Healthy Emergency Snack Choices

It’s 2 in the afternoon. You had a quick sandwich for lunch that has worn off but have a project due and it’s five hours until supper. What to do? Plan ahead and have snacks available.

The variety and amount of snack items today would amaze those from 40 years ago. We have prepackaged 100 calorie snack packs of a wide range of products that we don’t have to think about. As premeasured we know they’re 100 calories and for those watching calories that makes a difference.

Of course not all are calorie conscious. Some are more concerned with salt, or perhaps food allergies mean anything with peanuts or soy becomes a life threatening situation. Health considerations should always be considered but you can also plan ahead and make your own healthy snacks.

For many this means getting a good quality food dehydrator. One with the ability to set the temperature is good for a variety of things. An example of this is the Excalibur. The temperature factor insures a higher level of safety when working with meats.

Some examples of snacks you can make to have on hand include dried banana chips, apple chips, fruit rollups and beef jerky. You can also experiment with salmon jerky, turkey jerky and a wide range of fruits and vegetables for snacking as well as meals. For an on the go snack package them in individual containers and have one available in your desk or backpack or purse. This may not be a great deal cheaper than store bought overall but it does offer the knowing what is in it. It also is much fresher than those prepackaged store bought items.

You can also, with a little research, package your own snack packs from healthy snack choices. Perhaps this might be cubed cheese with pretzels or oatmeal cookies or granola. Remember with many snacks it’s not just what it is but how much. If you’re one who can sit down to a whole bag of chocolate chip cookies then regret it change your bag! Each food has nutritional information including serving size on the bag. If a serving size is six cookies, or a cup of pretzels then measure that out and bag it. You know now how much that will be in calories and other nutritional information.

For example, a general search online shows yogurt covered pretzels are 8 pieces for 190 calories. This same 190 calories was listed for Austin toasty crackers with peanut butter in a six pack.

For those with refrigeration available, yogurt or fruit may be an option. Whatever your snacking choices, be it homemade or prepackaged look at cost as well as nutritional information for your life!