You know what I’ve been absolutely loving lately?

SNACK LUNCHES!

Well, you should have known that by the title.

Anyway, what are Snack Lunches? They are foods that I’d probably normally bring to work to snack on or munch on at home between meals. Instead, I’ve been bringing my snacks to work with me as meals. What’s interesting is that while some look low in calories, they do fill me up! I don’t really need any other snacks later in the day. Here is one of my favorites:

I usually add a fruit to my lunch bag {not pictured above} to round out my Snack Lunch and to have something slightly sweet. As of late, I’ve been noshing on cherries, watermelon and grapes. Like here:

I also have my daily piece of Dove dark chocolate. I do bring one of my pre-portioned bag of 100 calories worth of nuts along, too. {I adore the Rosemary Marcona Almonds from Trader Joe’s!} However, I don’t always end up eating them. I may eat them after work if I have a run scheduled that night. But lately it’s just been me crunching on a cucumber while I keep the pooches separated while they eat. {Shamrock tries to eat the adult food, while Sophie tries to eat the puppy food!}

Above is yesterday’s Snack Lunch. On a whim, I chopped up the leftover pork chop from the night before and threw it into my lunch. I didn’t think cold pork sounded that appetizing {I don’t like cold leftover turkey from Thanksgiving!}, but it was actually a really tasty addition!

In some ways, I think of these Snack Lunches as antipasti platters. You know, those plates with an assortment of cheeses, meats, fruits, olives… Yes! I forgot to add that I sometimes add olives to my Snack Lunches!

One day, I picked up a little snack box from Target. Did you know that they offer these in the deli section?!

Sure, that Snack Lunch above wasn’t quite as healthy as my others since it lacked veggies. But I did see several different variations of this snack box in the deli section. Some had hummus and veggies. Some included fruit. There were ones with tuna salad and crackers. I probably could have chosen a more healthy option. Don’t worry, I still had plenty of cukes form the Farmers’ Market. I’ve been eating them like crazy right now!

I seriously feel like I can’t get tired of snacks for lunch. I brought some leftovers and a salad to work a couple of times recently, but what I really wanted my Snack Lunch instead. What’s also great is that since you pre-portion all of your snacks before you leave the house, portion control should not be an issue.

Here’s my formula for a healthy Snack Lunch:

• Protein (chicken, pork chop, cottage cheese, cheese cubes, hummus)
• Veggies (to eat plain or with dip, hummus, guacamole)
• Fruit (Right now, I like ones that are chopped into pieces or bite-sized rather than an apple or orange – such as raspberries, melon, cherries)
• Optional: Healthy Fat (guacamole, olives, a drizzle of olive oil over roasted veggies.)

You could also add a whole grain, too. I love that these are so simple to put together and it helps me use up whatever I’ve got in my fridge.

Do you ever eat your snacks as your lunch?

What kind of foods would you put in your ideal healthy Snack Lunch?

Cheers~
Carrie