, there's a couple of fast food chains. You decide that a Big Mac sounds good, so you go with McDonald's...
-You're still at work. Lunch break is over and you head back to your desk. You're stomach is kind of rumbling and you don't feel that great. Maybe that McDonald's wasn't a good call. You ignore it and get back to work. After about an hour or two, you start to get hungry again. It's almost like those fast food restaurants engineer their food to make you want to eat more (I hope sarcasm translates well through the computer screen). You don't have any snacks at your desk, so you walk down the hall to the vending machine and get some chips. If only you had healthy snacks at your desk...
-Let's switch scenarios now. This ones for all the students out there. You hit the snooze button as long as you possibly could before you absolutely have to get out of bed. You realize you have 20 minutes before class starts, so you pretty much inhale your breakfast and sprint out the door to avoid being late to school. In the rush, you didn't have time to make lunch or bring any snacks. Sound familiar? By the time lunch rolls around, you're practically starving. There's one problem though; you don't have lunch. You have $2 in your pocket, so you just go to the snack cart in the quad and buy some taco sticks (if you went to BHS, you know what I'm talking about). You have to settle with that for lunch, which is neither filling nor nutritious. You crash during 5th period since you're exhausted and miss the whole review for your big test tomorrow. Uh oh...
-Last one, I promise. If you're an athlete, you've likely been in this type of situation before. Since I'm a basketball player, I'll use that as an example... You're at a weekend tournament and just like all of our friends above, you didn't bring any healthy snacks. You just finished your second game of the day and you still have one more, but you are absolutely starving. If you don't eat, you might actually pass out next game. So, what do you do? Of course, you head to the snack bar and get a Gatorade and a big muffin (carbs for energy, am I right?). But, you don't realize that the sugar bomb you just consumed devoid of any protein whatsoever is actually going to make you crash even harder during your next game, especially if its in a couple hours.
Okay, put your critical thinking caps on. What is the key theme that arises in each of these situations described above?
The answer? Lack of preparation.
As the cliche saying goes, "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail." It's kind of corny, but it's 100% true. Each of those situations above is extremely avoidable, and all it takes is a little preparation. Make things easier on yourself! Create an environment that promotes success, not one that makes it harder for you to succeed. The good news is that be prepared for situations like these doesn't need to be difficult, and it's actually quite enjoyable!
Healthy Snacking 101: General Guidelines
When it comes to healthy snacking, all of the same rules apply to meals. Nothing really changes, except for maybe the portion sizes.
Guideline #1: At least 80% of your snacks should be comprised of whole, unprocessed foods. No, you don't need to be perfect, nobody ever is! The 80/20 rule is generally a solid guideline to follow when it comes to nutrition and fitness. If you're doing the "right thing" 80% of the time, you'll put yourself in a great spot!
Guideline #2: Have a routine and general meal/snack times. Snacks can definitely be a key part of a sustainable nutrition plan, but it is important to have a routine surrounding them. You definitely want to avoid "grazing" on snacks throughout the day since you're never giving your digestive system a break. Also, grazing is often mindless eating and the calories can add up quick. An example of a healthy snacking routine could be if you know you get hungry between lunch and dinner around 3pm, implement a snack there! That way, the snack is intentional and well thought out, not just mindless grazing.
Guideline #3: Snacks aren't just limited to "snack foods." When people think of snacks, they typically think of "snack foods" like chips, pretzels, cookies, etc. The thing is, snacks, just like any meal you eat, can be composed of just about anything. It might take some getting used to, but these is an important stereotype to break. For example, one of my snacks might be composed of chicken and rice. Not a typical snack food, but it's still a great snack consisting of whole, unprocessed foods! The reason why certain foods are subjected to certain meals (i.e. muffins and pastries for breakfast) is because it is a way that food manufacturers create a ritual in your life around a certain product. That way, you are more likely to keep buying it, since it has become a part of your daily life. Don't be afraid to step out of the box and create a ritual around healthy snacks!
Guideline #4: Read nutrition labels!!! If you've read my previous blogs or Instagram posts, you know that this one is close to my heart. Deliberately eating junk food is one thing, but being well-intentioned and eating food that you think is "healthy," but actually contains terrible ingredients just sucks! Typically, the longer the ingredients list, the more hesitant you should be about buying that snack. Ingredients to look out for include vegetable oils and ungodly amounts of sugar. Eating mostly whole foods will prevent this problem from happening in the first place!
Guideline #5: Set up your snacks similar to actual meals. Each of your snacks should contain a variety of proteins, carbs, and fats. They're no different than an actual "meal!" If that isn't possible for a certain snack, at least be sure to consume protein each time you eat, since this is the macronutrient that people tend to undereat most frequently.
My Favorite Healthy Snacks
So, now you have these guidelines surrounding healthy snacks; but, how do you put them into action? Here are a few of my favorite healthy snacks that keep me fueled and energized on the go.
Power Shakes:
If you have a blender at home, these are a must. Whether weight loss or muscle gain is your goal, a power shake can be tailored exactly to help you reach your goals. It's also a great way to get your micronutrients in via fruits and veggies. My favorite shake to whip up includes 2.5 cups of almond milk, 2.5 oz oats, 1 banana, 1-2 tbs of raw, organic honey, and 1 scoop of whey isolate protein (I use the brand Legion). I'll also throw in a handful of spinach to get my greens in (I promise, you won't taste any difference!). As you can probably tell, I'm currently in a muscle building/performance stage and the amount of calories in this shake reflects that. That's the beauty of these shakes; the calories/macros are very flexible and can easily be adjusted to your needs!
