Healthy Snacks

     In my efforts to shed some of these extra pounds I've put on, I have decided that fast, healthy, fresh, ready-to-go snacks are ESSENTIAL to this busy mother of 3 young kids. Gee, I'm lucky if I even get to feed my OWN mouth, let alone if it is healthy! So something that has helped me so much is Bountiful Baskets. Each week is a fun surprise of fruits and vegetables, plus we get a 9-grain bread pack to last us for the week, and occasionally other bonus packs of things we like. It's awesome! AND I don't have to drag the kids to the grocery store to get it, I just drive over to my neighbor's house, and can even leave the kids IN THE CAR while we get it! (now, what mom doesn't love that!? Although our kids love coming out to help us!)
     Anywho......what I wanted to share with you is how I make healthy snacking easier on myself. After I get the produce, I get 7 small Ziploc bags and get out my cutting board. After washing the veggies, I cut them all into snackable-size pieces then divide them into the 7 bags. Then I stand up the bags in a little tupperware and stick them in the refrigerator. The idea is to have 1 veggie bag for each day of the week. That way, when I'm hungry for a snack, I just grab the bag for that day and I'm good to go!! And the best part --- it's all 100% healthy!! And each week the produce changes, so I don't get sick of it. In this weeks bags: celery, carrots, cucumber, snacking tom-toms (tomatoes), & cauliflower.
     Then I have a platter on the cupboard where I put any fruit that needs to ripen. The ripe fruit goes in the refrigerator and the kids can pull out a veggie pack or fruit whenever they need a snack too.
     Edamame (soybeans) are a new favorite healthy protein snack of mine too! So good!! And WATER!! Clean, cold 100% H2O! Most all of us need to drink more of it!
     So cheers! Here's to healthy snacking, my friends!!