Snacks

Is this what you think of when you think snacks? (This is a real picture of real snacks that I purchased with real money and my husband and I had the other night.  I felt so yucky after eating this stuff!)

My husband brought home the leftovers from a snack from work the other day (different from the picture above!).  It was a tray of some sort of danish or pastry with a couple of slices left over.  My kids were ecstatic!  They gobbled it up right away, and I even licked some of the frosting off of the container.  Hmmmm.... not very satisfying.  That, combined with a snack I saw at a recent meeting, got me thinking about eating when you're at work.  

It's hard, isn't it?  You're at work, slogging along (well, hopefully that's not how you feel about your job most of the time!), and then someone brings in treats.  Or you go to a meeting where food is served.  How do you know what to eat?  Should you just eat with abandon?  It IS this one time only, right???  Should you not take anything and deprive yourself of some of the pleasure that comes with sharing food with others?  Are there some options that look good?

Why do people insist on bringing in the things that are so bad for us?  Is it just an excuse to eat things that they crave?

I have experienced a really interesting phenomenon over the past few months.  Cravings that I once had and loved to give into for nutrient-lacking foods have been replaced by cravings for better-for-me foods and a stronger ability to say no to things that I know won't really do me any good.  I have become a label-reading fiend, refusing (almost every time) to buy things that aren't as close to "whole" as possible.  That means that products that have ingredient lists that are longer than just a few items are discarded immediately. 

As you saw above, I'm not 100% fiendish, and I still believe that you should treat yourself every once in a while, and also that eating feeds more than just your body, and sometimes your soul needs "comfort food."

But what about snacking?  What are some good options for snacks that you can bring for yourself, and how can you be a good example for your co-workers about what's good to eat?  

A quick disclaimer: I refuse to eat food that I don't enjoy.  For example, I really hate raw broccoli.  I'm sorry, I just do!  But I love it roasted with olive oil, salt & pepper.  So I will choose to eat roasted broccoli.  But I love raw peppers and carrots and spinach and tomatoes, for example.  So I will eat them raw because I know raw veggies are super good for me.  It's important to me for you to know that I don't advocate for eating things just because they're good for you.  I want you to love the way they taste, too.  And believe me, you *can* learn to love the taste of things you never thought you would.  Because even though I don't want you to eat things just because they're good for you, I do want you to eat things that are good for you!  Got it?

So, anyway.

Here are some things that I love to snack on.  Snacks are part of your daily diet (obviously), so they should be part of your overall intake of a variety of foods.  Raw veggies are awesome.  And they are even awesomer with a bit of dip - hummus is awesome, easy and cheap to make and full of good-for-you ingreds.  Grab a jar of roasted red peppers (or roast your own!) and blend them up with some garlic and spices.  You could then dip raw red peppers in your roasted red pepper dip.  Yummy!

How about some berries with yogurt?  How about a variation on the pb&j sandwich: berries with a scoop of nut butter?

Handful of almonds?  Love that one.  Love the flavored almonds, and you can usually find some that aren't full of 500 crazy ingredients, too.

Is it possible for you to be in charge of bringing snacks for your next work event?  Show your coworkers where your food values are and bring something out of the ordinary!  

And please remember, read the ingredients of any processed food!!!!  Low-Fat does NOT equal good for you!  Low fat chip dip has so many insane ingredients, it can absolutely not be better for your body than full fat nut butter, for example!  Our bodies were not made to process man-made ingredients and fake food and artificial ingredients!!!!!  

Better yet, bring some sort of whole food.  A real vegetable or fruit is your best bet!!!!  

Below are some snacks I purchased for a gathering last night.  For processed food, I feel OK about eating them because the ingredient lists aren't that long.

This is a brand of chips that is super yummy and has really decent ingreds.  I just bought this bag at HyVee North.

This is another super yummy cracker that my family inhales.  I feel better about eating this because it has pecan meal as the 2nd ingredient.  I really am not a fan of "natural pecan flavor and natural butter flavor," but compared to other brands of crackers out there, this one is much better!



If you need more ideas for snacks, let me know!  There are tons!  Happy snacking!