If you have an erratic schedule, the biggest downfall can be letting yourself get hungry. The two go hand in hand: a crazy itinerary leaves you not realizing what time it is and before you know it you’re ‘hangry’ as hell and completely useless. It can throw off the entire day!

If I walk into a meeting peckish, it becomes difficult to concentrate or even carry on conversation. If I go to the gym hungry, I give considerably less effort than I would otherwise. If I walk into a restaurant ravenous, all bets are off—diet is out the door and I am ordering the largest plate of carbs imaginable.

All of this can leave me feeling frustrated with myself. It’s something so simple, yet it can quickly send me on a crash course! It chalks down to timing your fuel intake. While busy schedules don’t always allow for well paced meals, being prepared and snacking right can hold you over until you find proper nutrition.

I start my day with a hearty smoothie or a new household favourite, Chia Pudding with Avocado Matcha Smoothie. It’s full of antioxidants, fiber and the touch of maple syrup gives it decadent taste—a treat for not pressing the snooze button! I make my chia pudding the night before with PRANA ProactivChia Seeds as my base. Unlike other brands of chia seeds, PRANA includes an exclusive blend of organic chia seeds and probiotics to keep my digestive health functioning at optimum levels. For a fall twist, I suggest adding a pinch of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spices.

The first step in snacking right is to choose items that won’t spike your blood sugar or leave you feeling bloated. A high protein snack is always your best bet. It burns energy more slowly, leaving you feeling full longer. Reaching for a handful of raw organic almonds has always been my go-to but day in day out, this can leave you yearning for variety. The minute you get bored of a snack you become in danger of giving it up all together and can fall back into the hanger cycle. I mix up my snacks by incorporating a few of my favourites from PRANA. They take high-protein seeds and nuts and pair them with a variety of flavours that let me continue to snack right and squash my cravings.

If you happen to have a sweet tooth, Kilimanjaro Mix has dark chocolate and cranberries that let me feel like I’ve just ‘caved’. When I’m craving something savoury I reach for the spicy chili Jive Coconut Chips they have that perfect kick! They’re available in all major chains (Costco, Loblaws, Metro, Winners) and pharmacies as well as in natural food stores and online: www.prana.bio.

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After you’ve found the snack that excites you make sure you have it at an arms length away. I typically keep snacks on hand in my gym bag, purse and keep a few of the homemade Chocolate Almond Toasted Buckwheat Bars in my car.

Tip: Keep up your protein levels throughout the day by educating yourself with which sources of protein are the most recommended with PRANA’s free Plant-Based Protein Chart.  An illustrated infographic depicting the different sources of plant-based protein and their nutritional values!

Giving ‘hangry’ a wide berth will keep your energy levels up and let you power through the day. Just for you I want to give you guys a 15% discount with the code: NATLANGSTON to use for any of the products above. All you need to do is click this link and login to receive it. 

Natalie xx

Thank you PRANA for sponsoring this post. All comments and opinions are my own.