by: Kelsey Pukala, dietitian at Nourishing Minds Nutrition

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a huge fan of snacking. Only eating three times a day never jived with me. I tend to function best with three meals and two-three snacks. If you’re like me and also love snacking, I thought I would share my top five favorite go-to snack ideas! Because, let’s face it, being in a snack rut is a real thing!

Energy Bites

These are great because you can make a big batch of them at the beginning of the week and store them in the fridge or freezer. I tend to keep mine in the freezer and pull out 2-3 if I’m feeling hungry. If you like something sweet after dinner, they are perfect for that too! Feel free to get creative and add anything you like! Coconut or nuts would be delicious. You can even sub almond butter if that sounds good.

Ingredients:

-2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

-1/2 cup chocolate chips

-1 cup oats

-1/2 cup ground flax seed

-2 Tablespoons honey or maple syrup

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and scoop out about 2 Tbs to form into a ball. I actually use a cookie scoop. I will then place them on a lined cookie sheet and freeze them to help them harden and become less sticky. Then, I put them in a container and store in the freezer. When you’re hungry, let them thaw from the freezer for a few minutes and enjoy!

Yogurt with Granola and Honey

To be completely honest, I was not a fan of yogurt until I switched to full-fat. It’s a complete game-changer you guys! This is a snack I eat almost daily between breakfast and lunch: a big scoop of full-fat yogurt mixed with honey and either granola, cereal and/or an apple (or some variation of this). It’s so satisfying and definitely keeps me full until lunch. Full-fat yogurt guys… you won’t be disappointed. Bonus: full-fat yogurt has been shown to be great for hormones!

Homemade Muffins

If you follow me on Instagram (@kelseypukala_rd), you have probably noticed that I love muffins. I’ll share the recipe I’ve been loving lately, but I always switch it up! Similar to the energy bites, I will make a batch of muffins at the beginning of the week and freeze most of them. My husband likes to take a few to work for breakfast and I love snacking on them. Here is the recipe I’m loving right now: https://pinchofyum.com/feel-good-zucchini-muffins.

Pretzels and Peanut Butter

Classic. Any pretzels and any nut butter will do, however, my personal favorite is the Honey Wheat Pretzels from Trader Joes dipped in creamy peanut butter. Sometimes, I’ll add a piece of fruit, like a nectarine, since it’s summer and they are amazing.

Rx Bar

This may be the least exciting snack on my list, but in reality I eat a lot of Rx bars because I’m on the go and may run out of all aforementioned snacks. My favorite flavor is the peanut butter and I always keep one in my purse and at the office just in case I get hungry. Is it the most amazing and satisfying thing I could eat? NO. Is it always exactly what I’m craving? No. But, intuitive eating in real life sometimes means honoring hunger by eating what is available. Eating is better than not eating! It’s important to remember too that you will eat again, so if every food experience isn’t extremely satisfying, that’s okay!

I’m always looking for more snack ideas! What do you all enjoy snacking on?? Tell us in the comments!

Thank you for that amazing blog post Kelsey! Learn about working with Kelsey here.