Snack-attack

I did so well the first semester of school with my food choices and intake.  I actually lost about 5 pounds and then break came and went and I gained everything back plus an extra 5 or so.  {Yay.}  My weight is not the point of this post, but it sort of applies.

I have found that the best way for me to continue to stay awake and pay attention is to snack.  I snack in class, I snack at lunch, I snack pretty much 24/7.  I’m sure you are sitting there thinking, “Well there’s your problem, Clark”, but hear me out.  My snacks are not pop-tarts, candy, or chips.  It’s mostly fruit and veggies {honest, engine}.  And this brings me to the point I was intending to make.  There are lots of snack options in the world and honestly, I don’t care if you prefer eating straight sugar cubes.  However, I have compiled a guideline for appropriate snack options for in-class munching.  They are as follows:

• Nothing with a super strong smell
  {Cracking open a pouch of tuna or a hard boiled egg will get you some seriously nasty looks because NO ONE wants to smell that.}
  
• Nothing with obnoxiously loud wrappers
  {We are all trying to concentrate and hearing you putter with your snack wrapper wins you no friends.}
  
• Nothing that requires disgusting mouth noises
  {Mouth noises are the bane of my existence, but sitting in class crunching on a bag of chips just might send anyone straight into a blind rage.  Don’t even get me started on bananas.}

Healthy options are fantastic and there are great fruits and veggies that follow these guidelines:

• blueberries
• strawberries
• grapes
• melon (this is borderline)
• apple slices
• mixed nuts (I LOVE chocolate dusted almonds)
• snap peas
• cheese slices
• KIND fruit bars/bites (these are my favorite)
• dried fruit (check for added sugar or make your own, you know, with all that free time)

There are other really delicious options {pretty much any and all candy, specifically sour fruity candy and chocolate}, but the added sugar is something that I am personally trying to avoid {unsuccessfully most days} and we have already discussed my issues with the big G {gluten}.

So there you have it.  I haven’t posted much by way of dinner ideas as of late because we are basically surviving off of frozen pizza and sandwiches.  Although, I did make dinner two nights in a row this week.  {That’s right.  I’m momming HARD up in here.}  

What are your favorite snack options?  Or do you have better ideas about how to stay alert in 8-hour classes?