I need healthy snack alternatives because I am a chronic snacker.

 

Grabbing single serve snacks on the go is so easy.  I love my snacks. BUT, I am sick of eating crappy junk food that makes me feel bloated and unhealthy.

 

I was eating little bags of Cheetos and Doritos. It just makes me feel like I am fueling myself with junk.

 

Don’t get me wrong, Cheetos and Doritos have their place. However, their place is not for everyday eating. 

 

Pre-packaged snacks are so convenient for on the go. Unfortunately, so many brands have unnecessary ingredients with extra carbs, fat, and sodium. Thankfully, there are some brands that are pre-packaged AND have good ingredients. You just need to know which ones they are. 

 

So, I made it my mission to find healthy snack alternatives that we all can eat every day. Where we won’t feel bad about ourselves after we eat them.

 

The first thing we have to do is learn how to read a nutrition label. 

 

 

Nutrition Label Reading

 

Nutrition facts are based on a single serving. Check out the serving size so that you know how much to eat in a single serving. It’s okay to eat more than the serving size, you just have to multiply the nutrition fact numbers by the number of servings you consume. 

 

Calories

 

Calories are great to track if you are trying to lose weight. It really makes you think, is the calorie amount worth the serving size? Is it going to fill me up for a while or just 5 minutes?

 

Carbohydrates

 

Carbohydrates (carbs for short) is a fancy word for sugar. On a nutrition label, there are total carbohydrates, sugars, and fiber. It is good to check out how many carbs are in the food you are consuming. Typically, in a 2,000-calorie diet, women should consume 225 to 325 grams of carbohydrates a day. If you are tracking carbs, keep your eye on this fact. 

 

Protein

 

Protein is so important for the body as it’s needed for cell repair and growth. Women should be consuming 50-60 grams of protein per day. If you are exercising, you will need to up that amount so that your muscles can recover, repair, and grow.  

 

Fat

 

Then there is total fat, saturated fat and trans-fat. Saturated and trans-fat are not good for you. Try to eat food that has a total fat of 3 grams per serving or less. 

 

Cholesterol

 

If you have to monitor your cholesterol, keep an eye on the cholesterol facts on the label. 

 

Sodium

 

Sodium is also an important one to check out when reading the nutrition label. Most Americans consume way too much sodium. We should only be having 2,300 mg or less per day. Emphasis on the less. 

 

Ingredients

 

Definitely check out the ingredients list on the nutrition label. My rule of thumb? If you don’t know what the ingredient is, don’t eat it. If you are serious about eating healthy, research the ingredients in the snacks that you are eating. That will persuade you to try these healthy snack alternatives. 

 

 

Doritos/Cheetos/Potato chips 

 

Instead of eating Doritos, Cheetos, Lay’s potato chips, etc. try having Quest Tortilla Style Protein Chips. 

 

One bag is 140 calories and about 20 grams of protein. They only have 4 grams of carbs. 

These are great for on the go and if you are trying to meet a protein consumption goal. 

 

You can get them at Walmart, and they come in a four pack, six pack, and eight pack of single serving bags. 

 

Quest Protein Chips come in BBQ, Chili Lime, Nacho Cheese, Loaded Taco, Ranch, Spicy Sweet Chili, Sour Cream Onion, and Cheddar flavor. 

 

You can’t go wrong with high protein, low carb. 

 

Brands to avoid:

→ Pringles

→ Cheetos

→ Doritos

→ Funyuns

→ Ruffles

→ Fritos

 

Instead try:

→ Quest Chips

→ Popchips

→ Harvest Snaps – Lightly Salted Snack Crisps

→ Siete Family Foods Chip Tortilla

 

 

Popcorn

 

Popcorn can be a really healthy snack to have. But some of the bagged popcorn you get at the store can be loaded with extra salt, seasoning, cheese, and butter. Obviously, the healthiest way to eat popcorn is without any added butter or salt. However, that can be plain and boring. & it can be inconvenient to pop a microwave bag of popcorn and then pack it for a snack at work. Let’s look at some healthier brands of pre-bagged popcorn. 

 

Brands to avoid:

→ Smartfood Popcorn

→ Angie’s Boom Chicka Pop Sweet and Salty Kettle Corn

 

Instead try:

→ Skinny Pop Popcorn

→ LesserEvil Himalayan Gold Popcorn

→ Pipcorn Sea Salt Popcorn

  

 

Protein bars

 

Protein bars are a great way to easily increase your protein intake without having to use protein powder. However, not all protein bars are good for you. A lot of them can have added sugars that we really don’t need in our lives. 

