When it comes to eating for your goals, preparation is key. But sometimes it’s not practical to prep all our meals ahead of time. Maybe life throws a curveball, work calls a meeting, schedules need to shift. It’s great to have the flexibility to stick to your nutrition plan but grab-and-go when you need to.

Here are some great snack ideas which you can make ahead of time or throw together in minutes without ruining your physique nutrition goals.

Healthy trail mix

Traditional trail mix can be a car-crash of calories and sugars. Make your own with raw, natural, high-protein ingredients for a fun snack you can carry with you all day. Don’t eat too much – even homemade trail mix contains a lot of fat and calories – but rest assured that your own trail mix will be far healthier than shop bought, with none of the added sugars, oils and preservatives. Making healthy trail mix couldn’t be simpler: throw together your choice of ingredients, mix and go. Here’s the recipe for our favourite trail mix at the moment:

– Raw nuts (try halved or quartered almonds, brazil nuts or cashews)

– Flaked coconut or your choice of seeds (we like pumpkin seeds – less fiddly than smaller seeds!)

– Some low-sugar dried berries (berries are best – dried fruit is incredibly high in sugar

– Chopped beef jerky (adds a salty, savoury tang – try it!)

– Dried edamame beans

– Chopped dark chocolate (not too much, and make sure it’s high cocoa content – shoot for 80% or higher)

Simply eggs

It doesn’t get much better than an egg: nature’s superfood with  protein, fat and the complete spectrum of amino acids all bundled up in its own packaging. This isn’t really a recipe, in fact we’re a bit embarrassed to suggest it in case we’re teaching you (or our grandmother) to hardboil an egg… Yes, set aside some time one evening to hardboil a few eggs, allow them to cool then store in the fridge so you can just grab one or more on your way out of the door.

– Add a splash of vinegar to the water, then add your eggs

– Pack them in to the pan so they don’t move around

– Bring the water to the boil, simmer for 5 minutes, remove from the heat

– Run cold water over the eggs and allow to cool

– A pinch of baking soda in the water makes it easier to peel the eggs.

Chicken skewers

Here’s a great idea for a savoury snack. Chop chicken (or turkey) and your favourite vegetables into similar sized chunks. Thread onto a skewer and bake or grill, before cooling and storing in the fridge (or freezer) for a great quick-grab snack which will satisfy hunger without waking up your sweet tooth. Good choices of veg for these chicken skewers are:

– Shallots or chunks of red onion

– Chunks of bell pepper

– Cherry tomatoes

– Large chunks of courgette

Protein pancakes

The majority of people reading this are probably already massive fans of Protein Pancakes, most likely from the TPW Protein Pancake mix. But did you know that protein pancakes can be great options to make in advance of a busy day? You don’t have to make them fresh and eat them hot. Make your protein pancakes as usual, but allow to cool on a wire rack before stacking between greaseproof paper or kitchen towels. You can take them as they are, or spread them with some nut butter, quark, greek yoghurt or cream cheese, sliced banana or low-sugar jam (make it fit your macros) and stack, layer or even roll up for a really amazing mini-meal on the go. Great for a post-workout treat!