He’s working day in and day out. She’s engrossed in her project. They’re consumed by their long studying hours. Then who’s available to spare a healthy time for healthy snacks?Without cutting down your productivity, opt for some snacks you can make yourself available with at anytime of the day. Healthy to their extremes, these snacks will keep your gut to use for its optimum use.
Read on to know what to munch when and when to avoid what.

SING THE CAROB CAROL

Your hunt for cocoa and dairy free chocolate ends here. The Carob tree makes a healthy contribution as a substitute to chocolates. It is naturally sweet, so contains sugar to a significantly lesser amount, than any of the usual chocolate bars does.

SPARE CHEESE FOR PHOTOGRAPHS

Do not kill your pizzas or salads by immersing them in a high-fat and low-flavor cheese. A healthy choice says, opt for an extra mature Cheddar, highly flavored cheese like Parmesan, or a blue cheese such as Stilton or Gorgonzola. You do not have to use a lot amount of them. One tablespoon of Parmesan will contains just 2g of fat (one of which is saturates).

TIPS FOR YOUR TRIPS

Travelling is bound to be tedious and you got to be eating to keep you from famishing. There are eating joints at airports/railway stations/bus stands desperately waiting for you to buy a bag full of all turbo sized snacks. How well we’re aware of the unhealthiness they guarantee. But there are options. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, popcorn, apple slices, nuts, crackers, raisins,  fruit leathers, Lara Bars etc. These may form an awesome companion to your back-pack stuff.

EASY ACCESS TO HEALTHY SNACKS

There are many who go craving for the evening snacks. Have an easy access to healthy snacks, when at home. Dried or fresh dates, low fat yogurt, which elevates the quality of diet intake [1], oatcakes, figs or mango would be the ones chosen by the healthy minds.

FRESH AND JUICY

Who would agree less that fruits are healthier than anything this world could offer. Juicy fruits are undoubtedly fresh and healthy, but comparatively, dried fruits have higher amount of calories. Reason being, there’s more sugar left, when the water content is removed. Fresh fruits are the best edibles to be considered, if you wish to lose weight – specially the fresh grape fruit [2].

COVERING IN DISGUISE

Yogurt coated raisins and nuts does not appreciate health in any way. In case you believed any of such fallacies. They are rich in calories, fats and sugar content and never resembles any benefits possessed by fresh yogurt. The taste of Yogurt is usually just an artificial flavoring. A barely 20 yogurt covered nuts help you consume approx. 460 calories, 8 tsp sugar and 32 g of fat.  A healthy option is to munch nuts in the shell, which require longer time to eat, leaving an impression with the brain that you’re still not full.

SAY NO TO COFFEE/TEA/CHOCOLATE

All that’s sweet is not healthy. Coffee is very high in calories and fats because of the milk and syrup. Mocha coffee has 11 g fat, cappuccino’s got 6g and regular white coffee 1g of fat. You’re a better judge now. Tanin in tea and coffee are not good for health. Drinking too much of caffeinated drinks leads to lack of concentration. Opting for decaffeinated drinks is anytime a vice decision.

CELERY – THE GREAT AND COOL SNACK

Celery is a magical snack because it takes the same amount of calories from your body, as it gives you. It is crunchy as well as refreshing. Do not smother it by gulping it with creamy dips. There are healthier options instead. You can make a hummus with olive oil or low fat yogurt and mix it with fresh herbs and garlic.

SALAD SAGA

Green, red, blue, yellow – fill your salad with the vibrant hues of nature’s colors. Make it look so tempting and provoking that you just can not say no. Keep your fridge stuffed with vegetables and fresh fruits. Maintain a habit of including a healthy and fresh salad at least thrice a week in your diet. You can include cucumbers, tomato, lettuce leaves, carrots, radish, mozzarella cheese or figs to your salad. Eating only a bowl full of salad as you dine, would be the healthiest way to ensue your day.

GO FISHY

To get the most out of a diet full of fish, help yourself by making your own fish pate. Use canned fish. Mix and match it with any of your favorite sauce, say, horseradish with salmon and mackerel. Tomato with tuna is another yummy option. Use the pate as a sandwich spread during the week.

DON’T BE A GLUTTON

Never carry packets air tied with snacks or food articles to your computer table. Especially while watching a movie or when in front of your TV set. While engrossed with your work, you tend to eat much more than required. Prefer carrying a bowl of snacks instead. Carry a part of the snacks with you. You can repeat, if at all you require any further.

HAVE A GRAPE

Grapes as known are naturally sweet, therefore release sugar easily. So now you know what to gulp in when you’re craving to be a sweet tooth. Best- they’re easily available, therefore can be substituted for satisfying sugar cravings and avoiding chocolates.

CAN YOU UTILISE YOUR CALORIES?

In order to shed one pound of your body weight, you got to burn out approx. 3500 calories. So unless you’re aspiring to be a marathon runner, you got to watch out the snacks you eat.

RAISE WATER LEVELS

Drinking water is essential for your system. It keeps your cells hydrated and help your organs function optimally. Also, water assists the food to keep flowing through the digestive system. This way more benefits can be derived off the food you eat.

CUT DOWN ON SUGAR

Giving a halt to gulping in snack foods containing refined sugar. Refined sugar bounds your susceptibility to fatigue, colds etc. Elevated levels of sugar affect your immunity by decreasing the efficiency of white blood cells.

OPT LOW CALORIE HOT DRINKS

Start skipping Cappuccino or latte and save yourself from disastrous 30 calories per cup. Opt for skimmed or may be fat-free coffee/tea. Avoid anytime whole or semi skimmed hot drinks. They contain calories to a  lot more extent. Dump syrups and flavors.

LETS GO BANANAS

A banana is all it takes to pump up your energy levels and satiate the late afternoon hunger. While you would be enjoying its taste, the banana would be busy increasing the potassium content in your body.

Now while you grab your healthy snack of the day – Comment below to express a thankful gesture 🙂

References:

[1] Wang H, Livingston KA, Fox CS, Meigs JB, Jacques PF. Yogurt consumption is associated with better diet quality and metabolic profile in American men and women. PubMed PMID: 23351406; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3606818.

[2] Fujioka K, Greenway F, Sheard J, Ying Y. The effects of grapefruit on weight and insulin resistance: relationship to the metabolic syndrome. PubMed PMID: 16579728.