Healthy Snacks to Fuel You All Week Long

There comes a point when you feel tired of eating the same snacks over and over again. Prepping them each week can become mundane, and that trip to the vending machine to make a snap decision seems exciting, easy, and spontaneous. Undoubtedly, the snack you'd get from the vending machine may momentarily taste good, but your returning hunger and sugar crash an hour later will remind you why you need to pack a healthy snack.

As long as you keep a variation, you can rotate these snacks to keep things interesting. They’re easy to put together, easy to take with you, and they don’t need to be kept cold, so if you’re on the go, you won’t have any excuses to run to the break room for free donuts.

Apple Sandwich

Take an apple, cut out the core, and slice it horizontally so you can layer it with almond butter, bits of dried fruit, and chia seeds, and it’s a gourmet treat for the taste buds. Plus, with all that nutrition, you’ll feel full and completely satiated.

Trail Mix

I love the variety with trail mix; there are so many different types you can create. Switch it up each week to keep things interesting. Your best bet is to mix up a great big batch at home on the weekend and portion it out into 1/4 cup servings. Bag those up and have them ready to go. Stash them in your purse or gym bag, and you’ll never have a reason to eat unhealthy snacks again. Choose your own nuts, dried fruits, and other tidbits, plus you can add seasonings to make it even more exciting so you’ll never grow bored. Savory or sweet, what will it be?

Roasted Chickpeas

Add spice to make them extra tasty, or even try them with a mild, ranch flavor. However you roast them, you’ll forget all about chips. You can snack on these guilt-free and get all the fantastic antioxidant benefits to boot.

Hummus Pockets

Grab a whole wheat pita and stuff it with hummus. Add cucumber slices, carrot shreds, and anything else you like. You can prep your veggies at the beginning of the week so it can be a quick grab-and-stuff snack to run out the door with. For a low-carb option, use large lettuce leaves instead.

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

All you need is a good-sized sweet potato, a little olive oil, and sea salt, or a little curry powder if you’re adventurous. Slice thin and bake for 40 minutes at 275F. Flip them over, and bake 40 more minutes and you’ll have heavenly and healthy chips to snack on for the week.

Scaled-Down Skinny Bistro Box

If you tend to run to Starbucks café eats, try making your own protein-filled box to go. Make it full-size to serve as lunch, or create a smaller version for a snack. Take it to Pinterest to find some perfect box combinations for your preferred way of eating -- there are gobs to choose from.

With snacks like these, you’ll never want to stray from your healthy path.