Sound familiar?
I’m a busy woman; I’m planning a wedding, checking guest’s lists, picking china patterns and fighting crime. I don’t have time to fix healthy meals! I’ll just swing right around this drive-thru and be done with it.
Sure you’ve got a hectic schedule (being a modern woman and all) and the temptation to munch a few greasy fries or onion rings while you run errands becomes harder to resist when you’re on the go. Before you waste your calories on that chocolate chip muffin (muffins for breakfast = muffin top on your wedding day!) you may want to keep a list on hand of 10 grab-and-go snacks that will help you meet your healthy lifestyle goals. These snacks are light, quick and easy to make find at the grocery store; no excuses ladies! All you need is the ability to open your fridge door!
- Toasted Almonds – Almonds = protein, fiber, healthy fat and a hot bride!
- Hummus and Veggies – Mmm-hmm hummus! Slice up a few sticks of celery, carrot sticks or any other crunchy veggie you love to dip with about 1/4 cup of hummus in a container that you can grab out of the fridge on your way out. Hummus and veggies make a delicious high fiber, high protein mini-meal.
- Frozen Grapes – Take a bunch of grapes and stick them in the freezer for an icy treat that comes in handy, especially in summer. Frozen grapes are a good pre-wedding snack food as well.
- Popcorn – Hold the extra salt and the butter please! Air-popped popcorn is a healthy alternative to movie popcorn that tends to be over salted and buttered to death. If you can’t kick the buttery habit, try lightly spraying popcorn with olive oil (the key word here is lightly). Olive oil is full of healthy fats like monounsaturated fatty acids.
- Plain Non-fat Greek Yogurt – It may sound a little boring and plain but add some blueberries or strawberries – and voilà – a tasty and dazzling snack high in fiber and a full dairy serving.
- Sugar-free gelatin – Try your favorite color gelatin alone or with cottage cheese and add a sprinkle of sliced almonds. If nothing else, it looks like something fun to eat!
- Salsa and Celery – Quick easy salsa recipe- 3/4 cup chopped red onion , 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro , 1 diced fresh tomato, 1(10-ounce) can diced tomatoes with lime juice and cilantro, un-drained , 1 garlic clove. Place all ingredients in a blender and chop till smooth. Add the juice from 1/2 lime and you have tasty quick easy salsa to take around with you. See how quick that was?
- Low-fat Cheese Cubes and Apple Slices – This is the favorite snack of kindergarten kids everywhere, and the new favorite snack of brides on-the-go. Green apples have less sugar content those red apples, so keep that in mind when shopping for apples.
- Fruit Salad – Add bananas, apples, grapes, pineapple, strawberries and blueberries in a bowl chilled to perfection; we can taste it now! A little fruit salad can also spice (or sweeten up) that boring plain low fat Greek yogurt we talked about in number 5 (sorry Greek yogurt).
- Dark Chocolate – The coup de grâce of low fat snacks! Let’s be honest, we’re still women here. We’d be hard-pressed to go through out a week with no sweets of any kind. Dark Chocolate is a perfect after dinner snack, as dieticians have stated that ending a healthy meal with a healthy sweet, tricks your mind into being content and officially “ending” your meal. Dark Chocolate is rich in antioxidants, good for your heart, helps manage blood sugar and contains an array of minerals (you had us at hello, dark chocolate). A little sweet never hurt anyone and if a bit of dark chocolate is all there is that stands between you and a full bridal meltdown, take a bite of chocolate.