What is the snack bag and why is it so important to keeping your eating healthy and on track?
In my experience I’ve found that the times when we most often go off our normal eating schedule is when we:
- are in a hurry and don’t have something healthy to eat
- are out running errands, working, etc. and the only food option around is garbage
So what’s the easiest way to stop that from happening?
PREPARATION!
The snack bag in its core essence is a container. Most often a bag that will contain your snacks for the upcoming day.
Backpacks, messenger bags, coolers, cardboard boxes, and treasure chests will also work.
Let’s take a look at what’s in my snack bag, then we’ll go over some other healthy options that you can put in yours.
- Protein shake – this is indispensable in my snack bag. A shaker bottle with a scoop or two of protein powder can be a life saver when you need a fast on the go snack. It’s also great post workout if you forget your NORMAL shake. Did I mention it won’t go bad?
- Apple – the apple is the perfect snack bag go-to fruit. It’s durable, unlike a banana, it doesn’t need special packaging (thanks for nothing berries!), and you don’t need any special tools to eat it (never put a whole pomegranate in the snack bag). Did I mention it’s packed with fiber and tastes awesome? Snack bag!
- Veggies in a sealable baggy – I love the veggie bag. Why? You don’t need to eat the entire thing at one time. Just reach in, grab a few pieces of celery or cucumber and you are good to go for a bit. I personally love celery, cucumbers, and a little green pepper. I’ve also been known to live dangerously and use the same baggie multiple days in a row…CRAZY.
- Protein bar – the last piece of my snack bag. Sometimes you want a little sweetness and the protein bar is the perfect thing to stop you from eating much, much, MUCH worse choices (what up snickers bar??). They get a little heavy on the calories and artificial ingredients so you don’t always want to be eating one of these, but they won’t go bad and when compared to some of the other things you could eat…
So that’s what I carry around in my Snack Bag. What are some other great options?
- water – I personally always have access to water, but your days might not be the same. An unopened water bottle can be huge. Note: combos well with protein shake!
- fruits other than apple – I don’t know why I even put this on here, but I GUESS you could put a bunch of berries into a Tupperware container or baggy. I mean, I guess everyone is entitled to live their lives how they want (note: berries are amazing!)
- hummus and veg – this is a great one. A small Tupperware container filled with sliced veggies and a dollop of hummus. You are pretty much on baller status.
- greek yogurt – sometimes this does go into my snack bag, but only when I know I’ll be able to eat it reasonably soon after taking it out of the fridge. Remember to bring a spoon because if not you’ll be trying to pour greek yogurt into your mouth. My “friend” said this doesn’t work that well. Not that I would ever try it…
Pick your components, put them into a flashy satchel or old and decrepit gym bag like yours truly and have easy access to your snacks for the day.
Staying true to your healthy lifestyle is all about preparation. Keep things easy at hand that are healthy and delicious and you’ll find it is much easier to avoid the temptations of drive-thrus, work lunches, or after school bad food binges.