Healthy Snack Ideas

One thing I have trouble with is packing good snacks for the morning / afternoon at work. I just never know if I’m going to be hungry inbetween meals or how hungry I’m going to be.

Some of my favorite and easy snacks to pack are:

  • yogurt with fruit / cereal / granola / bar / trail mix

yog

  • smoothies – either bought from a place that makes good ones or I make at home and bring with me

smoothie

  • fruit

fruit

  • veggies / dip or hummus

celcar

  • hard boiled egg

hbegg

  • nuts / trail mix

nuts

  • LARAbar

lara

  • cereal + milk

cereal

I found this great listing of snacks on the Weight Watchers messages boards the other day and wanted to share it. It was originally posted by Kippy2006, and was posted to be a “thought-starter”.

This list includes snacks that are 100 calories of REAL food, as compared to those air-filled 100 cal packs being sold in stores today. Not to mention, most of these would also count towards your fruit/veggie servings for the day!

  • 1/4 of an avocado
  • 1.75 cups apple slices
  • 1 medium banana
  • 1 cup grapes
  • 2 cups berries
  • 1.5 cups sliced peaches
  • 1.25 cups orange sections
  • 1.25 cups blueberries
  • 2 cups diced watermelon
  • 1 cup sliced pears
  • 1.33 cup diced pineapple
  • 1.5 cups raspberries
  • 1 cup cherries
  • 2 large kiwifruit
  • 3 clementines
  • 4 cups cherry tomatoes or 10 plum tomatoes or 3 large beefsteak tomatoes
  • 1 medium baked sweet potato
  • 1 small baked white potato
  • 2 cups carrot strips or slices
  • 12 cups torn lettuce
  • 10 large broccoli spears
  • 8 cups sliced cucumbers
  • 5.5 cups sliced bell or sweet peppers
  • 5 cups whole raw mushrooms
  • 32 spears cooked asparagus
  • 2.5 cups cooked green beans
  • 80 snow or sugar snap pea pods
  • 4.5 cups mixed vegetable salad (without dressing)
  • 1/2 cup cooked grain/rice/pasta (most, bulgur is 3/4s cup)
  • 1 jumbo hard boiled egg
  • 20 large boiled or steamed shrimp
  • 2 oz chicken breast meat (a little more than 2 oz)
  • 2 oz sirloin steak (a little less than 2 oz)
  • 0.75 cup plain fatfree yogurt
  • 3 cups airpopped popcorn

compared to:

less than an ounce of some kind of packaged cookie crispy thing

I understand the idea of portion control is helpful to people, and for some things, I definitely need portion control! BUT, you pay SO much for those little packets and you could just buy a big bag of something and portion it out yourself. It would take a little time, but you would get a lot more for your money AND still be able to portion it out how you want it for snacks or breakfast or whatever!

What are your favorite healthy snacks? Let’s see what else we can add to the list!

And do you portion out some things yourself?

16 comments

  1. Fun post! I’d add to the list…
    -Whole grain crackers with an ounce of LF cheese
    -apple with a tablespoon of natural almond or peanut butter
    -watermelon cubes tossed with salt and lime juice

  2. Ooh, I like this post! There are so many real 100 calorie options out there that make me completely avoid the packs at the store. Portion control is important, but so is eating healthy, unprocessed food!

  3. Most days I pack greek yog with chopped up fresh fruit for my afternoon snack. If my stomach starts rumbling before lunch, i have a stash of raw almonds in my desk :)

    Other than that, i go for a lot of the same choices, like veggies and hummus, smoothies, banana & PB, or a bar of some sorts… mmm

  4. Haha, imagine bringing 10 large brocolli spears to work with you everyday :D
    This list is great and I definitely agree with you on the 100 calorie packs, so expensive and unnesessary – you’d really save so much more if you invested in some ziplock bags and filled those.
    My usual snacks I take along with me are: fruits, bars, and nuts – pretty basic, I just find it’s easier to carry around (plus they don’t need a fridge in case I forget about them.)
    And I have yet to find that larabar flavor, it sounds amazing!!!

  5. Thanks for posting this whole list. i agree 100 cal pre-packaged snacks just dont cut it, plus half the time they have crappy stuff. I rather eat something “real” I love that the weight watchers list the portion size, cause for instance i portion out my stuff. i always have and i find it really works for me!

  6. mmm that trail mix atop the yogurt looks amazing!
    lol love the one ounce package of some crispy thing lol!
    i agree, 100cal packs are stupid!
    great post :D
    -muffy

  7. If I want the chips or whatever I do portion it out myself. Why pay for the extra packaging and air.

    But I love to slice and apple and put on some cinnamon and sometimes honey.

    I also love 0% Fat greek yogurt mixed with Jello SF pudding. Gives it a nice tang for little calories.

    But my favorite is always fruits and veggies. Especially frozen grapes. :-)

  8. LOVE LOVE LOVE the list—- excellent ideas for school packing days coming up soon !!

  9. Kippy is a genius, eh?? ;) Honestly I really don’t feel the need to snack anymore since taking out a bunch of carbs and adding more fat to my diet. But to each her own, right?? :)

  10. Your snacks are very similar to mine.
    1. I always eat greek yogurt for a snack. It’s great calcium and protein.
    2. I usually pair my apple with almond butter for better staying power.
    3. string cheese is great too!
    4. wasa crackers with laughing cow or nut butter.
    5. microwaved egg whites with a dash of hot sauce

  11. Mmm, great snacks! Thanks for the 100-calorie list, too… sometimes it’s hard to figure out what 100 calories really LOOKS like.

    I need a lot of on-the-go snacks, and my favorites right now are dried fruit w/nut butter, whole fruit, bars, yogurt w/ granola.

  12. Great post! Lot’s of great snack ideas!!

    Here is one that I take to work as one of my in-between meals…..1/2 cup of non fat cottage cheese with 1/2 cup baked sweet potato on top…about 130 calories

  13. oh thanks for the snack ideas! i used to be a SLAVE to those highly process 100 cal packs and i can’t tell you how much better my body has felt after swapping them for natural nourishing healthy snacks!

  14. Great list, I usually just snack on fruit, but on the days I need more I do yogurt, cottage cheese, or a larabar.

  15. thank you so much for putting that up! i detest 100 calorie packs b/c you can eat SO much more food by eating the fruits and veggies shown above!

  16. Pingback: 100 Healthy Raw Snacks And Treats. | 7Wins.eu

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