Fruit:
Yes, this one is a little bit obvious, I know. But it's a must in any healthy, balanced diet. Fruit is a clean, great-tasting, and very portable way to get your calories and micronutrients in.
There is a misconception that floats around social media today that fruit makes you fat because it has too much sugar. Such a blanket statement just isn't true. Given that the fruit fits into your calories and you tolerate it well, it won't lead to unnecessary weight gain. While it is true that fruit contains sugar, two very important conditions prevent this from being a major issue. Firstly, fruit has quite a bit of fiber, which slows down that absorption of the sugar. This helps to avoid the blood sugar spike and crash that is associated with eating sugary foods.
Secondly, it is rather difficult to overeat fruit. Have you every eaten five cookies in a row? There is a decent chance that you answered yes to that question. Have you ever eaten 5 whole apples in a row? I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you answered no to that question. If you answered yes, your stomach probably hated you for it in the following ours (all that fiber can cause some GI irritation).
All in all, don't be afraid of fruit! I highly encourage it to be a part of your healthy snacking protocol. Some of my favorites are blueberries, bananas, raspberries, kiwi, apples, pineapple, an many more.
Nuts:
These can be a great part of your snack arsenal. Nuts are a great source of healthy fats and can be a helpful way to get protein, especially for plant-based eaters. Nuts are also very calorically dense, which is great for athletes and people that need higher amounts of calories for muscle building.
While nuts are a great option, it is super important that you read the ingredients on the nuts you buy. Unfortunately, many seemingly healthy nuts (typically the roasted variation), have some nutritional landmines in the ingredients lists. Many roasted nuts are tainted with toxic vegetable oils such as canola oil, which facilitate inflammation and oxidative stress in the body.
To avoid this, just simply opt for raw or dry roasted variations of nuts. If you do this, then nuts can be a great, portable way to get nutrients on the go.
Rice Cake Variations:
Rice cakes can be a great way to get healthy carbs in if you don't have time to prepare actual rice or other starchy carbs. While you can eat them plain, there are also a number of easy, delicious combos that you can utilize in preparing rice cakes to add flavor and some extra nutrients!
One of my favorites is the rice cake + almond butter+ blueberries combo. It tastes awesome and helps to add some protein and healthy fats to a carb-heavy rice cake.
Ezekiel Bread Toast:
While most bread should be limited in your nutrition plan, Ezekiel Bread is the exception to that rule. Ezekiel bread is actually made with sprouted grains (makes the nutrients a bit more bioavailable) and is much less processed that your typically white or wheat bread. If you add some low-sugar, organic jam to this, you have yourself a healthy carb source that can easily be prepared and taken on the go. Ezekiel bread also has a surprisingly high amount of protein (4g per slice) so it can be another helpful way for plant-based eaters to meet their protein needs.
An absolutely delicious way to spice up Ezekiel Bread toast is to add 2-3 tbs of almond butter, a sliced banana, and 1 tbs of raw, organic honey. You'll think that it's some sort of dessert. Give this one a try and let me know what you think!
Dark Chocolate:
Yes, chocolate is healthy. I repeat, chocolate is healthy. Chocolate isn't inherently bad for you. The problem only occurs when these food companies started tossing in vegetable oils and copious amounts of refined sugar.
Dark chocolate, preferably 85% cacao or above, is actually packed with healthy fats and antioxidants (mainly flavonoids and polyphenols). These antioxidants help to scavenge up free radicals in your body and put a halt to excessive oxidative stress.
Another random factoid about dark chocolate: it is actually a natural vasodilator, meaning that it helps widen your blood vessels and helps increase blood flow. This means that it actually may provide a boost in performance during exercise and athletic competition!
Tuna and Sardines:
These are for the more adventurous when it comes to food. While the fishy taste can turn some people off, these two foods are an awesome, low-calorie source of protein on the go. Don't be so quick to rule it out and at least give it a try! Who knows, you might end up loving it.
Leftovers!
Leftovers are such an easy, cheap, and effective way to meet your calorie and nutrient needs. Think about it. The food is already prepared. All you have to do is put it in a container and take it with you to work/school.
Another positive in favor of leftovers is that dinner tends to be on the healthier side of the spectrum for most people and includes a protein source, carbs, and maybe even some veggies and healthy fats. Leftovers are definitely a go-to, on the go food item for me.
Takeaways
-Preparation, preparation, and more preparation. The more prepared you are, the less likely it is that you will end up in an "oh crap" situation while you are on the go.
-Have a snacking routine. Between breakfast and lunch, or between lunch and dinner tend to be the best places to have a healthy snack.
-Avoid "grazing." If you have a routine, this shouldn't be a problem. Grazing can lead to calories adding up quicker than you realize.
-Have 80% of your snacks consist of whole, unprocessed foods.
-Step outside the box! Don't feel the need to be confined the the stereotypical "snack food" category.
-Have protein with every snack. This way, you'll feel satiated and be on the way to meeting your protein needs for the day!
Follow these guidelines, and you'll be well on your way to healthy snack and reaching your fitness goals!
Thanks so much for reading! I really appreciate your time. I hope this article helped you set up your own healthy snacking routine. Please feel free to give feedback via email at tclarknutrition@gmail.com or shoot me a DM on Instagram @tclarknutrition. Thanks again!