Healthier snacking while at work or on the go

Hello beautiful people,

I wanted to share with you some of my favorite snacks to keep at work if I get munchies or hungry. Some of these I keep in my purse for on the go so I do not get trapped into bad eating. These change so that I do not get bored. But I just restocked the cabinet at work today so I figured to share with you.

1. Oat Fit maple and brown sugar oatmeal with flax. 100 calories 3g of protein, 12 g of fiber, 1g of sugar and 9% sodium.

2. Multigrain Rice Crackers with sea salt 130 cal, 2g of protein, 1g of sugar,  6% of sodium per 16 crackers. I sometimes eat these with freshly maid hummus.

3. Kale Chips 95 calories, 4g of protein, 4g of sugar, 12% sodium per half a bag. I buy these at Kroger sometimes but this specific one I bought at Marshalls for $3.99 and its the best one yet.

4. Dry Roasted Edamame 130 cal, 14g of protein, 8g of fiber, 1g of sugar, 3% sodium. This has 40% more protein than peanuts. Can be found here

5. Baked Goldfish Pretzel 130 cal, 3g of protein, less than 1g of sugar, 18% of sodium per 43 pieces.

6. Low Sodium Rice Cakes 40 calories, 1 gram of protein, and 0% sodium. I spread peanut butter on them with honey or raisins.

7. Pure Protein Bars 180-200 calories (varies by flavor of bar) 19-22g of protein, 3g of sugar, 2g of fiber, 4% sodium. I love these. I have them for breakfast with coffee, post workout, or when I am really hungry but will not be home to eat soon enough lol. I always carry one in my purse. I get a variety pack here.

8. Apples I always have an apple around. I snack on them all the time. I sometimes slice them and dip into peanut butter.

9. Earth Balance natural peanut butter and flaxseed 190 cal, 2g of sugar, 7g of protein per 2 Tbsp of serving. Its high in Omega-3. I spread this on my rice cakes, dip my apples in it or just eat a spoon of it alone 🙂 Buy at Kroger or here.

10. Dark chocolate I LOVE chocolate. Its worth every penny to me to get good quality chocolate. This one is 170 cal, 2g of protein, 0 % sodium. I have this when I have a really sweet tooth, its gluten and dairy free. No artificial anything. I love it! I am a firm believe in you get what you pay for, same goes for good tasting food. I buy this at Kroger for $1.97 or a box of 12 on amazon for $6.30 here.

11. Horizon low fat organic milk for my morning cereal days. I buy this for the kids too since it doesn’t have to be refrigerated, good for lunchboxes and travel. I buy it at Kroger when they have 10 for $10 or on Amazon here.

If you have Amazon prime and plan ahead you can always get better deals on healthier food. We order a lot of our stuff through amazon.

  
  

I also bring fresh vegetables and fruits and keep them in the fridge.

What do you guys like to snack on?

Groceries and Meals for the Week

I thought I’d share one week example of my groceries and family meals. I change it up every week and of course depending on the season. During fall and winter crock pot is a life saver so a lot of the meals are made in the crock pot…spring and summer we fire up the grill for whatever we can. Oh how I love summer. I have posted here before that Sunday is groceries and meal prep day. I dice whatever I can, clean the fruits, and store in fridge for week ahead. Saves me on prep time. I grill chicken to use in other recipes however I NEVER reheat chicken in the microwave, only on stove. Reheated chicken in microwave REAKS! I do not know if its the high temp on short time or what but its gross.

CLICK HERE FOR Grocery ListPDF

Monday

Grill!!

We grilled steak garnished with parsley and garlic with side of grilled Zucchini and avocado. I also had my husband grill chicken wings for the boys they prefer it more than steak. I also had him grill the chicken breast for Tuesday….

Tuesday

Made this up lol

Diced onions, diced sweet peppers, diced zucchini, sautéed on a table spoon of olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, paprika. Then add tablespoon of flour stir. Add 1 ½ cup of vegetable stock. Add diced grilled chicken, simmer 5-10 minutes. Serve with brown rice or quinoa. Dinner done in 30 minutes or less 😊

  

 

Wednesday

Chicken kielbasa and kale pasta. Recipe posted before here.

