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My number 1 most asked question – “What are some good snack ideas for me and my kids?!”

First and foremost, try to avoid snacking by feeding you and your littles macro balanced meals (protein + fat + carbs – in the form of veggies and fruits) so that you are properly satiated and don’t need those in-between meal snacks. Not snacking between meals also gives your body a much needed chance to rest and digest and allow your insulin levels to come down from the intake of food.

However, we all sometimes just need a little snack and so I came up with a pretty comprehensive list for that burning question of…what should I snack on? The list is broken down into 5 groups – veggies, fruits, protein, fats, and packaged snacks. Let’s get to it!

Veggies:

  • Baby carrots
  • Celery with peanut butter or almond butter
  • Cucumber slices
  • Cucumber slices with hummus or guacamole
  • Cucumber slices with full fat cream cheese
  • Bell pepper slices
  • Bell pepper slices with hummus or guacamole
  • Kale chips
  • Roasted veggies (I like to make a big batch for the week and put in a few small containers for on the go snacking. One of my favorites is sweet potatoes with pastured butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top, so good, even when cold!)

Fruit:

  • Apple slices with peanut butter or almond butter
  • Banana with peanut butter or almond butter
  • Any type of berry (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries) with peanut butter or almond butter
  • Melon with prosciutto

**Note – fruit is nature’s dessert and we should treat it as one (re: not eat it super often). Fruit is a form of sugar and your body reacts to it just as it would with any other form of sugar. It’s best to eat it with a form of fat so that it slows the sugar absorption into your bloodstream. One of my favorite desserts to feed my kids is a small bowl of berries with a tbsp of almond butter and a modest squeeze of raw honey. This is a great swap for conventional dessert treats!

Protein:

  • Beef jerky (I love the jerky at the local butcher shop – Deep Cuts, or Epic Bar jerky)
  • Chomps meat sticks
  • Pepperoni (I only buy the Applegate brand for this)
  • Chicken with or without guacamole (I like to make some chicken at the beginning of the week to have on hand for lunches and snacks)
  • Boiled eggs
  • Prosciutto
  • Steak bites (just steak cut up into bite size pieces – I do this with steak leftovers)
  • Turkey/ham roll ups (Applegate brand)

Fats:

  • Bacon bites (my #1 favorite snack – I make some for breakfast and then save some in a container to snack on later. I buy the Pederson’s brand without any sugar)
  • Avocado (cut in half and put the pitted half in the fridge, rub lemon juice on the half without the pit, sprinkle sea salt and pepper, and then store in a container. Eat with a spoon)
  • Fat bombs
  • Properly prepared nuts – almonds, cashews, walnuts, pistachios, etc. My favorite brand to buy nuts from are Springbound snacks, they pre soak their nuts for you so you don’t have to!
  • Raw cheese
  • Full fat yogurt (I like Green Valley, Bulgarian yogurt, or the Whole Milk yogurt from Trader Joe’s)
  • Almond butter packets (I like Justins)
  • Organic olives

Packaged:

*Note – Always, always reach for a real food snack over anything packaged. One of the best snacks you can have is just a snack size portion of a real food homecooked meal!