On The Go Healthy Snacks
Written by Nuno Costa
Are you too busy to eat well? “I don’t have time to cook”. “I am always on the go”. These are all things we, as coaches, hear all the time and everyone is looking for the easiest and quickest solution to getting their fuel needs met.
Let’s start off by remembering what Coach Glassman spelled out for us in his World Class Fitness article back in 2002:: Eat Meat and Vegetables, Nuts and Seeds, Some Fruits, Little Starch and No Sugar (this is start of the manifesto for achieving fitness in 100 words or less)….That’s it – if you do that for a majority of the time, you are well on your way to a healthy lifestyle.
On The Go Healthy Snacks
We realize life gets in the way, and at times you will have longer periods between meals which then invites the opportunity for healthy snacks. What do we recommend for “On the go Snacks” – well the first place is the wellness rx which we described earlier, but I think we could provide some further insight and give everyone some to go to. Let’s break it down by macronutrients to make things easier – Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats.
Carbohydrates
When it comes to carbohydrates – fruits are going to be a lot easier to pack, keep and access than vegetables but I would recommend always having both available. This is my short list of things that I always have at home – bananas, strawberries, apples, blueberries, cuties, pineapple, blackberries, raspberries, pears … .If you rotate these on a weekly basis, you will never get tired of them. Pack 2-3 each day 🙂 For vegetables, these are a little tougher since some need some cooking but easy to grab would be carrots, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes and even raw broccoli is pretty yummy on its own, or you could even dip it in some hummus. I’d even throw some overnight oats in here as a healthy on the go option – this could be a nice boost of energy when you need it before a workout, or you didn’t have a meal for some reason. Again, these aren’t meant to replace any meals – but fill in the gaps to avoid you getting HANGRY.
Proteins
Proteins – these are a little harder to find, but I’d always recommend starting with whole food options if possible. If that’s not feasible, can we find some minimally processed options? Well canned protein such as tuna or chicken is a start, and probably a healthier option than most fast food chains. What about hard boiled eggs, lightly processed lunch meat (think less than 5 ingredients) cheese, yogurt, beef jerky and there’s lots of packaged sausages (some that I pack for my daughter on a regular basis). If you are feeling really motivated, you can always make your own egg bites – this will most likely only take 30-45 minutes on the weekend and now you have some healthy protein ready for the week.
Fats
What about some healthy fats? What are your options here – something to consider is that fats are more caloric dense than carbohydrates, which means we need smaller amounts in general. This can also mean it’s easy to overconsume them. The first thing that comes to mind is nuts and seeds per the rx we mentioned earlier. Typically I would still recommend looking at the package since sometimes they are packaged with vegetable oils which are going to be more pro-inflammatory which is something we’d rather avoid. Look for simple ingredients like – Cashews, Almonds and hopefully they haven’t been mixed with anything – maybe roasted with salt for a little flavor. Besides nuts and seeds, hummus can be high on fat/carbs and if you have some raw vegetables this might be nice to dip into…again here I would look for a clean hummus with the least amount of ingredients. Avocados are also nice and fatty – this might seem like a weird snack, but throw in a little salt and pepper and you basically have guacamole 🙂 I’d even throw cheese into the mix – again finding something that’s minimally processed is probably going to be a better option than most fast food chains. Lastly, nut butters can be a good option but also something that can easily be overconsumed – find one with minimal ingredients like Nuttzo or just straight up Almond Butter with nothing else that you can dip your yummy raw veggies in.
What About Protein Bars?
Hopefully this gives you some good ideas/options for healthy on the go snacks. You may notice that I didn’t recommend protein bars/shakes, does that mean I am against them? Not at all, I think there’s a time and a place where everything can make sense. Most people aren’t getting enough fruits and vegetables in their diets – so my recommendation for healthy snacks is always going to start with real foods. If you are doing that consistently, and you throw in an Rx Bar, Lara Bar, or a Perfect Bar from time to time – no big deal. What I don’t want to see is the opposite – your go to’s be come the bars and every once in awhile you throw in some fruits and veggies, which is what I know most people are doing, One approach to start with would be to focus on high protein snacks, these are important to begin with since they tend to keep you full and satiated.