Snack Ideas
I apologize because it’s been FOREVER since I’ve posted on here. I could say that I’m far too busy taking care of a baby and seeing clients, but really it ultimately comes down to intention. Blogging takes work and time—something I don’t always want to invest 🤪. I do NOT understand how some bloggers post multiple times a week (or even some, every day!!). Major props to those people.
I get questions about snack ideas, so I thought I would compile a list of ideas for you. Please remember that ANY food can be a snack food. There are no rules about what “counts” as a snack versus a meal or dessert. YOU get to decide what you want to eat whenever you get hungry. The purpose of a snack is simply to get you through until your next meal without getting overly hungry. So what and how much you choose depends on when your next meal is, how long it’s been since you last ate, and what you last ate. If it’s been 3 hours since I last ate and I still have 2 more hours until my husband gets home for dinner, I’m going to eat a much more substantial snack than if I only have 30 more minutes until meal time (and yes, I will eat a snack even if dinner is in 30 minutes. Hanger can hit in 30 minutes). Or a night time snack typically isn’t as substantial because I’m not as hungry from having dinner somewhat recently.
But guys, you do what works best for YOU! Use this list simply as an idea—the amount is up to you. And if you’re wondering, yes, I typically aim for a carb and fat/protein at each snack to help with satiety and blood sugar stabilization.
So here you go! And if you notice a lot of peanut butter references, really everything I eat is just a vehicle for peanut butter. 😉
This granola (I actually half the amount of nuts, but you do you) with milk and banana slices
Cheese, turkey, and crackers…I HIGHLY recommend Aldi’s "specialty select” rosemary scalloped crackers with their goat cheese. Aldi is the place to go for yummy and affordable cheeses.
Muffin or slice of bread with nut butter or butter. Every week I make a baked goodie or two. Here’s my current favorite pumpkin banana bread, vegan banana bread (with chocolate chips added, duh) , almond flour banana bread, apple crumble snack bars
Leftover pancake with nut butter and banana (you can find my whole wheat pancake recipe here)
Yogurt parfait (use full fat yogurt, trust me) with yogurt, fruit, and granola or nuts…I personally LOVE the Green Mountain Top Creamery 5% plain yogurt with honey and peanut butter mixed in.
Cottage cheese + fruit
Fruit + cheese stick
Dinner leftovers (this is great when you don’t have enough leftovers for a full meal)
Gosh, I love Papa Murphy’s pizzas….
Toast with avocado and egg or deli meat
Baked good—cookie, piece of cake, brownie, etc. I’ve shared before, but these brownies are bomb…
Protein or granola bar + fruit (a few of my favorite brands are RX bars, Perfect Bars, Nature Valley granola, Luna peanut butter protein, Clif peanut butter, KIND nut ones)
Homemade lara bars…
Smoothie that has some sort of protein powder or nut butter for some staying power
Coffee smoothie (cold brew, frozen banana, date) with collagen peptides.
Juice plus chocolate powder with banana, peanut butter, milk, and ice topped with more peanut butter and banana bread crumbles.
Leftover roasted veggies + cottage cheese
Popcorn + nuts/cheese
Hope this gives you some inspiration. I’d love to hear what snacks YOU enjoy!!
Mediterranean Banza Bowl
Alright, you guys, you need to make this ASAP! And this is not a false alarm. This bowl is super delicious, full of fresh flavors and different textures. Make it and your tastebuds will thank me.
I am an ambassador with Banza (what does that even mean? I don’t really know…but I’ll take the fancy title) and they sent me a bag of their new chickpea “rice”. I’m not gonna lie, I was a little skeptical. Come on now, why we gotta be messing with rice? There’s absolutely nothing wrong about eating rice (because there’s no morality attached to food) and rice provides nutrition that other grains don’t. Variety is the spice of life and the thing that ensures we get all the nutrients we need.
Anyways, so I was little irritated that they were trying to replace rice. But THEN I tried it. And loved it. It definitely doesn’t replace rice, but it’s another delicious food to add to my life. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t eat many chickpeas/beans, so Banza products allow for me to have more food groups in my life more easily. So I would encourage eating rice AND this Banza rice, because both are delicious. I’d compare it to orzo pasta, and I’m a fan or orzo recipes.
The great thing about this recipe is that you can make all the components one day and then keep them in your fridge for several days of lunches or dinners. Woohoo for easily assembled meals!!
I’m going to do some more recipe testing with the rice and I’m super pumped about it…okay, I need to tone it down a bit. But I really did enjoy it.