 

Brands to avoid: 

→ Quaker Protein Baked Bars 

→ Kellog’s FiberPlus Antioxidants Protein Chewy Bars 

→ Nutri Grain Cereal Bars 

→ Nature Valley Energy Granola Bars 

→ MET-Rx ProteinPlus Protein Bars 

→ Gatorade Whey Protein Bar 

→ Planters Original Peanut Bar 

→ PowerBar ProteinPlus – Chocolate Brownie 

→ Fiber One Protein

 

Instead try: 

→ Glutino Gluten Free Blueberry Breakfast Bar 

→ Clif Organic Trail Mix Bar

→ General Mills Food Should Taste Good Real Good Bar

→ Larabar Cashew Cookie

 

 

Peanut butter/cheddar sandwich crackers

 

Pre-made peanut butter/cheddar crackers are filled with high fructose corn syrup and a bunch of other ingredients that I don’t know. Remember, if you don’t know ingredients, don’t eat them. 

 

Brands to avoid:

→ Austin Peanut Butter Crackers

→ Ritz Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers

→ Lance ToastChee Cheddar Sandwich Crackers

→ Keebler Club & Cheddar Sandwich Crackers

 

Instead try:

→ Quest Nutrition Peanut Butter Protein Cookie

→ Back to Nature Cookies – Peanut Butter Creme

→ Simple Mills Nut Butter Stuffed Sandwich Cookies – Creamy Peanut Butter (gluten free)

 

 

Cheez Its

 

I love a good Cheez-It. While they are not that bad for you, they still have 24 grams of carbohydrates and 11 grams of fat in each single serve pouch. Ouch, that’s a lot. 

 

Brand to avoid:

→ Cheez-Its

 

Instead try:

→ Quest Cheese Crackers Cheddar Blast

→ Simple Mills Almond Flour Crackers – Farmhouse Cheddar (gluten free)

→ Sargento 100% Cheese Crisps, Cheddar

 

 

Packaged Cookies

 

The facts are that cookies are not healthy. While there are healthier options, they are not healthy in general. But that doesn’t mean we can’t indulge in a cookie once in a while. To make it even better, we can ditch the brands that are significantly high in sugar and unknown ingredients and go with low sugar, better ingredient cookies. 

 

Brands to avoid:

→ Keebler E.L. Fudge Elfwich Double Stuffed Cookies

→ OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

→ Chips Ahoy! Original Chocolate Chip Cookies

→ Vanilla Creme Wafer Cookies

 

Instead try:

→ Back to Nature Chocolate Chunk Cookies

→ Highkey Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten free, keto friendly, & comes in tons of different types of cookies)

→ Catalina Crunch Chocolate Vanilla Keto Sandwich Cookies 

→ Glutino Gluten Free Chocolate Vanilla Creme Cookies

 

 

What habit can I replace snacking with?

 

→ Listening to music

→ Watching tv

→ Reading a book

→ Taking a walk

 

Basically, anything that keeps you away from the fridge and pantry.

 

 

What can I snack on to curb my appetite?

 

The key to snacking is to actually eat something nutritious,

That way, if you are snacking for a while, it isn’t just junk and it will actually do some good for your body.

However, try not to eat mindlessly. If you are snacking, try to grab a set amount (not the whole bag) and don’t go back for seconds. Also, slow down your eating. Chew slowly. 

Some good snacks to curb your appetite are:

→ Veggies with hummus or guacamole

→ Bananas slices with peanut butter

→ Apple slices with peanut butter

→ Unsalted nuts (or lightly salted!)

→ Reduced fat cheese

→ Yogurt with fruit

→ Homemade trail mix

→ Homemade salsa or guacamole with pita chips

 

 

What foods satisfy cravings?

 

Well, it definitely depends on what type of food you are craving. 

 

Craving something sweet? This means that your blood glucose levels might be imbalanced. Try eating any kind of fruit.

 

Craving chocolate? This means that you need more magnesium. Instead of eating chocolate, try eating pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashews, or peanuts.

 

Craving something salty? Salt cravings usually happen when you are bored or stressed (unless you have a medical condition or sodium deficiency). When these cravings happen, direct your attention elsewhere. If you need to eat something, cut up some veggies and have those with hummus or a yogurt-based dip. 

 

 

Conclusion

 

We all know eating healthy can be hard. Not everyone has time to prepare fresh fruits and veggies for snacks every day. That’s why I came up with this list of healthy snack alternatives that are prepackaged, where you can easily grab them out of the pantry and go right to work. 

 

These are healthier snacks that won’t leave you feeling bloated, unfueled or guilty. 

 

Email [email protected] and let us know how you feel after trying these simple healthy snack alternatives.