Thursday 

Grilled chicken breast and cut into strips. (This is another big package of chicken so half will be saved for Friday) Cut remaining of sweet peppers length wise, whole onion, 1 clove of garlic. Toss on high head for 5 minutes or less, just to sear it. Mix with grilled chicken and season with fajita seasoning mix or any seasonings you like. Serve with rice or Quiona. I totally failed and forgot to snap a picture but I am sure everyone has seen fajitas before 😂.

Friday

 Salad – cold chicken breast cubed on fresh spinach or whatever lettuce I have hanging around. Cooked and cooled quinoa, boiled egg, mashed avocado, tomatoes and cucumbers. I had some corn and beans in the pantry.  Seasoned with rice vinegar. It’s scarp Friday, whatever we have left over toss it together and make it a salad.

Breakfasts we usually have smoothies, pancakes, omelets. Lunches we have left overs from dinner or I make salads, egg salads, tuna salads. Fresh fruits and veggies at lunch as well. My older son gets sandwiches fruits and veggies, cliff bars, baked chips or sometimes he just eats school lunch. Each week changes. I rarely repeat the same food in the same month. I am not a chef by any means, I cook with my heart. I do not know proper chef verbiage so please excuse if there are funny errors. I make up recipes all the time. Hope this helps someone with planning. It saves us a ton money not eating out and we eat wholesome foods. I buy whatever I can organic, I’d rather spend more money for quality foods then eat out and have shortcuts. I buy rice, dry beans, olive oil, healthy snacks for boys (granola bars, baked chips, chocolate (yes they eat chocolate)) seasonings and whatever else household items in bulk at Sam’s so we do not have to restock weekly. Because I prep ahead dinner is ready and severed by 6 or 6:30 pm, we eat together as family and we have the rest of the night to do whatever :-).  Boys love it. We eat out or order in on Saturdays but it’s usually Chinese.

I would love to hear your ideas or work week tactics. Tips are always welcome so please share!

Whats on my menu today

Sorry I do not post often. I try to post at least 1-2 posts a week, that’s all I can make time for lol. After all I am a busy mom in a busy world 😉 Today I snapped pictures of my food intake for the day and wanted to share with you all. Maybe it gives you an idea to try something new 🙂

Breakfast

Berry Kale Smoothie 1/2 C. fresh or frozen blueberries 6 oz. plain or vanilla Greek yogurt (I use Danon) 1/2 C. almond milk, coconut milk, or milk (I use lactose free for me) 1-2 C. fresh kale and/or spinach 1 scoop of Pure Protein Whey Powder (Especially if I plan on working out in the morning) Blend away!!! So YUM!

Snack

Mid morning snack. Peanut Butter and honey rice cake. Rice cake I buy at Aldi by Fit and Active. Peanut butter I use Earth Balance natural butter and flaxseed. Its 190 Cal per tablespoon but I barely use 1 tablespoon. Sometimes I add honey or half a banana sliced.

Lunch Protein Power Bowl Salad 1 cup of Quinoa ( I cook it according to package instructions except instead of water I use Vegetable stock it gives it a better flavor) Handful of baby spinach 1 boiled egg diced 1 small-medium avocado diced 2 mini sweet red bell peppers diced couple of cherry tomatoes halved ( I was out last night so did not use it this time) Dressing: 2 oz of rice vinegar, dash of olive oil and salt and pepper. Mix all together and enjoy.

Afternoon Snack Apple 🙂

Dinner Pinto bean soup. 3 cups of dry pinto beans soaked 30 minutes then cook 30 minutes in water only then drained. 1 whole Vidalia onion finely chopped. 2 garlic cloves minced 2 whole carrots diced 1 stalk of celery diced 2-4 small sweet belle peppers diced 2 quarts vegetable stock plus extra water if needed. 2 whole tomatoes finely diced 2 tablespoons of olive oil salt, pepper, paprika and any other seasoning that you may like In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion, celery, carrot, peppers, and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper (and other seasonings you like), to taste. Add the diced tomatoes, drained beans and vegetable stock. Bring to boil then cook on low heat 30-40 minutes. If you like you can add chicken or beef kielbasa you would dice it and sauté it  with the veggies in the beginning. I like to add diced avocado or fresh spinach to mine right before I eat it. (Avocado addict here lol) I cook it ahead its better the next day.

 

Now I am going to go work this off 🙂