5 Healthy Lunches to Pack for the Beach

Most dried fruit will include double to even triple the sugar content of fresh fruit. In reality it should be treated as candy and popped about as often as, say, M&Ms. Another dangerous aspect of dried fruit is that it contains fructose which is an ingredient that doesn't signal your brain to stop eating.

Sure, you can toss a few snacks into your beach bag, but for a full day at the beach these are my cooler must-haves to keep you going. Pack a few light cheese options like low-fat string cheese (Trader Joes has a new fresh mozzarella cheese stick -- yum!),Laughing Cow wedges or Baby-Bel minis. They're perfect for pairing with a piece of fruit.

It is one of my daughter's favorite spots and she was happy to have some of her favorite snacks to enjoy between water sessions. I was reading the Savory magazine during one of our swimming breaks. It featured quite a few easy dinner salads and many recipes featuring fresh seasonal fruits.

I like to bring granola bars and of course Stonyfield yogurt pouches. I find the best options to be dried apples, apricots, bananas, pineapple rings and pears. Things like gooey raisins, mango or some of the other will have sand sticking to them. You can make these at home or buy them pre-packaged, but the best part of the granola bar is that it’s self-contained. Along with the Stonyfield Yogurt Pouches, granola bars are also one of the snacks my kids are most likely to eat when they want a quick fix.

This means they’ll fit perfectly inside your cooler without taking up much space. The top of the cooler has 4 cupholders so you don’t have to worry about your drinks falling in the sand! In addition to its other amazing features, this cooler also has a telescoping handle that will help you maneuver the cooler effortlessly. The perfect solution is to whip together our charcuterie kabobs. These delicious kabobs hold the same assortment we all love but serving them on a stick allows them to be perfectly portioned for each person!

If your kids demand slices, slice them ahead of time and then use a rubber band to hold the slices on the core. It makes it easier to travel with and keeps the slices from browning. My son is a fan of pretzels so these are another snack I love to take with us places. However, they work especially well at the beach since they aren’t oily and won’t stick to anything. And, since these are self-contained and don’t require a spoon that will undoubtablely be put down in the sand, I get a mess-free way to feed them at the beach. With Lake Michigan so close to us now, my summer goal has been to spend as much time at the beach as possible.

Popcorn is an easy snack to make at home before the beach or you can buy Skinny Pop popcorn at about any store. It's cheap, easy, and healthier than a bag of potato chips. Jocelyn Hsu Bananas are high in potassium and are perfect for throwing into your beach bag. One of my favourite things to do is dip bananas in peanut butter. Whatever you do, don't forget a banana at the bottom of your bag, or else it'll become really soft. Granola bars can be healthy if you choose the right ones.

They are low in calories, fast to make and will fill you up. You won't even have to leave the beach to enjoy this lunchtime snack. Sure, it might not fill you up completely, but it will definitely save you an extra trip to town or your house to make a full meal. Just throw one in your bag and you'll be set for the entire day.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and vlog eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor. Such a delicious and quick recipe list for picnic. I would love to make few recipes if I out for a picnic.