Healthy Habits in a Snap

“Healthy habits” truly encompasses many things—exercise, what we eat, what we put on our skin, our thoughts, our habits—and how we balance it all. As we strive to become healthier and happier in our lives, especially during this time, the conversations become broader and even more relevant. I swear as soon as I reached my late twenties, my metabolism and energy hit the road and I have learned more than ever the importance of self-care and eating well. Creating rituals I enjoy is my new trick to developing healthy habits, which has proved to be a success for me as of late…

I recently hit a wall and realized that a few bad habits were compounding and causing me to feel awful. Lack of sleep, brain fog, feeling unmotivated. Honestly, a lot of this I believe has to do with working from home (read: easy to form bad habits) and feeling burnout every so often. It definitely had to do with my diet, too. It’s not like I was eating pizza for lunch, but I wasn’t considering the nutrients that my body and mind need to keep me going during the day and feeling great.

After a few weeks of feeling very blah, I decided to make changes and seriously commit to being more mindful about my daily lifestyle choices. I’m fortunate to live close to Snap Kitchen, a healthy meal delivery service, who has a few locations here in Philadelphia. They offer healthy, chef-inspired meals, craft drinks, and delicious snacks that are perfect for on-the-go or when I don’t feel like cooking. (Which has been quite often, as we have only ordered take-out once since quarantine started). Eric and I knew we needed to make a change in our habits and start eating better in hopes of feeling healthier, happier, and lighter.

Snap Kitchen makes it simple and easy to stick to a healthy lifestyle. All of their products are gluten-free (!) so you don’t need to worry about reading the back of ingredient labels. They only choose the highest-quality brands to carry, in addition to their own delicious prepped meals. I love that you can customize your meals based on your lifestyle choices. Eric and I try to eat similarly, but let’s face it, the calories and nutrients we need are quite different. He feels better eating a plant-based, gluten-free diet while I crave iron-rich foods and love a (healthy) carb. Snap Kitchen has a few different options for their meal plans: low carb, high protein, balance, or you can customize your own. I love the balance plan, but we’ve opted to customize a few times now and love it (more on that below).

We challenged ourselves to the Snap Kitchen life for a few weeks to see how we feel and, in short: we feel amazing! We’re both sleeping well, happier, and feel like our minds are clear and refreshed. We’re focusing on progress, eating better, exercising, and being more mindful about my choices on a daily basis without the added stress of having to meal plan and prep. Snap Kitchen makes it easy to balance living healthy in a way that isn’t restricting/boring. We love food (and wine), so we don’t compromise things that we enjoy. Here’s a list of my golden rules for eating healthy, plus go-to meals and snacks from Snap—including little things that have made a big impact…

1

Start your day off on the right foot. I used to totally skip breakfast, but now it has become something I look forward to. My favorite Snap breakfasts include Siggi’s Yogurt with fresh fruit and granola, Mush Apple Crisp, and the Almond Butter Pancakes. They also carry Vital Proteins collagen, which I add to my morning smoothies. Delicious!

2

Keep healthy food on hand. If I only have healthy options to reach for, that’s what I gravitate towards. I love keeping things like Coconut Cashews and RX Bars on hand when I need something between meals. I actually haven’t been snacking too much because Snap meals truly make me feel satisfied and energized.  

3

Don’t deprive yourself. Some people are great at portion control and that’s amazing. For me? If I’m hungry, I eat. BUT I try to choose the healthiest option. When I’m starving I tend to make bad choices, and I know that about myself so I make sure it doesn’t happen. That doesn’t mean I will pass up on a burger (who doesn’t love a good one now and then, especially during summer?). I love Snap’s healthy version that’s made with mushrooms! It’s absolutely delicious.

4

A kombucha a day….keeps the doctor away! I love something bubbly to sip on when I’m outside on the roof or hanging with friends. But so many drinks are filled with calories, sugar, and not much else… Snap Kitchen carries Baba’s Booch, made locally near me, and it’s a delicious treat to have on hand. It has a lot less sugar than other kombucha brands I’ve seen but still has the flavors I crave.

5

Get creative. Snap Kitchen now sells components to their meals, so you can truly customize them and make it your own. Their grilled chicken is so delicious and I’ve never been able to replicate it at home, so I love picking up a few portions to throw onto salads or wraps during the week. We even made delicious homemade gluten-free enchiladas and they turned out amazing!  

Have you tried Snap Kitchen yet? If so, what are your favorite meals? Be sure to share your healthy tips with me in the comments!