Macro friendly snack ideas from a Registered Dietitian
In my 8 years of nutrition coaching, I’ve noticed that snacks are often where people make a lot of mistakes on their weight loss journey.
Most snack foods aren’t nutritious. The snack aisle at the grocery store is full of chips and crackers and candy. Those foods have been engineered to not make you feel full, and instead you’re left wanting to eat more.
Even the “healthy” snacks like almonds can easily add up to hundreds of extra calories per day and stop your weight loss!!
But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can have healthy, macro friendly snacks that will help get you to your goals! The list is below, but I want you to know my criteria for a good snack:
Snacks should have at least 10g of protein
Include a fruit or vegetable
Be between 100-200 calories for most people if they are trying to lose weight
Ideally be savory, not sweet. Sweet foods are (generally) less filling than savory ones
41 Healthy snacks for your busy workday, before your workout, or anytime!
1. String Cheese and Baby Carrots
2. Protein Caprese Salad - cottage cheese, cherry tomatoes, basil, balsamic vinegar
3. Greek Yogurt with berries
4. PB2 (powdered peanut butter) mixed with greek yogurt as a dip for fruit
5: Frozen Yogurt Bark
6. Babybell cheese with snap peas
7. Sargento balanced break bowls
8. Jerky - check for added sugars
9. Meat and Cheese Roll-Up
You can also add scrambled egg to it for a breakfast option
Protein Caprese Salad
Meat and cheese rollup
10. Plain greek yogurt with protein powder
11. Tuna and crunchy veggie like cucumber or bell pepper
12. Cottage cheese with pineapple, peaches, or other fruit. Cucumber is also quite nice, although maybe not with fruit too
13. Microwavable Tuna Creations from Starkist
These have added grain & veggies Tomato Basil (eaten cold) is my fave
14. Hard Boiled Egg/egg white
Sometimes I do one whole egg and one egg white
15.Oscar Mayer P3 Snack Packs
16. Volpi cheese and meat singles
found at local grocery and Trader Joes
17. Overeasy egg with frozen spinach or green beans
18. Hummus and Veggies
19. Cracker stacker lunchable
20. Shrimp cocktail
21. Chicken sausages
22. Chicken sandwich melt (sandwich bros brand). I’ll sometimes add a scrambled egg white to increase the protein
23. RX bars
24. Fruit and 1 tbsp peanut butter
25. Eggwich
Jimmy Deans delights or Red’s brand
26. Oatmeal
Add protein powder & riced cauliflower for protein and veggie!
27. Protein Shake (my favorites here, including snickers and pumpkin spice!)
28. Egg white bites
Cheeseburger bites
30. Roasted chickpeas or edamame
31. Frozen grapes & cheese or hard boiled egg
32. 1 Tbsp peanut butter and celery
33. Baby Carrots
34. Clementines
35. Baba Ganoush (eggplant dip) with Vegetables
36. Strawberry-Banana Protein Muffins
37. Chicken, egg or tuna salad
38. Seaweed snacks
39. Half sandwich, wrap or quesadilla
40. Soup
41. Half bagel with cream cheese, tomato and lox
You can make this higher protein with greek yogurt mixed with ranch seasoning as your base instead of cream cheese
That’s it! 41 healthy, balanced snacks to get you through your busy day, eat before or after your workout, or pack up for your kids!
For more ideas, check out my free Protein Power Plan full of ideas and meal plan examples to help you hit your daily protein goals!
If you’re on a weight loss journey and want to learn about how a personal nutrition coach can help you get better results without the overwhelm, you can learn more about how we can support and keep you accountable
