Snacking can make or break us. With the right snacks we can feel on track and energized. But the wrong snacks can really mess up our days.
Try not to constantly graze. Put snacks in your daily meal plan on purpose. Try to eat every 3-4 hours (this includes meals and snacks). This may mean eating larger, more filling snacks, instead of smaller snacks.
Low Carb Snacks
I generally recommend focusing on:
Nuts or nut butters (in single-serving amounts): Throw them in a baggie, or opt for readily-made single-servings packs – roasted & salted is generally fine by me. Choose a variety of nuts to get all the benefits – no one nut is better than another.
Hard Boiled Eggs: Did you know hard boiled eggs last a whole week? Make a dozen on the weekend (only peel them when you’re ready to eat them). Just be aware of the smell haha! Top them with Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel seasoning or grated Parmesan cheese.
Single-serving Cheeses: I LOVE string cheese and other single-serving cheeses like slices of cheese or round cheese in wax. So filling and tasty!
Jerky: Seriously one of my favorite filling snacks. So tasty and great protein. I love Trader Joe’s regular (not teriyaki flavored) turkey jerky and Epic “Strips”.
Greek Yogurt or Skyr: These great single-serving options are full of high-quality protein, often probiotics, and are usually great sources of calcium. Opt for plain varieties and add your frozen fruit, or look for food companies who are using less added sugar!
Baked Cheese “Crackers”: Many companies are now making baked cheese “crackers” – or what look and taste like crackers, but are only made of cheese – so low carb! I absolutely love these, and they’re non-perishable so you can keep them in your bag for a long time. Here’s a delicious kind – but they’re also prob at your neighborhood grocery store!
Veggies & Single-Serving Packet of Guacamole: Guacamole is an excellent, filling fat, and the to-go packets are life-savers because they last a long time and don’t go brown. Try dipping carrots, cucumbers, or celery in a packet. These single-serving packets are v. tasty.
Protein Bars: Look for ones with the least amount of added sugar and the most whole ingredients – but that are still tasty! Here’s a list of my faves.
Study Snacks
For these more stressful times, the above snacks still apply, but you may need just something to keep your mouth occupied – if you have an oral fixation, especially in times of stress, like me! Here are some good options.
Seltzer: Seltzers are generally just plain or flavored waters with bubbles. These can keep your hands occupied without packing extra calories. I love this grapefruit flavor!
Decaf Tea or Decaf Coffee: Similar to seltzers, you can drink a lot of these beverages without having a lot of negative side effects.
Veggies & Salsa: Salsa is pretty much just more cut-up veggies. Dipping non-starchy veggies in salsa then is just eating veggies with veggies. Since they’re so low in calories, this can work well to eat for a long time!
Single-Serving Bag of Rice Cakes or Popcorn: Try to eat these foods slowly! These are other good low-calorie options that you can eat over a period of time.
Snacks for When You’re NOT Hungry but Need to MUNCH
Vegetable Soups: Soups can be great because they’re soothing, can be really low-calorie, and take a while to slurp so they keep you occupied! Here are some of my faves: Creamy Mushroom, Light Broccoli Cheddar, Garden Vegetable.
Seaweed Snacks: These are also very low calorie and are nice and salty and crunchy. Here’s one I like a lot.
Beet Chips or Carrot “Chips”: These are similar to the seaweed snacks – a non-starchy veg that you can munch on for a while! Here’s one you can buy pre-made (because when you’re busy, you don’t have time to make your own!)
An Important Note
As always though, try to only eat when you’re hungry, and find other things to do if you’re bored or stressed but not hungry.
Some examples:
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Going on Pinterest (follow me!)
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Online shopping
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Talking to a friend
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Calling a family member
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Taking a walk
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Doing some jumping jacks or sit-ups
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Reading a magazine