In other news, Isaac had the flu this past week, so we’ve quarantined him and I’ve been solo parenting. Phew it’s hard work! Single moms, you are super heroes…Thankfully after several days of doing it alone and hanging out by myself in the evenings, my in-laws came to watch Cam for a few hours so I could workout out 🙌🏻 and get some coffee and work on this post. It’s the little self-care actions in life that make all the difference. 😉I’d love to hear what you guys think of Banza’s new rice, this recipe, and what you’ve been up to lately!! Thankful for all of you and your support. 🤓
Mediterranean Banza Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
- 1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped
- 1/3-1/2 cup cucumber chopped
- 1/3 cup black olives, sliced
- 2 Tbsp red onions, diced
- 1/4 heaping tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 3/4 tsp dried dill
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 3/4-1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- pinch pepper
- 1 Tbsp FINELY diced cucumber
- 1/4 tsp dried dill
- 1.5 lb chicken, diced into 1” cubes
- 3 tsp minced garlic (5 cloves)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Juice from one lemon
- Feta
- Hummus
- Banza rice
Instructions
- Combine all of the chicken souvlaki ingredients in a bowl or Ziploc bag and marinade for 30 minutes or up to one day.
- Cook Banza rice according to package.
- Combine all of the tomato cucumber salad ingredients and allow flavors to combine while preparing the rest of the dish.
- Combine all of the ingredients for the tzatziki sauce and add more lemon juice, dill, salt, or garlic according to preference.
- Turn the oven to broil and place chicken in a dish with sides (lots of juices!). Broil on high for 6-8 minutes (checking halfway through) or until chicken is cooked through.
- Build bowl by placing rice on bottom, adding chicken, tomato cucumber salad, tzatziki, feta, and hummus.
- Enjoy!!
Chicken souvlaki recipe comes from GimmeSomeOven and is one of my favorite recipes
Savory butternut squash pasta
You know what I’ve been digging lately? Pasta. Growing up, we never really ate pasta. And then in my eating disorder days, pasta had too many carbs for my brain to feel safe with, so I rarely ever ate it. If I did, it had to have a ton of veggies in it so that I felt full with as few pasta noodles at possible (I originally put “pasta” here, haha). So really it was veggies with some noodles. I now realize how sad that is, because pasta is delish. As I found more freedom with food, we still never ate pasta because it wasn’t something I was accustomed to eating. But THEN! THEN we went to Italy and I had the most delicious pasta dishes ever. 😍I didn’t think I liked Italian food, but boy was I wrong! Real Italian food is the best thing ever. We could learn a thing or two from those genius Italians. :-)
So now, as I’m meal planning each week, we pretty much have some sort of pasta dish every week. It’s easy, versatile, and delicious. We’ve been experimenting with different types of sauces and meats, shapes of pasta, and pasta ingredients. Sometimes we have whole wheat pasta, other times white pasta from Italy, and others, Banza pasta. Banza pasta is made from chickpeas, so it’s naturally gluten free. I’ve tried a few gluten free pastas in my days, and they are NOT all created equal. 😳Although Banza’s pasta has a different texture than regular flour pasta, Isaac and I really like it! It’s nice and hearty and holds up well, unlike other mushy GF pastas. I also like that it adds variety to my food intake. We don’t eat a ton of beans, so this easily adds another food group into our weekly intake. And because it’s made with chickpeas, I don’t have to plan a meat in order for it to have protein. Because if you follow me, you know I’m all about having protein, carbs, fat, and fiber at my meals (yay for satisfaction and satiety). It also makes throwing together a quick meal easy when I don’t have a plan for dinner and don’t want to go get additional ingredients.
Banza thinks that most new years resolutions (which I don’t personally do) are too serious, too stressful, and too hard to stick to. And I completely agree. They also think that in order to enhance your health and life, you don’t have to make life worse. I’m gonna argue that if your new “health” behavior is making life more stressful and less enjoyable, then it probably isn’t actually healthy. As a result, their current campaign is #ResolveToEatMorePasta and that is a resolution I can get behind 🤓.
You can technically make this recipe with any pasta you prefer. And serve it with a meat of choice, if you like. We ate this one night with pre-cooked chicken sausage for more flavor and texture. Prep your veggies and bacon (the bacon is key for giving it a savory, smokey flavor 😍) and roast them until fork tender. Meanwhile, soak your cashews in water and boil your pasta. Once the veggies are done, puree them with the softened cashews, nutritional yeast (or cream cheese, if you prefer!), and enough chicken broth to create a smooth sauce. Mix with your cooked and drained pasta, and viola! You’ve got a delicious lunch or dinner that is packed full of nutrition and flavor. I’d love to hear what you think of it when you try it!
Also, this sauce is delicious, so you could totally just add more chicken broth to it to eat as a soup, or you could put it on other carbs like rice or spread on toast. :-)
