Healthy, Tasty Snacks

Molly and I are often on the go which can make snack time a little tricky. I'm also trying to eat healthy and having a snack with me helps to prevent my many drive-thru stops at Starbucks.

This weekend, we made a big trip to Costco and I loaded up on snack options. I bought applesauce packets, mixed nuts, fruit, little cheeses, single-hummus packages, carrots and cheese sticks.

When we got home, I decided to make up snack packs for the week. Molly usually has two snacks a day so I decided that would also work for me. I laid out 10 ziplock bags and got to work. I pulled out my scale and weighed out 1-oz servings of mixed nuts. I pulled out 5 hummus packages and packaged up 5 ziplock bags of carrots (I used the snack-pack sizes for this). Then I gathered up 10 cheese sticks. We love our cheese sticks! I also put out 10 packages of applesauce. I thought about using apples but they get bruised when I carry them around in my bag. The applesauce pouches are just more portable but I will switch out the pouches for a whole apple when we are home for snack time.

I started assembling my packages. I started with my snack packs first. Into each ziplock bag, I put a bag of nuts, a cheese stick, an applesauce, a hummus and carrots. Then I put together Molly's snack packs. She got an applesauce, a cheese stick, banana chips and a cereal bar.

So far our snack packs have been lifesavers! We went to the Zoo a few days ago and stayed longer than I anticipated so Molly was ravenous. I pulled out our snack packs and feed her both sets of snacks. When we got home, I put together a new snack pack for the afternoon. I haven't been as hungry and have been feeling more energetic which is great!

What kinds of things do you like to snack on? What would go in your ideal snack pack?

Amanda - I can already sense that, like Scott, you hate the word "snack pack". However, I can't think of a better description for a snack pack!

Five a Day Game

I've been struggling to make sure to eat my five fruits and veggies a day. I get distracted by tasty, sweet carbs and forget that in order to have a healthy diet, I need my fruits and veggies.



One of my friends was telling me about a little competition that she has with her husband. They put post-it notes on the fridge. Each one represents a half cup for fruit or vegetable. As they eat them, they move them to the other side of the fridge.



I asked Scott if he wanted to compete with me but he's not into competition so he declined. I decided to compete against myself! I put the post-its on my cabinets as they refused to stick to the fridge. Pink represents fruit and the green represent vegetables. I need 1 1/2 cups of fruit and 2 cups of vegetables a day (I doubt that you would get in trouble if you ate more than 2 cups of vegetables a day though). You can calculate how many cups of fruits and veggies you need at the CDC website.



I started this new plan on Saturday and so far, it's been FUN! I can visually see what I need to eat. I do much better with the "YOU NEED TO EAT THIS!" rather than the depriving oneself method of "YOU CAN NOT EAT THIS!" I have also given myself some leeway. It doesn't matter how I get my veggies. In fact, I had deep fried avocado fries when I was out earlier this week and it totally counted.

This new game is also helping me eat ALL the fruits and vegetables I've been getting through my CSA box. I'm also feeling more alive and bouncier which is so good because I do not get enough sleep. I will take the bouncy feeling any way I can get it.