Snacking can be an important part of your diet if you stick to a few simple rules…It is healthy to snack if you have a long time between the next meal…sticking it out generally doesn’t work..you will either head for the biscuit tin or the fridge and have just one…?
It can also help stop you overeating at meal times because you are just soooo hungry…
What do you need to watch out for?
Portion Size:
Guessing is easy but very rarely works you may err on the side of caution and underestimate or you could be way over…
Pick foods which are low in added fat and sugars but high in fibre and water content, for example, an Apple ticks all the boxes a bag of chips/crisps, unfortunately, doesn’t.
I have read many publications which state aim for fruit, vegetables, whole-grain foods or low-fat dairy...I steer clear of anything which screams at me low fat as that generally means high sugar as for the taste to be palatable something else has to be added if fat is taken away…which means sugar if a list of ingredients has sugar or corn syrup in the first few ingredients buyer beware…
Another pitfall is recipes saying only 46 calories each which is what I came across the other day when researching for this post…Broccoli and Cheese Bites they were called and looked delicious really appetising…
The list of ingredients: broccoli, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, flour, eggs and various spices…that made them sound even more delicious I could taste them…cook them in a mini muffin pan which I happen to have and they are mini…trust me…HOWEVER…and this is where the kicker comes in something as delicious sounding and I am sure they also smelt amazing…4 would take me to just under 200cals… 5 would take me over…Looking at them I could have easily eaten 5 and some…I would also want a drink…cheese makes you thirsty…
I will definitely make these at some point…just not at the moment when I am trying to get back into my healthy eating and lose the few pounds I have added during the lockdowns and the festive season…sigh…something to look forward to…xx
Some healthy snacks…
- Apples (dried or cut into wedges), 1 medium or ¼ cup (35 grams)
- Bananas, 1 medium
- Raisins, ¼ cup (35 grams)
- Fruit leather (dried fruit puree) without added sugar…I love the mango one it is very nice if you can get it..
- Carrots (regular carrots julienned, or baby carrots ), 1 cup (130 grams)
- Snap peas (the pods are edible), 1.5 cups (350 grams)
- Nuts, 1 oz. (28 grams) (about 23 almonds)
- Whole-grain dry cereal (if sugar is not listed as one of the first 2 ingredients), ¾ cup (70 grams)…don’t forget to count the milk as all cereal absorb milk differently and you could use 125ml or 200ml…just be aware.
- Pretzels, 1 oz. (28 grams)
- Yolida Natural live Yoghurt per 150gm serving 100 cals…with serving of 2 fresh passionfruits @34 cals each.
- Air-popped popcorn, 3 cups (33 grams)
- Cherry or grape tomatoes, ½ cup (120 grams)
- Hummus, ½ cups (120 grams)
- Pumpkin seeds in the shell, ½ cup (18 grams)
If you pair the protein with carbs you will feel fuller for longer for example:
- Wholewheat cracker with Peanut Butter
- Natural yoghurt with fruit
- Hummus with carrot or bell pepper ..julienned.
Plan Ahead:
Measure out portions and put in a container/bag…if you are going out pop one or two in your bag or keep some portions in the fridge or cupboard if you are measuring cereal…it saves searching the fridge or cupboards or picking something up from a corner shop.
At home, if you or your family snack while watching TV…
Measure a portion into individual bowls rather than just dipping into a big bowl or packet you will invariably eat more.
Above all pick foods you enjoy, eating should be enjoyable, simple and not stressful…xxx
Thank you for dropping in and reading this post please leave a comment as any tips or comments I treasure… as you all know I just love to chat…Love Carol xx