My Favorite On-The-Go Snacks

It’s summer. Schedules are crazy. There are playdates, camp dates, playground dates, zoo dates, running dates. Too many dates for one person’s — or family’s — schedule. I find that during the summer when our schedules are essentially jam-packed with a bunch of “doing nothing,” I find myself reaching for easily portable, on-the-go snacks.

Easy to eat in the car for kids (yay!), or easily digestible after a hard run (yasssss), I’ve got a bunch of different options available at any given time. So what are some of my faves? In no particular order they are:

CLIF Bars

Yum, CLIF bars! Let’s start with Mojo. These sweet and salty bars are easy to pack, easy to open, and are quite filling, too. Coming in around 190 calories, these tasty treats are great to stave off the hunger during a zoo trip or after a hard workout. For my kids, I usually pack some Zbars. These are also really yummy but more kid-friendly. Although I do constantly battle with my almost 6-yr-old about the Mojo bars. Hmmm…

Good Greens

I’ve recently started trying Good Greens bars. They are locally made (Shaker Heights) and as you know, I love supporting local businesses. These bars are quite tasty, too. The flavor I’ve tried most recently was apple crumb yogurt. O.M.G.

PROBAR

I’m a huge fan of PROBAR. I love all of their products honestly. The two I gravitate to most are the Bolt for during/after my run, particularly long training runs, and Bite for driving the kids to and from activities or on the way to the grocery. (Ya know, so I don’t buy the entire grocery store on account of being hangry.)

Sport Beans

I used to rely exclusively on Jelly Belly Sport Beans for my running fuel. I’ve since branched out and realized I like some other products as well, but there will always be a special place in my runner’s heart for these sugary little beans. I mean, jelly beans. Come on! Is there anything more to say?

Honey Stinger

Honey Stinger waffles. To die for. I haven’t given these to my kids as snacks yet, because let’s face it, I hoard them for myself. The first time I tried a Honey Stinger waffle was at Iron Horse Half Marathon last October. It was delish. And I’ve since purchased more to eat not on the run, but during a snack break during marathon training, or even just before the run. I ate one before my marathon, in fact. It was just enough to give me some energy but not so much that it felt like a brick in my belly.

Bananas and Pretzels

Easily one of the most portable snacks there are, bananas and pretzels are a key ingredient to any runner’s post-run, or long run, bag. I almost always had a bag of pretzels with me while training for my marathon, and almost always had a banana waiting for me in the car for after.

Salads

Okay, okay. A salad isn’t an on-the-go snack, but it is a super easy way to keep your healthy eating on track. I eat at least one salad per day. It honestly doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just some kale or spinach, maybe a carrot or cucumber, a little pinch of Hemp Hearts, a dash of salad dressing and boom — healthy, satisfying eating ready in minutes. Plus if you’re a working professional, taking a salad to work is incredibly easy and likely to encourage co-workers to eat well, too. Try it and see what happens. 🙂