Snackin' Tips!

Just wanted to share some tips when it comes to snacking throughout the day! These are what have worked for me!

• Buy snacks in variety.

• 100 calorie snacks are great!
• but you can make your own by bagging up serving sizes of regular snacks

• Have snacks on deck. When you get hungry, you'll be less tempted to overeat.

• Overpack snacks when you're out.
• I am away from home from 8am-8pm during the week. I pack 6 snacks because when I'm out, I get so tempted to get fast food because I'll pass a good 10 restaurants in a 5 mile radius. I may not eat all 6 snacks but I at least know that I can eat those snacks rather than stopping to eat. Knowing that there are snacks in the car makes me less likely to want to 1) waste the perfectly good food in the car and 2) spend money when there's food already in the car.

• Plan your snacks into your day.
• By planning your snacks ahead of time, you're most likely to follow that schedule and not overeat. If you wake up and know that you're going to have breakfast, lunch, Lorna Doone cookies, peanut butter crackers, dinner, shortbread cookies, then you're more likely to not deviate from that plan. In fact, your taste buds will look forward to it. It'll make it more fulfilling.

Here are some of the snacks that I eat during the day.

• Lorna Doone
• Pretzels
• Pringles
• Rice Cakes with Caramel Drizzle
• Whole Wheat Mini Bagels
• Yogurt Parfait with Granola
• Peanut Butter Crackers
• Lays Potato Chips
• Cheetos

The mini bagels are great with cream cheese, but they are also great for sandwiches! I put some ham and cheese on them, put them in the microwave for 30 seconds, and they are a great alternative to fatty, greasy breakfast sandwiches (which I still indulge in). I also will put turkey and cheese on them for a snack sandwich throughout the day.

I'm still working on incorporating more fruit and vegetables in my diet :-/