Easily Stay on Track Like a Champ with Snack Planning
Don’t think I’ve forgotten to write up the most important blog of all: Snack Planning! If you think you can plan out three square meals a day and be totally full all week long, then I don’t understand, but good for you.
For me, personally, snacks are the only thing keeping me from hangrily tearing apart my husband at 5:30 pm when dinner is not until 7:30. So, let’s begin!
When is Snack Time?
The simple answer is whenever you darn-well please. Nobody wants you to be hungry. Hungry turns into angry (hangry) which turns into devouring the souls of defenseless husbands. Save the spouses! When you have four or more hours between meals, there should be a small meal in between.
For example, this is how I do meal planning for snack time:
- Breakfast – 7:30 am
- Morning Snack – 10:00 am
- Lunch – 12:30 pm
- Afternoon Snack – 3:00 pm
- Dinner – 7:30 pm
- Dessert – 9:00 pm
One could say we don’t really need dessert, but anyone who has the audacity to say that to your face is not a friend. Dessert is delightful.
Anyways, do you see how I’ve given myself roughly two and a half hours between breakfast and snack, and lunch and snack? That’s optimal for me. It lets my body process what I’ve already given it, but it isn’t long enough that I get really hungry.
As always, meal planning for snack time means figuring out what works for you. If you are a late breakfast eater, maybe you don’t need that midmorning snack. Or maybe you are a strict “no eating after 8 pm” person, so you don’t have to plan for dessert. Do you!
Morning Snack Planning
So, what I think qualifies as a morning snack may not be something you agree with. To me, snacks are small meals, not just nibbles for grazing.
Any satisfying meal should be a fruit or vegetable, a protein, and either a good fat or a good carb. Also, any good meal before noon will include a cup of coffee… but again, that’s just me.
Here’s an example. Let’s say I had an overnight oats jar for breakfast at 7:30 am. For a snack, I’d want to go heavier on the protein since breakfast was carb-heavy. I’ll have two hard-boiled eggs, a cup of carrot sticks, and a tablespoon of peanut butter or hummus.
There’s lots of protein there, fat, and a serving of vegetables. Plus, there’s a nice bit of color and texture variety there, as well. This will keep me full and satisfied until lunch.
To translate this over to planning ahead, boil eggs on Sunday when you do your other meal prep, and have veggie sticks cut up and ready to place in a reusable container each morning.
The same thing will go for dips. Peanut butter, hummus, guacamole, or ranch can be portioned into small containers. I actually have a really yummy recipe for dark chocolate hummus that keeps things interesting.
Baby food jars make great dip storage if you have some to reuse. Otherwise, we have a ton of these on hand. We use them for baby snacks but also dip portions.
Afternoon Snack Planning
I don’t know about you, but around 3:00 pm, the only thing I’m thinking about is food and getting done with work. That’s why I think it’s really important to have something fun then.
For a while, I was keeping cans of soup and bags of almonds in my desk at work. That was actually kind of fun. Just a little bit of lentil soup on a chilly afternoon as the sun is dipping low really boosts the spirits.
Again, I still think it’s important to include a fruit or vegetable and a source of protein. So, if you can, keep pouches of tuna handy (disclaimer: hard-boiled eggs and tuna both have a smell… it’s a wonder my office mates liked me) or opt for good quality protein bars.
The Quest Caramel Chocolate Chunk bars are my absolute favorite. I’ll microwave them (out of the foil, and on a plate) for 8 seconds. The caramel and chocolate get gooey and the bar itself turns fudgy, and it’s special enough to boost my mood.
So, to plan ahead, make sure you have whole fruits on hand as well as some high protein options (bars, shakes, or, as previously mentioned, tuna). Make sure to pick things you’ll look forward to, but that are still nutritious. Food is fuel, but it should be fun, too.
Don’t Forget About Dessert!
We’ll wrap up our meal planning for snack time blog on everyone’s favorite thing: dessert.
Obviously, I want to suggest that you keep up your healthy streak by ending the day with something tasty and nutritious. My favorite “being good” dessert is a half cup of plain, non-fat Greek yogurt with a tablespoon of peanut butter mixed in.
It’s got a lot of protein and fat to help me fall asleep feeling satisfied. And it’s easy to keep those things at the ready in the fridge. So, that is the healthy recommendation.
Dessert Snack Planning for Real Life
Now, let’s talk about the real needs a person has for snacks. If you’re following me, you’re thinking that baking up something good and sweet is inevitable. You’re right. Eventually, we are going to indulge and enjoy our favorite baked goods.
The important things to note are that A) you should plan your bakes in advance, if you can, so you don’t need an extra shopping trip for supplies and B) be mindful of when you can and should eat your treats.
It’s so easy to make up a batch of cookies or brownies on Sunday for a week of desserts. That said, something we constantly talk about at my WW (the artist formerly known as Weight Watchers) workshops is portioning out your cookie dough and freezing it. So, when you want a cookie you just take out the specific number of dough balls and bake them.
I like this method specifically because you get hot, fresh-from-the-oven cookies every time. It also works to prevent losing cookies to staleness before Friday… As for brownies, I’d bake the whole pan, cut them up, and then freeze everything. You can microwave them when you are ready for a similar warm dessert experience.
Should I Include Drinks in Snack Planning?
One last question I feel we should answer is: where does my cocktail fall into the meal plan? Like coffee drinks were part of planning for breakfast, alcohol falls under either snacks or dinner. If you pair your meal with a nice wine, make a note of that on your dinner menu.
However, if you are like my husband and me, we save our drinkies until the baby has gone to bed and we can sip quietly without interference. In this case, our wine/whiskey/beer is usually accompanied by dessert.
Because of that, we plan to only drink on Fridays and Saturdays when we can stay up a little later with your beverages and enjoy a really nice dessert with it. I seriously made a chocolate cake just to go with a bottle of cherry wine we’d be saving. You can get that recipe here!
However you imbibe, just be responsible. Overdoing it is super hard on your budget, but it also just makes you feel awful afterward. Enjoy; don’t go crazy. And on that note…
So, that’s meal planning for snack time. What do you think? Any other tips you would have shared? What’s your favorite snack? Comment below! And don’t forget to subscribe to get your free weekly meal planner.
