Healthy and Clean Snack Ideas!!

Healthy Snack Ideas- Made quick and Simple!!

So we all know how important our nutrition is to our weight loss right?! Our weight loss is approximately 70-80% all about how we eat!! So when we are busy, which we are with jobs, children, older parents, pets, school, you name we all have a thousand to-do’s on our list, it is important to be able to have clean snacks ready to go!! So we should be eating 3 regular meals daily (breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with 2 smaller snacks in between.  It seems like a lot, but this is what helps speed up our metabolism!! You may be only eating 2-3 meals a day, but when I say 5-6 meals a day, this means SMALLER MEALS, not eating everything you see at each sitting.  It’s all about PORTION CONTROL!!  So here are some ideas that I myself love that may benefit you also!! May I mention some of these are great for people who travel a lot.  I have a few friends that travel for a living and found it difficult to eat clean until doing a little trial and error! Guess what?!? There are ways to eat clean! It’s all about how bad you want it!!

1.    Shakeology- Shakeology is a meal replacement protein shake that has over 70 NATURAL ingredients, but does so good for your health and heart, along with fighting cravings and giving you energy! You can even make yummy deserts, or on the run shake it in a shaker with water or almond milk and WALAH!!
2.    Cottage Cheese and Fruit- Cottage cheese (fat free or light) is the way to go to get your protein!  Of course, you should be getting some kind of protein in with each meal you eat!
3. Greek Yogurt and Fruit- Greek Yogurt has your protein and less sugar than flavored yogurt.  You also have your FRESH fruit that is not packed with any oils or extra preservatives and sugars.  Eating fruit during the day will give you energy to go on with your day!
4. Rice Cake and Peanut Butter- Ok, so some people think rice cakes taste like cardboard?? I LOVE my rice cakes and what is even better is adding a couple slices of banana on top of your peanut butter!! BTW, make sure you use either NATURAL peanut butter, or I also use flax seed peanut butter (I get at GNC or walmart, weis, or AMAZON.com), or almond butter.
   
   
    
5. Hummus with raw veggies- I honestly never would even attempt to try hummus, but got the nerve to when I was losing weight and eating healthy and needed more ideas, so I gave it a try and LOVED IT!! I do not like raw red and green peppers, so I tried eating the peppers with hummus and SCORE!! Obsessed!! My favorite hummus is roasted red pepper and spicy hummus!! You can do so much with humus and it is a great protein source!!
6. Hummus and wheat roll up- Make sure when you get a wheat roll up is says 100% whole wheat.  Throw that hummus on and you got yourself a yummy roll up!! Can’t get much easier than that!
7. Apple with Peanut Butter- 1 apple away keeps the doctor away!! And what better way to eat it than with some natural peanut butter?!? Nothing wrong with adding a few raisins if you need a little extra calories too!!
8. Mixed nuts and berries- I actually go to an Amish or Mennonite store (yes I live in the country and LOVE IT) and they have isles of nuts and berries that you can mix. My favorite is dried cranberries, dried apricots, pumpkin seeds, tree nuts, raisins, almonds, walnuts, and last but not least, goji!!  These will give you energy and tastes AMAZING and can take this ANYWHERE!!
   
9. Dry- roasted Edamame- If you use ¼ cup, it is only 130 calories, 14 grams of protein and makes a delicious snack. Or try them raw!
10. String Cheese and almonds- I have a love for cheese, so a fat free or light string cheese will do great with 1 oz almonds- Great sources of protein and fat!!! Yes, you still need fat.. the good fat that is for energy!! Also my favorite almonds other than raw are cocoa covered almonds and cinnamon by EMERALD.  Also, I love the habanero BBQ , but not as healthy.. still better than a cheeseburger!!
11. Nutrition bars- This is where you need to be careful.  When you go shopping at the store, you will find that most of these bars have way too much fat, sugar, and/or carbs. I make my own of course because I know exactly what is in them.  Look for bars that have no added, refined sugar and choose the one with the highest fiber content.
12. Hard Boiled Eggs- Made in advance and easy to take along! If I eat more than 1 , I only eat 1 yoke so you do not get those extra calories and cholesterol.  You can even add some almonds to eat with them or some raw veggies!!
13.    Raw veggies with HOME MADE Ranch dip- Yes taste like Ranch, but CLEAN!! Just mix 1 cup Greek yogurt and 1 dry ranch packet (I use Hidden Valley) and done!!
    
    
14.   Ostrich Stick- Ok I am sure many of you are like what the heck is this!! Ok so if you like slim jims, or beef sticks, you will LOVE THIS!! I found it first at GNC and fell in love.. I was looking for something quick with protein and low in carbs and sugar.  This is what I found and now I buy them in bulk off AMAZON.com!! I had to become a prime member from amazon because I shop there sooo much for my ingredients!! FREE 2 day shipping too!!  My favorite sticks are the pepper or teriyaki!!
15.  Popcorn- Popcorn is light and easy, but make sure you do it the right way.. NO BUTTER!! You can add a little Himalayan salt and sesame oil to give it a little extra taste!  You can have 2-3 cups for a serving!
16. Tuna on melba snacks- I love melba snacks! They are easy to take along and have that crunch that helps satisfies me! You can get the tuna in WATER in packets or have it pre made for where ever you are going! 
17. Cottage Cheese and Tomatoes- Easy, simple, add some pepper, you got your protein and your veggies!!
18. Banana Almond Butter Wrap- Can you say YUMMY!! Use a small banana, 100% whole wheat wrap, and some almond butter and ENJOY!!!
19. Greek Yogurt with Kashi Cereal- Keep the Greek yogurt plan because you add an awesome taste with the Kashi cereal!! My favorite is the mixed berry!! Delicious!!!
20. Fresh Fruit Plate- Ok so I found doing this on my UltimateReset was filling and yummy- I added only FRESH FUITS such as kiwi, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and whatever else may be cheaper and in season (peaches, pears, pineapple). 3 cups of fresh fruit and if you would like to top it off, add some sugar free fat free cool whip!! 
    

P.S. Now that you have some recipes, make sure you PREPARE!! I prepare my snacks and meals every Sunday, so when I am in a rush or on the go, I am prepared.. Remember, PLAN + PREPARE = SUCCESS!!! Set yourself up for success and you will achieve your goals just in time!!