On-The-Go Snacks: Whole Food Edition

Written by Shelby Strain, Nutrition Coach - Friendship NutritionWhether you’re always in the car, traveling, busy parents with kids, or a nurse always on their feet, planning a full day of meals that require a fork may not always be possible. Keeping yourself on track can be a little easier with some of these quality options found at your nearest Whole Foods!

• CARBS/BREAKFAST - overnight oats, portable pancakes, rice cakes, and gluten-free granola are great options for the morning commute. Try to make sure added sugars are ZERO or very low on the Nutrition Facts label.

Consider preparing your own overnight oats the night before by mixing oats, cinnamon, protein powder, and almond milk in a glass jar to soak overnight. Add blueberries in the morning and voila! Breakfast on the go 😎 This will allow you to avoid any extra added sugars.

• PROTEIN - protein bars, bone broth, deli meat, jerky, hard boiled eggs, bone broth, sardines (@AndyArra), plain greek yogurt, cottage cheese, mini cheese wheels, collagen peptides, protein powder

Protein is crucial for muscle building and fat loss! Making sure you have high quality, protein snacks with you will help you not skip a beat.Travel tip: You absolutely can bring dry food and protein powder with you through security checkpoints at the airport. For protein powder, just separate servings into small baggies and stuff them into a shaker bottle. You may seem sketchy, your bag may get searched, but you should be good to fly! 

• CRUNCHY/CARBS - rice cakes, grain-free chips (Siete brand!), seasoned dried chickpeas, fruit chips, granola, Ezekial bread

Everyone at some point gets that crunch-craving - choose items that don’t put you in a calorie overload. Bonus points for making your own granola or dried chips at home! Easiest way to control what goes into your body is if you make it yourself! 

• VEGGIES/FRUIT- baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, celery sticks, mini peppers (use individual hummus cups for dipping!) apple slices, clementines, berries, unsweetened dried fruit

Make eating plain celery and carrots suck less by dipping them in hummus or mini guac cups. Pair apple slices + almond butter and you’ve got a great snack - we don’t recommend dipping and driving!

• FATS - nuts and seeds, guacamole cups, nut butters, whole-fat Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, olives

Best way to feel fuller, longer is to fill up on those healthy fats! Look for “raw” seeds and nuts when possible (the least amount of processing the better!). Be careful here though, super easy to rack up calories fast because 1g of fat = 9 calories, while protein and carb are less than half at 4 calories per gram. Moral of the story: go easy on the Trail Mix!What are your favorite snacks that keep you on track?? Let us know