Read 117 times since Saturday, August 13, 2011
Planning healthy meals is important, and easy to do. However sometimes hunger arises between meals, and so snacking becomes part of the issue too.
Making snack time healthy and productive is easy. It just takes some planning.
Because having an occasional snack is inevitable, make sure the grocery list includes food that makes both healthy meals and snacks. Many people get sugary snack foods because of their convenience, but you need to be weary of these- they are highly unhealthy for the body.
Instead, try to find foods that are high in nutrients and low in carbs when picking foods for snacking. Make sure that you take the time you need to understand the nutrition facts of a food product before purchasing it.
To do this, a few items need to be considered. Is it low in sugar, high in dietary fiber; low in calories, free of trans-fat?
How big is a serving size? Will it keep you full, or will it just arouse your appetite even more?
All of these questions will help you determine the nutritional value of a snack. Ideally, you want to eat snacks that are low in fat, carbs and calories and high in dietary fiber and other good nutrients (the ones below the black line on the label).
One of my favorite healthy snacks is sunflower seeds. They have Calcium, Vitamin A, protein, dietary fiber; they are low in calories, fat, and carbs.
In addition, they are small enough that (if you eat them one at a time) it will take you a long time to actually eat an entire serving size. They are great for long car trips; the only problem is they can be a little messy at times.
Another great snack is whole grain crackers, like Triscuits. They are very filling and healthy.
While they do contain carbs, it's the right kind. They are a great mid-morning snack to boost your energy for the day.
These are also good to keep in the car because they don't go bad from sitting in the heat. They are already pretty dry.
Once in a while though, you may crave a sweet treat. When that's the case, yogurt is a good choice.
They do have a lot of sugar, but they also contain great nutrients that are difficult to obtain otherwise, like yogurt cultures. These help counteract the negative effects of taking antibiotics.
Yogurt is also a good source of fruit and dairy. Plus it has around 80 calories per serving, and it's available fat-free.
A few snacks to avoid are soda, fast food, and snack cakes. These are very tasty and tempting treats, so that's why one should consider them to be avoided instead of untouchable.
They are okay in moderation, like once a month. Spend some time on the treadmill afterwards though!
And if you must drink soda, choose diet. It takes out the sugar and decreases the damage it will cause.
All in all, there's a variety of food out there. Being healthy is all about making small decisions that add up to having a great impact. Destry Masterson is a health, fitness and nutrition expert. She has written articles about diet and exercise and recommends http://www.treadmillsensei.com for information about treadmills.
Contact Info:
Destry Masterson - MyOnlineArticleWriting@gmail.com - Twitter: @DestryMasterson
|
|
