You know what it’s like…as a mum you are always on the go! Taking the kids to school in the morning, rushing to work and then back to do the pick up followed by an evening filled with getting the dinner ready, helping with children’s school homework and lots of other house chores.
And whilst we are very good at making sure that our children have the best nutritious food, how often do you find yourself just snacking on leftovers and skipping meals, because you are too busy? Or snacking on a chocolate snack bar, because that’s the easiest thing to pick up in the corner shop on the way to work?
But running on empty or on the wrong type of ‘fuel’ is never good in the long run. With a little bit of planning, you can prepare healthy snacks and have them ready whenever you need to top up your energy during the day.
Talking about planning, I also find that having my kitchen cupboards well organised and tidy helps me to be quicker when I’m preparing my meals. I can also easily see what ingredients are missing and what I need to buy from the supermarket. It took me a whole weekend to re-organise my kitchen cupboards and drawers and now it’s like having the kitchen feng shuied! Everything is in its place and it’s a real joy to start cooking. I don’t have to run across the kitchen to get to my knife drawer when I need to chop my veggies and my compost bin is in the right kitchen corner, when I need to dispose of what’s not needed. I just wish I’ve done this ages ago!
I’ve focused on sweet snacks in this blog post, but if you fancy something savoury, why not go for something like a healthy homemade salad? You can prepare them in advance and keep them in a small food container that you take with you for your lunch. Salads are a great healthy snack, full of vitamins and the best thing is that you can make a different variety every day. I love trying new recipes from different countries, like these Sri Lankan salad recipes, which just look so yummy!
Here are my few favourite recipes that I use to make healthy snacks.
Overnight Breakfast Oats
(Dairy-Free, suitable for vegan diets, gluten-free if using gluten-free porridge oats and suitable for low fodmap diets)
Porridge Oats
Coconut yoghurt (or any other type of plain yoghurt)
Kiwi (or fruit of your choice)
Maple syrup
Cinnamon
Almond Butter (or Peanut Butter)
This simple recipe has many variations, but I always start the night before with a handful of porridge oats in a bowl with boiling water poured over it. The boiling water helps to soften the oats quicker and helps to digest the oats better. In the morning I add yoghurt, almond butter (or peanut butter if I’m using bananas or pineapple), a pinch of cinnamon and a little bit of maple syrup. All ingredients are equally important in terms of nutritional values, but it’s the almond or peanut butter, that will give you the most energy.
Although this is a breakfast recipe, I often take it to work in a plastic tub and either eat it later in the morning if I didn’t get the chance to have breakfast at all or have it as a backup snack in the afternoon.
Peanut Butter & Pumpkin Seeds Snack Bar
My other healthy ‘go-to’ snack is a peanut butter snack bar, which is excellent for topping up my energy levels during the day. You can make this simple recipe in under 15 minutes and since it’s a no-bake recipe, there is no excuse not to make it!
My favourite combination is peanut butter and pumpkin seeds, but you can easily swap the peanut butter for almonds butter or any other nut based butter you like. And if pumpkin seeds are not your thing, try using different nuts or dried fruit instead.
Peanut Butter & Pumpkin Seeds Granola Bar
Ingredients
- 1 cup porridge oats
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup dried apricots chopped
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/8 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup dates chopped
Instructions
- Add the peanut butter, coconut oil and maple syrup to a bowl and heat carefully in the microwave to warm up.
- Mix all the dry ingredients together and add the wet mixture to combine everything together.
- Spread everything into a lined baking brownie tray (with raised edges) and pack down the mixture firmly with a spatula or fork.
- Place into the fridge for few hours (or freezer for about 30 minutes)
- Cut to squares and keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Other easy snacks for busy mums include (and are easy to carry in your handbag)
- A handful of dried fruit, nuts and seeds
- Piece of fruit (apple, banana etc)
- Quality Plain Dark Chocolate Bar
- Rice Cakes
- Oat Cakes
- Freshly Made Healthy Salad in your own container
- Homemade Fruit Smoothie
- Hard Boiled Egg
It’s good to be able to rely on easy snacks to keep our energy up during the day. It’s also great to know that these days, there is plenty of up to date advice that helps young mums to keep up with everyday challenges.
As ever, I’d love to know what works for you? What are your favourite snacks on the go? Let me know in the comments below and I look forward to reading them all!
Magdalena
