How to make your snacks healthier

You spend all day at work, stressed and rushed while meeting deadlines. But you get home in the evening with a ravenous hunger, yet you feel unmotivated and lack ideas to prepare a healthy snack. Does this sound familiar?

This can be part of our body's natural rhythm, but it can also be worsened by other factors, such as work fatigue, poor sleep quality, or even an overly heavy lunch.

And all this leads to you grabbing the first thing you find at that specific time in the evening, and believe me, it's not a healthy option.

Keys to preparing healthy snacks

I'm going to give you some tips to make your snacks healthier and avoid the temptation of grabbing just anything. Take note.

Be Prepared

The easiest way to choose healthier snack options is to have something prepared. Dedicate some time before the week begins, like Sunday evening, to prepare different snacks. Prepared snacks can be portioned and placed in containers so you can have them ready for the upcoming days. Then you can take them to work if you're away from home. I recommend checking out our recipes section, where you'll find super easy-to-make, and above all, delicious and nutritious recipe options.

Another benefit of this? Preparing your own healthy snacks means you know what ingredients they contain, thus avoiding any unwanted ingredients you might find in ultra-processed foods.

Avoid sugar

When you cross the 5 PM barrier, often the most tempting and quick option is a large dose of sugar. But the reality is that this doesn't provide the best solution to overcome an energy slump. Your body quickly digests sugars, which can cause a blood sugar spike. And what happens then? Well, you get a sugar and energy rush, but then it crashes hard, leaving you tired and hungry again (it might even be more than at the beginning).

When I talk about sugar, I mean refined sugars and ultra-processed foods. These are what you need to avoid and what cause that energy crash. So, if you crave something sweet, you can use some of our recipes or simply prepare a fruit salad, which is real food: naturally occurring sugar in fruit + fiber + a cocktail of vitamins. You know perfectly well what your body is asking for, and you can help it by being prepared to satisfy it with a healthier snack alternative.

Choose the right ingredients

Regardless of what you choose to eat as a snack, try to make sure it contains a combination of proteins and fats, in addition to slow-absorbing carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains). This will help you avoid hunger until dinner time. A protein shake plus a piece of fruit and a square of dark chocolate, for example, is easy to prepare at home and can be a quick option to have ready in the morning or even take to work.

What if I don't have time?

You can always resort to pre-made snacks or bars that provide quality protein to help you feel full. Bars like Yippie Bar or a protein bar like Weider Bar Protein or an energy bar like Weider Bar Energy provide a high amount of protein ready to eat without large amounts of added sugars.

Other healthy snack options could be some delicious protein cookies or a slice of toast with peanut butter or a delicious protein chocolate spread.

In short: don't deny yourself snacks and enjoy something sweet or a bite even if you feel like it. The key is always to choose healthy options! Your body and mind will thank you!