4 High-Protein Snacks To Keep in Your Backpack

Snacks are handy when hunger strikes and you don’t have time to cook a full meal because of your hectic schedule. But many popular snack options nowadays are heavy in processed carbohydrates and sugar, which might leave you hungry again soon after eating them. The trick is to pack your snacks with protein and other nutrients, which these four high-protein snacks to keep in your backpack offer.

1) Pumpkin Seeds

When gutting a pumpkin to carve for Halloween as a kid, you wouldn’t consider its large seeds to be anything more than filler. However, pumpkin seeds are one of the most nutritious, protein-packed snacks. The flat oval seeds you discard on the newspaper become a delicious snack after cleaning and roasting them.

In addition to being tasty, pumpkin seeds are full of antioxidants. They can help balance blood sugar because of their hypoglycemic properties, improve your heart health from their unsaturated fats, and provide other nutrients that help your body recover. You should receive double-digit grams of protein for most pumpkin seed serving sizes.

2) Trail Mix

Homemade trail mix is an excellent high-protein snack. Always include high-fiber and heart-healthy nuts and seeds to make up the bulk of the mix. Include a combination of sugar-free dark chocolate and low-sugar fruit to add some sweetness to counterbalance the saltiness of the nuts.

Trail mixes can be higher in calories than other snacks because of what they include, so they may not be the best snack for those on a weight-loss journey. Nevertheless, trail mix is a nutritious pick-me-up before or after you work out, and the nuts and seeds will provide the protein you’re seeking.

3) Jerky

No snack reserve is complete without jerky. You can count on jerky to provide you with high amounts of iron, zinc, and protein. Plus, the high amount of protein doesn’t entail a high amount of fat, because the fat content is minimal. Jerky works well as a preworkout, postworkout, or in-gym snack. One can expect around 10 grams of protein per ounce from this chewy, tasty snack.

4) Edamame

Many folks get most of their protein intake from animal protein. But vegans and others who don’t consume animals must turn to other food groups for protein. Fortunately, soybeans save the day!

Edamame is high in protein, with around 20 grams per serving. It’s also a source of complete protein since it contains all nine essential amino acids, which is a characteristic many other high-protein plant-based options don’t have. Dried edamame is ideal because of its increased shelf life and the grab-and-go ease of consumption.

Including these four high-protein snacks to keep in your backpack gives you something to depend on when you need a protein boost. What makes these snacks most suitable is that they don’t spoil quickly like other meat, fruit, and vegetable options. But adding a meal prep backpack from WOLFpak to your diet routine can help keep any food items fresh and ready to consume when you’re on the go!