Yesterday morning at 6:30am, as I was trying to get ready to leave for my first client, Roman was up and at ’em, pulling on my hand, trying to lead me to the door, saying, “Outside? Outside?” Even though we have air conditioning and we are in the middle of a miserably humid heatwave here in NYC, my little guy just wants out to play! It’s adorable.
For the record, here’s a little glimpse into the life of a Brooklyn baby in the summer heat: chalk drawing on the stoop, trying to drink the water sprinklers in the playground, getting a breeze going with some serious swing time, and when all else fails, catching up with his furry friends in the cool of the AC.
But I digress. 🙂
I thought I’d do a round-up of summer snack ideas, in homage to one of my favorite ‘meals’ of the day, the humble snack. I love snacks, because I’m often working out at odd times, when I have childcare, or when I can sneak in a workout while Roman naps. I need to make sure I have enough energy in the way of food to keep me going. These are just a few of the snacks I’ve eaten this past week:
Clockwise from top left: Banana with peanut butter, raisins & honey. A runner’s dream snack. I can inhale a banana and not notice I’ve eaten it, so I’ve been getting creative by cutting it up and making it a snack I need to take my time to eat. Plus, the raisins and honey add sugar (carbs = runner’s fuel) but it’s still light and easily digestible, so I can eat this and almost immediately head out the door to workout or run.
Fruit salad: Yum. My favorite part of summer is the fresh fruit. Another great carb fueling snack, delicious and light. Post run, I would add yogurt for some protein refueling.
Hummus with pita and olives. This is actually a side dish at a local restaurant that Fran and I order when we want to sit outside and grab a quick drink. Roman sits in his highchair with his sketch pad and crayons, and loves the hummus, and we get a healthy snack while we enjoy a beer or a glass of wine. Win win.
Sugar snap peas! These are SO GOOD. I buy so many of these at the farmers market for snacking or instead of a salad. You can eat the whole thing, pod and all, and they are deliciously sweet.
Clockwise from top left: Another thing I ADORE about the farmers market in the summer is the tomatoes. It’s either a good year, or a so so year for tomatoes – this year is a good year. I love cutting up a whole tomato, sprinkling with sea salt, and generally pairing it with cheese (here it was with cheddar).
I just found this Chobani Greek yogurt in the coconut flavor in my local deli. It is SO good. I am a sucker for anything coconut, and this doesn’t disappoint. It’s 2% milk fat, but the fat content is higher because of the fat from the coconut, which I find helps me feel satiated. Plus, it satisfies a sweet tooth.
Brie and crackers. Mmmm…cheese. I have such a cheese tooth. The trick for me is to make sure I cut a certain portion and stick to it. If there’s a huge wedge of cheese out at a party or something, I will ‘forget’ to keep track of how much I’m eating. So as a snack at home I just cut off about an ounce, pair it with some crackers, and enjoy every bite.
Pure Bar. I love the Pure Bars, because they only have a handful of ingredients, all of which are actual, recognizable foods. When I am out and about and need something quick and portable, they are my go-to bars. I hadn’t actually tried this flavor before (I love the Cherry Cashew flavor), but they had me at coconut. And it was delicious.
So that’s what I’ve been snacking on – hopefully it’s given you a few summer snack ideas! 🙂
What are you snacking on?
What summer foods do you love best?
