As all moms know, having prepared food on-hand is KEY to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but snacks are life. Many times I’m having my clients work toward optimizing nutrient-density in meals so that we are not leaning on snacks all day long. Unfortunately, snacking or “grazing” and pre-packaged snack items at the grocery store are often the biggest sabotagers to our health— through blood sugar chaos and sneaky additives like sugars, flavors, and oils.

That being said- I know you know- sometimes a healthy snack is a NEED! Whether you need a healthy snack for on the go, a snack that is healthy and easy to grab while working, or chasing after (and feeding) little kiddos all day- sometimes an easy-grab healthy snack is LIFE SAVING for mama AND the kiddos! So keep reading to find out the best healthy snacks, healthy snack on the go, healthy toddler snacks, and snacks that are easy to make in advanced.

Many of them are whole foods that I recommend preparing ahead of time and storing ready-to-grab, and others may be packaged items that pass the test. You will notice many things are paired with other things - a fat and a protein, a carb and a protein, etc. Always aim to have a protein and/or a fat with your snacks! This is all with blood sugar balancing in mind, so don’t skip the pairings!

Here are some of my best ideas for snacks to have on hand.

Snacks

• Apples with nut butter

• Banana with nut butter “drizzle” (and a little sprinkle of chocolate chips— my kids love this)

• Any fruit with “peanut butter drizzle” (peanut butter + olive oil until it forms a “drizzle” consistency)

• Any fruit tossed with coconut cream

• Cottage cheese with grapes

• Avocado with Simple Mills crackers

• Guacamole with red peppers

• Pork Rinds (4505 brand) and blueberries

• Roasted brussels sprouts with garlic aioli

• Figs with almonds

• Raw cheese and cashews

• Nut butter stuffed dates

• Cream cheese stuffed dates

• Grass-fed butter stuffed dates

• Salami slices with cucumber

• Celery with nut butter and raisins aka ants on a log!

• Hummus with carrots, cucumbers, or peppers

• Turkey slices rolled up with avocado, sauerkraut, pickled veggies, mayo

• Grass-fed jerky with raw cheddar slices

• Gelatin Gummies

• Chia Pudding

• Cucumbers soaked in vinegar

• Roasted beets with toasted walnuts and blue cheese

• Tuna salad with Simple Mills crackers

• Hard boiled eggs and sea salt

• Chopped hard boiled eggs,tomatoes, and avocado tossed in EVOO and balsamic

• Pear slices with raw white cheddar

• Chicken salad (shredded chicken, mayo, dijon, slivered almonds, celery, grapes, dill, salt, pepper)

• Sourdough, sprouted grain bread, or gluten-free bread with almond butter and cinnamon

• Whole fat greek yogurt/coconut yogurt/cashew yogurt with homemade granola and berries

• Olive packs

• My Serenity pouches

• Seaweed Snax (in olive oil)

• Beef sticks

• BWBK Protein Pumpkin Muffins

• Protein shake (Be Well by Kelly protein)

• Mini meatballs

• Nut butter and cacao bites

• Epic Bars

• Sprouted pumpkin and sunflower seeds with berries

• Kale chips with smoked oysters

• Pear and prosciutto

• Dried mango with mixed nuts

• Bone broth, raw cheddar, berries

• Sprouted pumpkin and sunflower seeds with raspberries

• Fresh mango slices with chili lime spice, salami, and cashews

• Cucumbers with ranch and pepperoni

Brands

I am not affiliated with any brands, and this is not an exhaustive list. I just know shopping for healthy foods can be overwhelming so I’m sharing a few that I use or know of! I did incorporate my amazon links and if you use those it will help support my blog the tiiiiiniest little bit!

• Beef sticks/jerky: Chomps, PaleoValley, Country Archer, Epic

• Pouches: Serenity Kids (they’re for babies/tots but whose to say it can’t help a mom fuel up on the go?!)

• Crackers/chips: Simple Mills, Siete, banana

• Protein: Be Well by Kelly, Equip

• Deli meat: Applegate, True Story

• Nut butters: (anything with no extra ingredients- no sugar, no oils) Wild Friends, Kirkland, Adams

• Meatballs/sausages: Amylu, Teton Waters Ranch

• Dairy Free replacements: Forager, Kite Hill, CocoYo, Culina

• Ranch and Garlic Aoili: Primal Kitchen, or use homemade mayo + make your own

If you want to have a downloadable version of this list to save on your computer or screen shot on your phone to easily access at the grocery store or when you are hungry and need some good direction, click the link below to get the downloadable version!

What would you add to this list? What are your favorite healthy snacks? I’d love to hear in the comments below!