Let’s see what dictionary.com has to say about snacking: “to have a snack or light meal, especially between regular meals.” Wait a second, what? Have we just read light meal? Of course, snacks are light meals that are taken to let go of the crave or appetite of food for time being (which is natural).
Apart from that, it has no other meaning. However, in contrast to what we have been told above, people these days don’t consider snacks as light meals. An alarming discovery of the recent year is that instead of opting for lighter snacks people go for oily, sugary and fatty alternatives leading to obesity.
However, in this article we will be focus on healthier alternative for the snacks we usually have to cheat our balance diet schedule in a clever way. We think that we are smart but we are doing the right thing by putting our health at stake. See this video clip and ask yourself this question: Am I addicted to snack?
If the answer is yes, then you are reading this article just in time and here’s an amazing chance for you to fight this addiction. There are seven ways given below that will teach us how we have been snacking wrong. So, here we go!
Use of unsalted nuts in place of candies
Now that we are talking healthy snacks let’s get real to the situation we are dealing with. How can we yell at our children when they eat chocolates excessively if we ourselves are not snacking in a healthy way? So, it’s time to act like a good adult and start munching on unsalted snacks instead of candies that too should done in a controlled way.
“Eating a combination of high-quality protein, fat, and fiber (contained in unsalted nuts) is absolutely the best way to kill cravings, give you great satisfaction, and an energy boost,” says Pamela M. Peeke, M.D., a physician.
Try plain yogurt mixed with natural honey instead of fruit-flavored yogurt
Most of us enjoy fruit-flavored yogurt that is widely and easily available in the market considering it a part of our healthy snacking. However, the truth is totally different to our assumptions. Fruit-yogurt are full of calories and sugary content, taking you towards obesity.
Instead, it would be highly feasible for us if we take plain yogurt and get it mixed with some natural honey to give it a delightful flavor and enjoy it as a snack. Each bite of it will be packed with healthy nutrients contained in honey and highly beneficial doze of calcium contained in plain yogurt. Know any better way to flavor up your day?
Forget about the fruit juices and eat the whole of a fruit instead
We go crazy after fruit juices because we think they are extremely healthy and are the best thing for our diet in terms of snacking. We behave like this because most of us are unaware of the reality and that is fruit juices lack fiber and many other useful nutrients contain in whole fruits.
Prefer eating whole fruits because they contain fiber, which interferes with your body’s impulse to burn through sugary content that naturally occur in fruit. It also helps you fight your hunger and cravings for longer hours.
Instead of consuming normal cereal, get your high fiber cereal dunked in cow’s milk!
It is a common routine in American homes that people consume cereal in breakfast. They think it is a healthy snack and use it as breakfast so that it can keep them energized all day long. Instead, those cereals contain load of sugar and low filling fiber, causing all your energy to get drained out.
So, the best alternative to your cereal craving is a healthier option and that is you get a high fiber cereal bowled up while dunking it in cow’s milk instead of almond milk to stay energized all day long.
Forget about potato chips and start munching on popcorns
A bag of chips might be the biggest addiction when it comes to snacking. One cannot resist eating it. The only thing we didn’t know is that all these chips are fried in excess quantity of oil. It makes them extremely harmful for health.
The experts recommend us to enjoy popcorns which are usually considered a healthier counter part of potato chips. You can get your popcorns flavored up with cheese or any other ingredient of your choice to flavor up your snacking time.
Replace all those milk chocolate bars with the dark chocolate ones
If you are a chocolate lover, then you can eat a lot of chocolate and the health experts won’t comment a thing on your snacking habit. So, are we talking about a dream or something? No, that is not a dream but truth.
The only thing that has to be kept in mind that experts would always recommend us to eat dark chocolates. They are very nutritious and a very good source of antioxidants unlike milk chocolates that mostly contain sugary and fatty content.
Choose real fruits instead of dried fruits
No doubt, dried fruits like raisins are extremely tasty but they can get your blood sugar spiked in a harmful way. This is the main reason that doctors prefer real fruits over dried fruits.
It is recommended for you to eat fresh fruits since they are loaded with fiber, antioxidants and other great nutrients. These all qualities help in preventing heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer.
