How To Make Healthy Snacks for People On the Go!

Making healthy snacks for people on the go doesn’t need to be hard! Snacks are critical to your healthy eating success. If you are eating healthy, you NEED to eat snacks to get you to your next meal without that ‘I’m going to starve to death’ feeling (which I do not like!).

Here are a few simple guidelines for healthy snacks that are quick and easy to assemble.

But here is THE KEY to success: plan and assemble them in to-go containers.

Snacks for people on the go must be READY-TO-GRAB on the way out!

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Junk Food Is Not a Healthy Snack

But first, junk food is NOT a healthy snack.

Pretzels, chips, cookies, fruit chews, snack cakes, etc.

None of these are healthy snacks.

These are junk foods. And junk food in 100-calorie snack-sized bags or boxes is still junk food.

I go as far as saying these are sweet and salty TREATS.

How about a cracker? No, crackers are salty cookies.

EAT REAL FOOD SNACKS!

It’s essential to work on not eating junk food (okay, rant over).

 

How to Make Healthy Snacks

You will need three things to make healthy snacks.

• The right food.
• The right size.
• The right recipe.

The trick is getting the right food in the right amount to keep you from feeling hungry without a lot of calories.

So use the right recipe!

The Healthy Snack Recipe

It’s simple.

It’s just a protein OR dairy AND a fruit OR vegetable.

The truth is that any lean protein or dairy and any fruit or vegetable can be considered a healthy snack if it is in the right serving size amount.

There isn’t an official list of snack foods like many people want you to believe.

Sometimes, even some of your leftovers in your frig can make perfect snacks!

The only rule: A healthy snack is 100-150 calories. 

PRO Tip: Eating fruit or veggies provides quick energy; calories are used quickly. Pairing that with lean protein or dairy offers fat or protein calories that will last longer, so you don’t feel hungry again too fast.

The goal is that the snack will help you get to your next meal with less hunger—if you leave off the protein or dairy, you will be hungry much sooner.

I do not recommend grains as a snack (especially when you start eating healthy) because the calorie count is usually higher, you will feel hungry again soon, and it is easy to slip into the junk food area. After you get comfortable, my exceptions are popcorn and a serving size of granola!

And, for me, I want to chew more than one time. If I gulp a snack in one bite, I will immediately look for another!

I’m guessing you feel the same, so make sure you eat ENOUGH food for a snack, which means eating the right portion size.

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Healthy Snack Portions

When eating nutritious food, most people can eat 2-3 snacks per day, plus 3 (or 4) healthy meals. 

Portion size is significant with snacks. 

Snacks are the typical way extra calories enter your diet. (I look at snacks first when coaching people who want to eat healthier.)

So, snacks should be measured with an actual measuring cup or weighed on a kitchen scale, especially when first learning to eat healthier.

Depending on the food, 1/4 – 1 cup is a proper serving size for fresh fruits and vegetables.

I like this Measuring Cup and Spoon Set because it has more cups than the primary 4 (it also includes 1/8, 2/3, & 3/4 cups), which helps when you are in a hurry and measure a variety of food. 

Lean protein (meats, nuts, fish) and dairy portions will vary. Check serving sizes on the package. It is ok to eat 1/2 of the serving size or weigh the meat (i.e., 3-4 ounces of meat).  I like this digital food scale because I have found it to be precise and easy to clean.

 PRO tip: When choosing a whole fruit (like an apple or peach), make a fist and set your hand on a table with your thumb on top. Then, look at the circle on the top side of your fist. That will be close to the perfect size of fruit you should eat for a snack (or the opening of a ½ cup!).

Two Common Healthy Snack on the Go Challenges

Refrigeration

If you don’t have a way to keep your food cool, you have two choices: Choose foods that don’t need it or find a way to cool them.

Many fruits and veggies, such as apples, mandarins, oranges, bananas, carrots, and celery, are okay without them for a short time.

If you prefer berries, slices of cucumber, or other perishable fruits or veggies, you must choose a way to keep them fresh.

Any sized insulated bag with an ice pack of some kind will work.

We love the Icy Cools Reusable Ice Cubes because they work in any size bag and will surround any shaped food or container.

Food allergies

When refrigeration is an issue, your family may choose to forego dairy. The best solution for refrigeration-free proteins is nuts or seeds.

This brings me to a challenge my family experiences daily.

Like many families, we have food allergies to work around. Because of tree-nut allergies, we have found seeds to be the best go-to protein when refrigeration is not an option.

However, it was a challenge to find seeds that were completely allergen-free. We support Gerbs because they are processed in a plant free from the 12 top allergens.

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Ideas to make healthy snacks for people on the go:

As I said, no particular list of ‘approved’ snack food exists. Eat what you like!

But sometimes, it’s hard to come up with something quickly, so here is a quick list to get you started.

First, choose a serving of lean protein or dairy:

Proteins

A hard-boiled egg, almonds, walnuts, pecans (nuts, etc.), peanuts, peanut butter, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, hummus, lunch meat slices, leftover chicken breast, or a can or pouch of tuna or salmon or sardines, a few shrimp, etc.

Dairy

Mozzarella cheese stick, cottage cheese, plain Greek yogurt, dip, or milk.

Then, choose the fruit or vegetable:

Fruit

Apple, orange, clementines, bananas, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, dried fruit (1/8 – 1/4 cup), watermelon, cherries, raspberries, etc.

Veggies

Carrots, celery, lunchbox peppers, sliced cucumbers, sugar pea pods, slightly balanced broccoli, cauliflower, or asparagus are good choices.

The combinations are endless!

Carrots + hummus,

Two clementines + 1 cheese stick

Berries + cottage cheese

Seeds + peppers

Dip + celery

Can of tuna + blueberries

The Secret to Healthy Snacks for People On the Go

A quick final word of advice when you make healthy snacks for people on the go:

When I first started eating healthier, I struggled with healthy snack ideas.

I worried I was eating the wrong foods because I thought there were special ‘snack’ foods, and I had difficulty creating creative but easy snack options.

I struggled to make quick, tasty snacks for my busy family members, going in all different directions.

But then I realized snacks were only small portions of REAL FOOD!

After that, I added a few snack food options every time I made a grocery shopping list. I started menu planning and made sure I included 2-3 snacks each day.

My friend, you can do this! Trust your tastes and start choosing some foods from the ‘recipe’ above.

You will experience how snacks keep you (and your family) from being hungry. Then, in a short time, you will find your favorites and see ways to make them even quicker and easier.

So, now you are ready to commit to eating healthier snacks.

Start by writing down two of your favorites you remembered or thought of after reading the foods in this post.

Now, put them on your grocery list.

And just like that, change is already beginning. See? You can do this!

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The original post was published on June 22, 2017