Snacks are the nectar of life for my “9-5” (aside from Coffee, obviously) – I NEED them to make it through the day. Since I’m an obsessive calorie counter, finding calorie friendly snacks that aren’t boring, and can satisfy a craving isn’t always easy.
There are the usual, rather boring options:
- Veggies and dip
- Shake
- Crackers
- Rice cakes
- Piece of fruit
- Piece of fruit + peanut butter (I really hesitated putting this under “boring” because it is one of my ALL TIME favorite snacks, but here it is..)
While these are fine snacks, I like my snacks to be a bit more exciting – I want to look forward to eating them. Work is blah enough, snacks shouldn’t be.
Recently I have found some delicious, surprisingly calorie friendly portable snacks that can satisfy any craving, from sweet to salty!
DISCLAIMER*** I am a calorie counter, not a macro/micro counter, or a counter of protein/carb/fat ratio, or keytones or whatever else is out there. These snacks fit MY needs, but may not fit yours. Always read the label of any food item you purchase/consume to make sure they are suitable for YOUR lifestyle.
Salty Snacks
Ever been sitting at your desk mid day and all you can think about is mowing down on a bag of chips? or eating some delicious salty fries? (Great, now my mouth is watering). Chips and fries may not be the best choice, but these salty snacks can be a great substitute;
Smartfood – yes, really. A typical service size of smartfood is 3.5 cups – THATS A BUTTLOAD of popcorn, and not an amount I need in my lunchbag. The average calories for these 3.5 cups in about 260 cals which is not bad when you actually measure out how much 3.5 cups is. Typically I will bring about a cup as a snack to work which equates to about 75 calories. This is a pretty reasonable snack and it comes in a variety of delicious flavors!
Goldfish crackers – please hear me out. I understand that I’m not 5 years old, but goldfish crackers are a perfect salty snack that is easy to bring to work and even easier to track if you count calories. They also come in a variety of flavors, from pretzel to three cheese etc. The cheese variety is about 90 cals for 37 crackers, and the pretzel kind are about 90 cals for 26 crackers. You’d be surprised at how many this is when you actually count them out.
Crispy Minis – yes, rice cakes – but mini, chip flavored rice cakes. 12 of these babies is usually 90 cals and easily satisfies a chip like craving.
Special K Cracker Chips – like crispy minis, these bad boys can satisfy a chip craving, but are thinner and have more of the chip texture you might be looking for. While they do have some delicious flavors, there aren’t as many as with crispy minis. Munching on 18-20 of these (depending on the flavor) only costs you 80 cals – totally worth it!
Twistos – These are basically mini baguette crackers that come in some delicious savory flavors (garlic and parm, asiago etc). Who doesn’t love cheese flavored bread snacks?! 100 cal serving is around 17 crackers – not too shabby.
Sweet Snacks
Sometimes when I’m at work my sweet tooth kicks in, HARD. All I want is candy. Well, unfortunately for me, (and everyone else) candy isn’t exactly health friendly. Enter these yummy, calorie-wise sweet treats;
Welches Fruit n’ Yogurt Snacks – these little dandies come in pre-portioned snack packs (70 calories/pack) and come in a variety of yummy fruit flavors (cherry, strawberry and blueberry). I recently discovered these and the second the first one hit my tongue I was in love. They are basically yogurt covered fruit pieces and are so delicious it will be hard to just pack one.
Mott’s Fruitsations Fruit Snacks – channel your inner child with a good ol’ pack of fruit snacks – these don’t have any artificial flavors or colors and 100% yummers. They too cut out the work and come in pre-portioned packs of 80 calorie servings 🙂
Fiber 1 bars – these could go sweet or salty, but the kind with the chocolate base, or even better, a chocolate dip, or the mini lemon/cheesecake squares, or the brownies or the cookies!!!! Okay, I need to breath. Fiber 1 is more than just fiber – their snacks are super yummy and can really fix that sweet tooth. You have to watch out for the calorie count as their items can range from 90 calories all the way to 290+. But, usually the calorie wise ones will have their calorie value right on the front of the box.
Hot Chocolate – Maybe what your craving is something chocolatey and warm to keep you cozy on a cold work day (if you live in Canada, you will relate to this). Nestle/Carnation makes a light hot chocolate mix which definitely doesn’t taste light. You can either get them pre-portioned in 45 calorie packs, or you can buy the large bag and scoop it yourself for more or less chocolatey goodness.
These are definitely not comprehensive lists, there are probably a million more things that could be included, these are just some of my favs which also happen to be super easy and convenient to pack. If I missed anything that you LOVE, leave a comment and let me know! I wouldn’t mind expanding my snack horizons 🙂
Here’s to jazzing up your at-work snack game!
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