Grab 'n Go Snack

I've been feeling thinking a lot about stress lately.  Or rather, stress, distress, and my reactions.   Basically, feeling too much stress I become overwhelmed and I eat much more than I need.  When I feel in distress, I don't eat.  I'm just not hungry.  Neither is good.  I mean, losing weight to a lack of appetite would mean the weight would return when the appetite returns so I need better coping strategies. 

I've decided the big one would be to just

be more prepared. 

Having healthy snacks on hand is one thing, but having them already prepared in a way that I can grab and go (like I would grab a handful of goldfish that always seem to be laying around), has got to be

the single most important thing

I can do for myself

if I want to be healthy.

And because I do, the next biggest thing would be to remember what I truly want in the moment: to eat more than I need to satisfy a fleeting feeling, or to be healthy?  

I really need to get in the habit of bringing what I want into focus in times of stress. 

So here's something I'm trying this week, a grab and go snack full of a variety of nutrients.  A bag of this mixture came home untouched from Hailey's school.  There is this awesome parent of one of the kids in her class that volunteered to make healthy (and gluten-free for her son) snacks for the 3rd graders for each day of their standardized testing.  So when Hailey brought this home I took one look at it and knew she wasn't saving it for later. 

It isn't particularly eye-catching or even salty or anything but it met my snacking craving - you know, the one where you just want to bite down and munch, munch, munch?  The cereal meets that crunchy need, the raisins meet the desire for something a little sweet, and the nuts provide lots of protein, fiber and fat to really satisfy hunger.  Here's the break down:

1/2 cup rice Chex cereal (50 calories - as opposed to 150 calories of that amount of goldfish crackers)
1/4 cup golden raisins (130 calories)
1/4 cup natural almonds (160 calories)

Mix ingredients together, separate into two small snack bags or containers for later snacking or leave it all in a bowl on the counter to grab on the go!

I'm thinking I could use this idea as a base and substitute different dried fruit, nuts and cereal for variety.  Feel free to leave a comment with your combination ideas!