Every so often, Patrick will come back from the grocery store with the weirdest stuff, and sometimes he comes back with some legit things that we both want to eat, like these new off-brand adult snack boxes, reminiscent of the Lunchables we had as kids. They do still make Lunchables, but other companies have upgraded the experience for our more refined adult palates — with salami, higher end cheeses, and crunchier crackers, plus some nuts or dried berries for an additional bit of nutrients.
The nutrition labels for Lunchables can be hard to believe. 28 percent of your daily allotment of sodium in that little box for just the ham and cheddar and crackers? That's a bit over the top for such a small size. Customizable snack boxes means you can have more control over how much sodium you want to take in during snack time. Deli meats and cheeses do have sodium, sure, but you can opt to choose ones with less salt, or pack less of them, and more raw vegetables or nuts to compensate. That's the beauty in creating your own snack packs, you can be healthy one day, and maybe a little less so the next day if you want!
Those snack boxes are alright, but I wanted more vegetables and customization in mine (of course) and looked around casually at stores for plastic containers that would make my snack box dreams come true. Nothing seemed right, but once I checked on Amazon I found exactly what I wanted — a four compartment snack box that would hold enough in each space, and the lids fit tightly over each opening so there wouldn't be spillage or contamination between the items in each. This also helps keep the moistness from fruit or vegetables from making crackers soggy.
One thing you'll notice in here is that I have my ranch dip in a blue container — that's a square silicone muffin liner, and that's just for easy cleanup. Just pop the muffin cup with the dip out, and start over with another the next day, no need to scrub out your entire dish (unless you got it messy some other way).
Snacking at work is something that I do between meals — usually the hunger strikes exactly midway between when I finished breakfast and before I'm going to heat up my lunch. Other days, that hunger coincides with the afternoon slump around 2-3 p.m.
I had a lot of fun creating four different snack trays with a multitude of healthy but satisfying options, and still had a ton of ideas for other add-ins that didn't make these go round. I've tried to include every thing that I could to add into these boxes but there are probably many more things you like to snack on that I might not even think of as a snack. I'd love to hear of other good snack options that you'd put in these snack packs, drop a comment below with your ideas.
Oh, and I guess you could give these to kids to if you really wanted. But I totally made these with a refined adult palate and appetite in mind. You won't see me putting Cheerios or Gogurt in these things.
Customizable Snack Boxes
Ingredients
- Dips: hummus, ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, tzaziki, vegetable dip, etc.
- Vegetables: broccoli or cauliflower florets, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, celery, baby sweet peppers, snow peas, radish slices, cucumber slices, etc.
- Nuts, any kind from roasted to boiled peanuts
- Fruit: dried berries or raisins, grapes, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, tangerine slices, etc.
- Crackers (make sure they fit)
- Cheese slices that will fit on the cracker, any variety, or Babybel wrapped cheese rounds
- Meat slices: salami, pepperoni, rolled turkey or ham, etc.
- Pickles: cornichons, dill pickle slices, olives, etc.
- Eggs: hardboiled or deviled
Instructions
- Choose any four from the ingredient list in any combination desired, and add to each compartment. Snap lid on tightly.
I made a few themed trays here, including a veggie tray with ranch dip, a protein-filled tray with eggs, roasted chickpeas, salami, a Babybel cheese, and grapes for a sweet end, and one more traditional Lunchable with salami, cheese slices, crackers, and macadamia nuts, and then a hummus dip tray with two types of vegetables, crackers, and hummus.
There are tons of different ways to make a snack tray and the theme could even be "the last bits of stuff in the fridge or pantry" and it would probably still taste good! Personally, I have about six or seven backs of various fruits and nuts in the pantry that have about enough for a snack tray compartment or two, so this is going to be a fantastic way to clear out the pantry and get my snack on in the new year.
If you need some dips to fill those compartments, how about dill vegetable dip, beer cheese spread, or boiled peanut hummus?