Healthy snacks

5 Tips for Healthy After School Snacks

August 21, 2019August 21, 2019momonthegoinholytoledo

Omg! I drop off little, sweet, Angels at school in the morning & come 3:30pm I’m picking up cranky, hangry, feral animals! Like seriously, as soon as we step foot in the house they are trampling over one another to get to the kitchen…if I didn’t unlock the door fast enough I’m pretty sure they would knock it down or eat it, lol!!

Here are 5 simple tips for healthy after school snacks:

1. Prepare snacking foods ahead of time

We want our kiddos to make healthy choices when it comes to their afterschool snack. We would much rather have them reaching for celery sticks & peanut butter or hummus than that processed bag of chips. However, convenience plays a huge role. If the celery isn’t cleaned and cut, ready for consumption, then chances are they will grab that bag of chips instead. Prepare healthy snacking foods ahead of time. Clean and cut fresh fruits & veggies and have them in easily accessible containers.

2. Don’t bring it in the house

Speaking of that bag of chips, lol! If we don’t want our kiddos consuming high-sugar, trans-fat-laden, processed foods, we can’t bring them into your house…let’s be honest, if we do it’s just too darn tempting.

3. Watch portion sizes

Even the healthiest, organic, GMO-free snacks can sabotage healthy eating when portion sizes are not monitored. Encourage kiddos to read the nutrition labels and take special consideration of the serving size.

4. Provide variety

Children, like adults, get bored with food easily. Have a variety of snacking foods on hand—whole fruits, veggies, hardboiled eggs, smoothies, mixed nuts, frozen bananas covered w/Pb & sprinkles, potato wedges w/ketchup, trail mix, yogurt parfaits, fruit kabobs, etc.

These almond flour, sugar-free, homemade waffle corners are a huge hit in our house:

3 cups almond flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

2 Tbs. olive oil

Mix ingredients together and follow waffle maker directions. Makes 6 waffles.

5. Choose healthy fast foods

Despite our best efforts, sometimes we do forget the snacks at home and find ourselves with a car full of hungry kiddos with back-to-back extracurricular activities. A fast-food chain might be your only option. When this happens seek heathier choices, like Chick-fil-a grilled nuggets, McDonald’s oatmeal and/or yogurt parfaits, etc.

Are your kiddos hangry after school? What’s your go-to after school snack?

January 18, 2014January 21, 2014momonthegoinholytoledo

I have decided that 2014 is the year that I will finally get rid of the baby weight. Seeing as the baby is now 3 I would say it is time. Haha! I have 15 ornery pounds that have been lingering on my body since my first pregnancy 8 years ago. Talk about annoying!!

In an effort to determine where my problems were I kept a journal of my eating and workout habits for a couple days. It didn’t take long to see where my main weakness was in my daily routine, turns out, besides my typical ‘mommy chores’ I was not working out at all!! Talk about denial, I seriously had myself convinced that my walking up and down two flights of stairs thought the day, walking Costco every other week, doing the dishes, etc. was enough of a physical workout.

Now for the good news! Turns out my eating habits are not that bad. After reviewing what I eat with the food suggested on healthy eating, cleaning, etc. websites I came to the conclusion that my eating habits are decent, even good. I was shocked! Haha! So I thought it only fair to share.

Main requirements for my snacks:

Convenience factor- I am often on the go and need a snack that can be tossed in my purse or eaten on the go.
Variety is the spice of life-my taste varies day-to-day, even hour-to-hour, haha! So I like a variety of sweet, crunch, sour, etc. snacks.
Needs to satiate- I need a snack that will help tie me over till the next meal. No empty calories. I look for snacks with fiber. That being stated I also need to satiate my mental need…if I want something sweet I will have something sweet as opposed to eating something else and then eventually caving and eating the sweet snack in addition to all those other ‘filler’ snacks.

Here are a few of my favorite snacks……

Minnie Sweet Peppers (a lot of punch for only 30 calories)

I love these with a little hummus or even just by themselves, they are so crunchy and sweet, they definitely satisfy!

Celery with Almond Butter and Chia Seed a.k.a. Ants on a Log

Adult take on a classic kids snack! This snack is packed with crunch, sweetest from the almond butter and it definitely fills you up thanks to the protein in the almond butter and fiber in the Chia seeds.

Carrot Crisps!

These are perfect for on the go moms! These are a great substitute for the crunch of a potato chip. Though these have a sweeter taste than a chip they have a powerful crunch and are a great source of fiber and vitamins. And you can just throw them in your car thanks to the individually packaged servings. I recommend doing so, since you will be less inclined to go through a drive-thru when you have a snack on hand!

Greek Yogurt, Muesli, and Honey Parfait!

This is a yummy treat that truth be told I sometimes enjoy for breakfast. It is the protein and fiber that really helps keep my blood sugar at bay and ties me over for hours and it’s the touch of honey that satiates the sweet tooth.

Brookside Dark Chocolate Acai and Blueberry flavored snacks (dark chocolate is an antioxidant)

These are perfect for those people who need to devour something sweet in the evening. Like me! You can eat up to 16 little morsels for only 170 calories! They definitely satisfy the sweet tooth and when you take your time and let the chocolate slowly melt in your mouth they last longer…making it feel like you ate more, for more of a physiological satisfaction.

Classic Golden Delicious!

God’s gift to us Momma on the go! The absolute perfect way to stabilize the blood sugars in the afternoon, give you some added energy to make it through to dinner time without losing your mind. And I love the crunch, juiciness, and delicious taste. I keep these in my car along with the Carrot crisps.

So what is your snacking temptation…salty, sweet, crunch? Do you crave something sweet in the evenings? What is your go to snack? Know of a great site or blog that has great alternatives to the high sugar, high fat, high processed snack? Please share.