Fun Friday: Fifteen EZ, Breezy Snack Ideas!

Hi all! First, thanks for you comments/support re: my post race blues.

But enough about me... let's talk about YOU, and you're questions to Nutrition Gal back in Late June. She answered ~five of them a few weeks ago here.  This week's question comes from Whitney at Running With Whit:

Whitney: I'm curious as to what the best snack foods are for active women.  I can't make it through the work day without some snacks but would like to make better choices that help fuel me for evening workouts.  Thanks for organizing this for us!

Nutrition Gal: Hi! I will provide a list of excellent snacks for active women.  However, it is CRUCIAL to note that the appropriate serving sizes of these snacks will depend upon:   1) your age, 2) intensity level of workouts, 3) duration of workouts, and 4) the #of days/week you train. 

I cannot stress this enough!   This is where most individuals make the mistake of overeating, usually b/c of lack of knowledge and fear of “not having enough fuel for workouts.”  This will cause you to gain weight/fat! 

Also, you should eat small meals/snacks every 2 ½-3 hours, period…without fail…end of subject.  Am I clear;-)

This is vital to ensure that your metabolism becomes efficient throughout the day.  If you space your meals more than 3 ½ hrs apart your body will begin to burn muscle and store fat; this is b/c, over time, your body goes into “starvation mode” (and slows down metabolically) as a direct result of going too long between meals! 

15 Convenient Snack Choices for the “Work-Day”

A sampling of good snacks, which are easy or portable 

1.     1 Light N Fit/Activia Yogurt or ½ C NF Cottage cheese + ½ C cantaloupe/berries/pineapple + 6 almonds

2.      Mission Life Balance Tortilla or La Tortilla Factory 100 Cal Wrap + ½ Tb Peanut/Almond Butter + Red-Sugar Jam

3.     Light string cheese + 12 Snyder Sourdough Nibblers or Reduced Fat Wheat Thins + Plum or Nectarine

4.      10 Snyder Sourdough Nibbler Pretzels +  2Tbsp Hummus + Raw Broc/Caul/BPepper + light string cheese

5.     ½ Whole wheat bagel w/ hummus, lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, onion

6.     16 oz Jamba Juice “All Fruit” or “Light” Smoothie- not 24oz!  2 whey protein boosts added

7.      Tall Iced NF Latte or Tall Coffee Frappucino Light (add ½ Scoop BSN Lean Dessert Protein Powder) + nectarine or apple

8.      Small NF frozen Yogurt w/ 1 Tb nuts & berries

9.      Yoplait Parfait + ½ C Berries + 1 Tb Peanuts 

10. Clif Z Bar or ½ Clif Builder Bar + small apple or plum

11.  Hard Boiled Egg + 12 Reduced Fat Wheat Thins or 12 Snyder Pretzel Nibblers or ½ C brown rice

12.  NuGo Choc-Banana Bar 

13.  ½ C black beans, ½ C cooked brown rice, salsa

14.  1 apple, sliced  or ½ Banana + 1Tb Peanut Butter

15.  2/3 Trader Joe’s Oatmeal Complete Packet + water- add 1 Tb choc chips after cooking! Cures a sweet tooth!

There ya have it, straight from a Registered Dietician's mouth! I linked many of the products so you had an idea of what the packaging looked like. 
My personal fav's are the Yoplait parfait's, Lite string cheese with pretzels, Tortilla Factory Wrap w/ almond butter, and NuGo Bars. And the portion sizes are KEY.

Now my question to you: Have you had any of these? And What's YOUR favorite snack?

Happy Friday folks!