One of the biggest hurdles in quitting fast food for good is that it’s just so convenient. We are all running every-which-way and barely have time to shave more than one leg in the shower, let alone spend hours in the kitchen every day.

Luckily, there is such a thing as Mother Nature’s Fast Food for those extra busy weeks. In fact, I would argue that healthy “fast food” is much, much faster than the drive-thru. What’s faster than grabbing a banana, really? And it comes in its own biodegradable package, to boot.

Here’s a list of super-fast, unprocessed, all natural, highly nutritious snacks that you can port with you on the busiest of days:

1. A handful of berries (any kind) stirred together with 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, sprinkled with cinnamon and a drop of honey

2. One apple, sliced and spread with almond butter

3. One cup (or more) raw veggies (broccoli, snap peas, carrots, bell peppers, etc.) dipped in hummus or healthy ranch dip

4. 1/2 cup brown rice (cooked) and 1/2 avocado, mashed together, topped with your favorite healthy seasoning and/or unrefined sea salt

5. One small baked sweet potato, topped with coconut oil and cinnamon (practically dessert)

6. 1/2 cup blueberries and 1 apple

7. 3 celery stalks, spread with 1 1/2 Tbsp all natural peanut butter and optionally topped with raisins

8. A banana dipped in almond butter

9. One hard-boiled egg and either an apple, pear, orange or grapefruit

10. 1/2 cucumber (sliced) and 5 whole grain crackers, all dipped in salsa

11. Make ahead: Garbanzo beans tossed in olive oil or coconut oil, lightly sprinkled with garlic powder and rosemary (or your favorite herb) and roasted. They are crunchy and delicious!

12. Make ahead: Kale chips! Break up one bunch of kale into potato-chip sized pieces. Toss in 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp. of unrefined sea salt. Spread out on a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet and bake at 200 degrees until edges begin to brown and chips are crunchy

13. Make ahead: use a pizza cutter to slice whole grain (preferably sprouted) pita bread into triangles. Brush with olive oil or coconut oil and top with either sea salt or cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees (F) until crunchy like chips. Dip in mashed avocado (if you used salt) or almond butter (if you used cinnamon)

14. Any green smoothie. See my free green smoothie guide at Smoothies4Beginners.com

15. Apple slices with hummus – sounds weird, but try it–it’s great!

16. Frozen grapes and mango cubes – this alone is like dessert.

17. One slice of sprouted grain bread spread with all natural almond butter and 1 tsp raw honey

18. 1/2 avocado, stirred and mashed in its own skin (like it’s own little bowl). Add a squeeze of lime and a dash of unrefined sea salt. Dip in 1 cup or baby carrots and maybe a few whole grain chips 🙂

19. Green juices frozen into popsicles

20. 1/2 can low-sodium, organic mixed beans (try to find black, garbanzo and kidney, it’s delicious) warmed and tossed together with a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a generous dashing of italian seasoning.

p.s. Need some help making family meal planning MUCH more convenient? Check this out: oneminutemealplan.com

Do you have any super-fast, whole food based snacks to add to this list? comment below!