FIRST THINGS FIRST:
Hello!!
Welcome to snackaholic Saturday!
I feel like with covid, this is an especially hot topic. I know that I’ve fallen prey to mindlessly eating chex mix and peanut butter M&Ms more than a few times the past few weeks, out of stress or boredom or simply not having the guilt trip of going to public places and feeling puffy, ha ha.
Personally, I tend to eat smaller meals and snack consistently throughout the day. It keeps me from feeling tired after a large meal, and gives me more small rewards to look forward to.
As long as I track these snacks and fit them within my macros, that’s a perfectly acceptable thing to do.
Snacks tie into learning your triggers- if you know you can’t have a small amount of something, you probably shouldn’t have any. However, being able to have a measured amount of something you enjoy frequently tends to take away the desire to binge on it as a result of over-restricting.
For example, I eat cheezits probably 3-4 times a week and purposefully save carbs for them- however, it’s been a long time since I’ve crushed an entire box of cheezits in one sitting.
Literally anything can fit into your macros, even candy. I recommend trying to maintain an 80/20 ratio of nutrient dense foods to “treat” foods, but this can be a rough estimation.
Remember that what you put into your body affects your mood, energy levels, skin health and metabolic function, so if you start feeling anxious, sluggish, bloated, etc, analyze your food quality choices first, even if you’re still hitting your macros.
Below I’m going to list a bunch of my favorite snacks, and you can find even more listed in my nutrition guide (find it on my website- it’s a free download.)
FAQ’s:
Q: Are there “good” or “bad” snacks?
A: Yes and no. There are snacks that have more beneficial components than others, but in terms of macronutrients as long as your snack fit within your goals, you can get your carbs from blueberries or cheezits just the same. Blueberries probably won’t make you break out or give you cravings though.
Q: Will snacking before bed make me blow up like an Oompa Loompa?
A: Again, as long as all of your food for the day falls within the limits of your macros, the timing is not important. Eating too close to bedtime might keep you up though if you saved all of your sugar until 9pm, or maybe that’s just me being an old lady.
Q: You’re sure there are no bad snacks?
A: No, I take that back. Cocaine is a bad snack. Don’t do it. There are no macros for that.
Q: Do you literally measure out your snacks?
A: Yes, I literally do. Usually with my food scale. Like cocaine, but not. (Okay enough jokes about drugs.) And I close the container and put it away before I start putting the snack in my mouth.
Salty Snacks
Popcorn:
- Orville Redenbacher Smart Pop
- Icon Meals Protein Popcorn
- Skinny Pop Popcorn
- Lesser Evil Popcorn
Chips:
- Quest Protein Chips
- PopCorners Popped Chips
- Flex Protein Crisps
- Macro Snacks Crisps
- Hippie Snacks Avocado or Cauliflower Chips
- Pop Chips
- Air Fried Veggies: kale, zucchini, sweet potato, Green Beans, Radish, etc (Toss in olive oil and salt and air fry or roast)
- Sieta Grain Free Tortilla Chips
Crackers:
- From the Ground Up Cauliflower Crackers
- Earth Balance Cheddar Squares
- Kodiak Cakes Bear Bites
- Blue Diamond Almond NutThins
- Keto Thin Crackers
- Doctor in the Kitchen Flackers
Other Salty Stuff Besides My Morning Attitude
- Biena Chickpea Snacks (the Rockin’ Ranch flavor is ridiculous)
- Biena Baked Chickpea Puffs
- Garden Veggie Straws
- From the Ground Up Cauliflower Pretzels
- Whisps Parmesan Cheese Crisps
- Moon Cheese Cheddar Crisps
- Southern Recipe Pork Rinds
- Salted Pistachios
- Twin Peaks Nacho Cheese Protein Puffs
- Veggies Dipped in Bolthouse Farms Ranch Dressing, Hummus or Guacamole
- Shrewd Food Sour Cream and Onion Protein Puffs
Sweet Snacks
Candy:
- Smart Sweets (the peach rings are ridiculous)
- Russel Stover SugarFree Peanut Butter Cups, Mint Patties, Toffee Squares, Pecan Clusters, etc
- Lily’s Stevia Sweetened Chocolate
- Hershey’s Sugar Free Chocolate Squares
- SugarFree Reese’s Cups
Baked Stuff
- Lenny and Larry Complete Cookie
- Eat Me Guilt Free Chocolate Brownies
- Swerve Chocolate and Vanilla Cake Mix
- Pillsbury SugarFree Brownie Mix
- SinFit Protein Cookies
- Quest Protein Cookies
Frozen Treats
- Halo Top Ice Cream
- Rebel Ice Cream (keto)
- Skinny Cow Ice Cream Bars
- Outshine No Sugar Added Popscicles
- All Sport SugarFree Electrolyte Freezer Pops
- Keto (that’s the name of the brand) Ice Cream
- Ben and Jerry’s Reduced Calorie Ice Cream
- Enlightened Ice Cream
- Arctic Zero Ice Cream
Other Sweet Stuff
- Nuts N More Protein Peanut Butter
- P28 Foods Protein Peanut Butter (Caramel Turtle for the win)
- SnackPack Sugarfree Jello and Whipped Cream
- Magic Spoon Cereal
- Blue Diamond Cocoa Roasted Almonds
- Catalina Crunch Keto Cereal
- The Cereal School Protein Cereal
- Level-1 Protein Bars (Peanut Butter Lover, Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mint Cookie omg)
Places to Find Sweets Recipes
- Chocolate Covered Katie Blog
- Mason Fit Blog
- Bodybuilding.com
- Big Man’s World Blog
- This Weekly Email and the Victoriam Facebook Group (link above)
Post Workout Snacks-VERY IMPORTANT
Post Workout Stack Free Shipping
Make Progress Faster- Burn Fat and Build Lean Muscle-
After a workout, your body is depleted and needs rapidly digesting carbs and protein. The faster you can get your body into a recovery state, the faster you will make progress.
When you eat only a protein shake, or a whole food meal after training, your body has to work even harder to get those nutrients, and continues to be catabolic (fat storing/muscle burning) for several more hours. Ie: not good.
Never waste a workout.
This is the number one recommendation I make to my clients. The post-workout stack is superior to any whole food alternative. Also, the Root Beer Float flavor is the GOAT.
Read all about the science in my nerdy blog here.
Low Temp Processed- Level 1 is processed without damaging high heat or acids (yep, that’s what you’re getting with other brands) which means that it doesn’t get gummy/dry when you bake with it. Also all of the protein is bioavailable for you body to use, whereas you flush out most other protein blends as waste
Does not cause GI Discomfort- Referencing the low temp processing again, Level 1 is not inflammatory. If whey typically bothers you it’s probably the way it was processed, not whey itself
Vegan Power Pro Option- The vegan flavors are (remarkably!) delicious- impressive, I know. They also bake/cook well.