Portable Healthy Snacks... Don't Leave Home Without Them

One of the ways I keep on track with my weight maintenance and pay attention to nutrition is by always preparing and packing my own snacks to take along when I go out.

I rarely leave the house without something in my pocket, or my purse, or my totebag.  I really hate being caught out hungry... cause if I don't eat very soon, the hunger turns to hanger, and it ain't pretty!  Ask The Captain.  I can feel the light-headedness hit and then I get woozy, and hot and kinda dizzy... very cranky and panicky for something to eat, NOW.  Usually he can tell it is coming on before I even begin to feel it, by my mood swing.

What and much I  pack depends on how long I am going to be out... and where I am headed. If I know there is a coffee or tea stop with good and suitable eats on my travels, the pack-along snack will usually be smaller, but I do take it anyway... to me it is like being prepared for an emergency, just like having some cash and a lip gloss.

So what kinds of things do I like to pack?

Fresh fruit is always a good choice for me.  Apples and bananas are my first choice, and this time of year I would add Mandarin oranges to that list because they are so easy to peel... and then oranges, apple-pears, grapefruit, plums, peaches and nectarines are good as well.  Anything firm that is not too ripe.

If I get light-headed from hunger, a piece of fruit picks me up very quickly.



I also like to pack nuts.  I bought some small plastic containers and I weigh out 1/2 ounce of nuts into them and then toss a couple of the containers into my bag on the way out the door.. they will usually remain there till I have eaten them and they need to be replaced.  I like raw nuts best... almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, and seeds, too... pumpkin and sunflower are my favorites.

Nuts have protein and fat and help satisfy my hunger till I can get something more substantial. I pack them in small enough batches so that I won't overdo eating them, and so they are a small package to take along, too.



Occasionally I pack dried fruit in my small containers... Oh! Naturals Flavoured Banana Chips are very good.  And, I like raisins, goldenberries, dried cranberries, apples, mangoes, pineapple, strawberries, papaya, cherries, coconut, and prunes, too.  The dried fruit packs a bit of sugar whallop so I don't eat too much of it at once.



Homemade trail mixes are good, too.  I like nuts and seeds, along with some dried fruit and some dark chocolate chips or mini M&Ms.  I also pack my trail mixes in small enough containers that I won't overdo the munching! But the combination of the sugar and fat and protein does satisfy my hunger quite quickly and stays with me longer than fruit alone would.



In the past, before I gave up gluten, I liked to buy the little tuna salad and cracker snacks at Costco - they come in a 6 pack.  And in the U.S. I found chicken salad and cracker packs as well. They are handy cause they come in a tidy little package along with a tiny spoon.  I used to keep a few in the glove box of my car.

Sometimes I will pack a protein bar of some kind, or a Taste of Nature fruit and nut bar, a LARABAR, or a coconut macaroon.... anything that is not just a 'cookie'.



It is important to have the right tools along as well.  If have fruit, I will take it in a plastic bag so that I have a place to put the banana peel, or the apple core.  If I have an orange or a grapefruit, I might take a peeler along.  And I usually have tissues or a napkin or wet-wipe for my dainty fingers.

So, for an example... Monday I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for 11:15 a.m. I knew it would be well past lunch time before we got home so I took along a banana in a plastic bag, and a couple of the little containers of almonds in my purse.

It was noon before we got out of the doctor's office and I needed to find a lab to have some blood drawn, so on the way there we shared the banana and some of the nuts. We didn't get home till after 1 p.m. and it was almost 1:30 by the time we sat down to eat lunch.  But it was okay because I had eaten that snack... without it, I would have had to come home and have lunch and then go to the lab, or try to find a nutritious, suitable lunch out before going to the lab, which is not always easy in a pinch.

If I know I am going to be gone for longer time, in the car, I pack along a cooler... but that is another post!

Do you pack your own snacks when you head to the gym our out for a walk, or to the mall?

What are your favorite things to take?