Quick & Easy Snacks

Wow, I have definitely neglected this blog for quite a while but with good reason.
I was SO busy in September & October with my little sister's wedding & right after that I found out that I was PREGNANT!
We are incredibly excited & Tyler cannot wait to be a Daddy (& me neither!)
But as a lot of you know with pregnancy comes SICKNESS - nausea, exhaustion, etc.
So.. to be completely honest I have not been amazing in the eating department lately. Meaning I just ate whatever I could keep down at that moment in time. Not necessarily meaning BAD things but meaning maybe just ONE apple or some saltine crackers. lol.

With that being said.. I wanted to share with you some quick and easy snacks & foods that are a staple around here.

Light String Cheese
Low Fat Cottage Cheese (props to those of you who can handle Fat Free)
Triscuits (we love the cracked pepper & olive oil kind)
Eggs, of course
Whole Wheat bread (I love the kind by Aspen Mills - the fewer ingredients the better!)
Apples, Bananas, and any other fruit I can get my hands on
Celery
Natural Peanut Butter (CRUNCHY!)
PICKLES!
Greek Yogurt
Tuna (light, canned in water)
Almonds (I get the raw unsalted from Costco)
Pistachios (I get the original or salt & pepper from Costco)
GNC Amplified Whey protein powder

A few snack ideas with these items:

*Cottage Cheese on Triscuits
*String Cheese & a piece of fruit
*Apple slices dipped in peanut butter
*Celery with peanut butter
*Whole wheat bread toasted with peanut butter & sliced banana
*Scrambled eggs on whole wheat toast
*Greek yogurt with fruit & 1/4 cup cheerios
*Tuna on crackers
*Tuna on whole wheat bread with pickles
*Banana Protein shake - milk, ice, protein powder (vanilla) & banana
*Chocolate Protein Shake - milk, ice, protein powder (chocolate)

Hope this gives you a few ideas on some quick, healthy snacks that are easy to throw together!

.Kashi w. Blueberries.

KASHI GOLEAN CRUNCH w. BLUEBERRIES

this is one of my favorite summer breakfasts.

it's balanced, healthy & will fuel your day

ingredients:

1 cup Kashi GoLean Crunch

1/2 cup Silk Almond milk

1/4 cup blueberries

.Chicken Caesar Wrap.

CHICKEN CAESAR WRAP

Sorry everyone, I have been M.I.A. with this blog the last couple months. Don't worry, I haven't quit eating healthy or anything like that ;)

This is a quick easy meal to throw together. I always have these ingredients on hand because for one - they are healthy & two - they can make a variety of different meals.

Ingredients:

La Tortilla whole wheat tortilla

shredded chicken

spinach

low fat/cal & low sugar caesar dressing (i like the caesar with parmesan kind by Kraft)

*I had cheese on this one but I have since eliminated it from my diet for the most part

Apple Slices w. caramel & almonds

APPLE SLICES W. CARAMEL & ALMONDS

a yummy healthy way to enjoy a caramel apple.

Walden Farms makes a line of calorie free, fat free, sugar free, carb free (everything free) foods like salad dressings, syrups, ketchup, chocolate sauce & caramel sauce. I'm not a huge fan of the salad dressings but when I saw the caramel sauce at Vitality Nutrition, I had to give it a try.

I warmed up only about a tablespoon and then added 10 chopped raw almonds into it.

Sliced an apple & enjoyed! Way quick and easy & it was good! I think the almonds are a must - you can even try peanuts or any other nuts as well.

I paired this meal with just a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese for my protein (just make sure you're remembering to eat the protein portion of the meal whatever it may be!)

Chocolate PB Banana 'ice cream'

This is one of my most favorite healthy desserts to make. For those who know me, you know I LOVE ice cream. So about a year ago I discovered how to make a healthy balanced meal out of ice cream ;)

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BANANA 'ICE CREAM'
ingredients for one serving:
1 ripe banana
1/2 tbsp natural peanut butter
1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder
1/4 cup skim milk

200 calories (approximately)
21 g protein
(may vary depending on type of protein powder)
30 g carbs

1. Slice banana into 10 or so pieces & place in ziploc bag & then into the freezer until frozen.

2. Put frozen banana into a food processor or blender & add peanut butter, milk & protein powder.

3. Blend until smooth creamy texture.

*Enjoy immediately if you like it soft serve style or put it back into the freezer for a more "frozen" style.

I love to make different flavors like Vanilla Banana with sliced strawberries {or any fruit for that matter} & almonds, Vanilla Banana with sugar free choc or caramel syrup, be creative!