Some people prep their meals each week, but the only thing I consistently prep are healthy, fast snacks for my son and me. If I don’t prep my snacks ahead of time, this is the time when I’m more likely to eat something I might regret out of pure hunger.
I love to indulge in a pastry from time to time, but I find that nine times out of ten if I have a healthy snack with me I’ll go for that first.
Since I’m all about no-fuss snacks, most of the prep actually happens on my weekly grocery run where I pick up healthy items that are ready to go as-is. And for the items that do require a little hands-on prep, I portion them out on Mondays so that all I have to do is reach in the fridge for something that’s ready to grab and go as we head out the door. Here are my favorites:
Snag a bunch of grapes.
At the start of each week I usually pickup a large container of grapes, wash them well, and then I will keep most attached to the vine for myself and halve or quarter a few servings for my three year old. If your kids are older this of course isn’t necessary, but if they’re closer to my kiddo’s age I find prepping these ahead of time is super helpful since they’re a little time consuming.
Don’t forget baby carrots & hummus.
I’m also a huge fan of sliced red peppers with my hummus, but to keep your prep minimal, grab a bag of baby carrots on your next grocery trip – some places even sell individual packs like this if you want to make your life extra easy. I’ve seen hummus sold in individual servings as well, but I do my best to just portion out a container into smaller Tupperware containers for the week. When you bring this kind of a snack along make sure you either eat it rather quickly or bring something with to keep anything perishable cold!
Always have granola bars on hand.
If you haven’t hopped on the granola bar train, welcome aboard! My purse is never without granola bars for both myself or my son. We each have our favorite kinds, I’m all about the Lemon Luna Bars and he loves the Nature Valley Oats & Honey Bars. I cannot tell you how many times they have saved us both when we’re out at the playground or stuck on a delayed subway ride. It’s also nice to have non-perishable items that you can buy in bulk and always have on hand.
Bring on blueberries, our favorite superfood!
I’m honestly not too sure where I’d be as a mom without blueberries. My son has been obsessed with them since he first started eating and it’s a rare occasion when he goes a day without eating them. I love that they require no prep aside washing and portioning, and honestly we easily crush a small container in a day so sometimes I’ll just pack that with us.
Chocolate-free trail mix.
I’ve got a few favorite trail mixes from both Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, and I love that they both have most of their best sellers available in both one large bag or individual servings. This makes healthy, protein packed snacking ten times easier. While I love a good, sweet trail mix, I try to save that for dessert times rather than snacking throughout the day. The key for me to a energizing trail mix is mostly nuts with a bit of dried fruit.
Fruit with a skin or peel.
Mandarins, clementines, apples or bananas are consumed regularly in our household. These types of fruits make getting out the door super easy so long as you wash anything with a skin when you get home from the grocery store. We love these kinds of fruits for a number of reasons, but with kids we especially love that they are fairly mess free when you’re on the go! I always try to place these in my bag last to avoid any unintentional bruising, but other than that, these fruits are easy peasy.
What are some of your go-to, never leave the house without kind of snacks?
