My husband is one of the trickiest people to shop for. Yes, I live with him. Yes, I know what he likes. But he doesn’t really need anything—and there are only so many kitchen gadgets you can get a guy who loves to cook before it gets old. Enter the RawSpiceBar monthly Flavor Kit, which includes unique freshly-ground spice blends and recipe ideas delivered to your loved one’s mailbox every month. Think spices like German Gingerbread, Indo-French Vadouvan and Peppercorn Chai. It’s an adventurous chef’s dream!

You know how I said September always feel like January to me? Well it’s not just clean notebooks and cute office supplies that I’m looking for. I’m also looking to break any bad habits we’ve slipped into over the course of the summer—like over indulging in deliciousness.

At the start of the summer I was all gung ho about getting into a healthy eating routine for both myself and the girls. Well, a few too many lunches out and froyo treats side railed that just a teeeeeny bit (and by teeny bit I mean a lot).

I really want to flush the processed foods out of our lives. At least mostly. Mac and cheese is probably here to stay, no matter how hard I try. But if I can start by offering them after school snacks that are clean and healthy, I’m hoping it will slowly bleed into other mealtimes.

Here are twenty clean eating after school snacks that are totally doable with a little bit of preparation.

I’ve been working my butt off for the last couple of months. Just about every day I have made it my mission to work out. Instead of being something I fit in if I can, I’ve made exercise a non-negotiable. This has been game changing for me.

I’ve always been one of those girls who, while not obese, could stand to lose at least 10 pounds. Blame it on body type, genetics, laziness, whatever. I’ve always struggled to keep those last few pounds off. But now it’s different. I’m not dieting. I’m not looking for mystical results in a ridiculously short amount of time. I’m making a lifestyle change.

The problem? I’VE LOST HARDLY ANY WEIGHT. I realize that muscle weighs more than fat and that inches are just as important as pounds. I realize that my clothes fit me differently and that I feel stronger and my back doesn’t ache when my toddler is in a hardcore “CARRY ME!” mood. I realize all of that. But would it kill the scale to creep down a bit?! For my psychological well being?!

The one thing that does seem to help me is flooding myself with positive reinforcement. I started following a bunch of healthy living Instagrammers and the constant encouragement and healthy food inspiration has been huge. HUGE, I tell you!

I don’t know about you, but I need a detox. There is WAY too much post-Halloween sugar running through my veins right now. This revelation may or may not have been brought on by the fact that I sat on my iPhone this weekend and shattered the screen. Or maybe it has something to do with my 7-year old talking about how big my butt is all weekend (both before and after the now infamous phone crushing experience).

Truth is, the revelation should have come months ago. I’ve been on a downward spiral ever since I messed up my ankle in the middle of my first attempt at Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred. Note to anyone with half a brain like me: 1) Sneakers are kind of essential to high impact workouts. 2) If you’re experiencing pain that is making it slightly difficult to walk, maybe don’t “power through” until it’s nearly impossible to walk.
My messed up ankle meant that I couldn’t work out for a bit and I fell off the healthy bandwagon—hard. The healthier eating habits that I picked up while working out and feeling better quickly went out the door and my obsession with sugar kicked itself back up into an even higher gear.

That was early July. It is now November and I’m sluggish, exploding out of my fat jeans and on a constant rollercoaster of sugar highs and lows. BOO.

My problem in life is not meals. I’m usually great with breakfast and lunch and my husband always makes healthy dinners. My problem is snacks. As in, I like them. A lot. And I have little to no willpower against them.

I’ve decided that my best bet in this epic battle is preparation. If I have options available that are healthy and ready to eat, I’m way more likely to grab them than if I have to make it. Also essential is trying to keep the amount of sugar in my house to a minimum. I decided to go on a hunt for some clean eating snacks that sound yummy and are actually not half bad for me. I even created a clean eating snacks board on Pinterest. It’s worth a try, right?

Here are a few of the recipes I found that made it to my Must Try list:

Last week I mentioned that one of our favorite foods lately is brown rice salad. It’s a great healthy (and gluten free!) alternative to pasta salad. We like to make big batches of it so that my husband can bring it in to work for lunch or we can have it for dinner on days when cooking is not our favorite idea (ok, it’s rarely my favorite idea. But this works perfectly for days when my hubs is getting home late and doesn’t feel like cooking).