Healthy Snacking

Snacking is one of those things that can be your body's best friend, or worst enemy. Some argue that we should not snack at all, and should stick to the "three squares" that we used to eat so many years ago. Others believe we should eat 5 small, frequent meals every day. Next week someone else will be telling us something different, so I do what my body tells me to. Personally - I think it depends on your body, how active you are, and what works for your body and your metabolism. Some of us metabolize our food very quickly, some of us can only eat small bits at a time, and some of us need the 3 squares. The important thing to remember is to incorporate all your healthy food groups into your diet each day, and do what works best for YOU and YOUR body. Eat all things in moderation. Everyone is different, and paying attention to how your body reacts to food and eating is all part of being mindful. I have a couple of tips for anyone and any body type with snacks, is to do it in a healthy way. And lucky for all of us - it's really easy!!

Fresh veggies You keep hearing how good and healthy veggies are, and that's because they are. They're ridiculously easy to bring along with you anywhere you go, so there's really no excuse not to have them. Carrots, celery, sugar snap peas, sweet potato sticks, green, red or yellow peppers cut into slices, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, or cauliflower - or anything else you might love - are super good for you, packed with fibre and are very healthy carbohydrates. Eat them on their own, and if you must dip them in something, try hummus or tzatziki instead of some crummy ranch dressing that has no nutrition in it.

Hummus (chick pea & garlic dip) is packed with fibre and protein, and tzatziki (a yogurt/cucumber/garlic dip) has calcium, healthy probiotics for your belly and tastes great. Hummus and tzatziki are very easy to make and -w hen you make them at home - no chemicals or crap! My recipe for hummus is posted on the Mindful Eating page, and I'll post one soon for tzatziki too. Feel free to share yours there as well!

Fresh Fruit: Again - it's very easy to bring along your favorite fruits with you anywhere you go. Take the few minutes to wash your fruit, slice them up if necessary, and package them up, and believe me - when you are out running around and start feeling hungry, you'll feel SO MUCH BETTER if you reach for this as a snack. You feel better physically because it's not garbage that you're putting into your body, but you feel better about yourself for not stopping to grab some unhealthy, fatty snack along the way.

Dried Fruit: Another wonderful snack - but beware - many of them have added sugar. If you're buying them in packages, READ THE LABELS. Not all of them have additional sugar, and you can find them without it, just look for it, and pay attention. You could make your own too, if you're feeling sassy! Farmers markets & organic grocery stores are great places to pick up these kinds of snacks.

Almonds: One of my absolute faves. Almonds have a glycemic index of zero, and are loaded with all sorts of goodness. Fibre, calcium, protein, essential fatty acids...and they taste wonderful. Grab a handful, have glass of water & you'll feel satisfied. If you don't like almonds, bring along some pecans, walnuts, or cashews - whatever you like. Just remember to get raw nuts - unsalted & unsweetened, and, just like everything else, eat them in moderate amounts.

Healthy Trail Mixes - HOME MADE. Trail mixes are super easy to make, and are best when you make them yourself at home. Toss your favorite raw nuts (unsalted, unsweetened), dried fruits (unsweetened) together and you've got a super healthy snack with no garbage in it.

Edamame beans: I love these little babies. Seriously, they're so tasty, and so good for you. Kids have fun eating them too, especially if they in the pod. One of my friend's very fussy daughters eats these like they're going out of style - I think mostly because it's fun for her to suck the beans out of the pod,but whatever the reason - she's getting a healthy snack. Edamame beans are very low in calories, and packed with protein and fibre.

The other thing I think is important to note with snacking is late night or bedtime snacks. I think they're good to avoid, for a couple of reasons. After 11:00 pm, your body slows down to begin resting, and restoration. What this means is that your metabolism slooooows right down at this time of day. If you're snacking late at night...well, it's going straight to your ass, plain and simple. The other thing that matters here, is that when you eat late at night you're forcing your body to go through the process of digesting that food - when it's naturally programmed to rest and restore itself. Your body needs that time every day to restore itself, so give it the respect it deserves for working so hard for you all day, and allow it to do what it needs to heal itself and keep you here healthier, and longer.

Finally - here are a couple things I think are complete CRAP to snack on - anything you buy in a box or package that says "lite" "low fat" or "low calorie"...basically, anything in a package, really. And popcorn!!! People think popcorn is good for you to snack on because it is low in calories if you air pop it & use some chemically created butter like spread you've been brainwashed to believe is healthy for you to top it with, but popcorn has a glycemic index of 72! This makes it very high on the glycemic index scale, and what that means, is it turns to sugar very quickly in your body.

Whatever you're snacking on, or if you're eating three squares - listen to your body. The purpose of eating is to provide your body with nutrition, so, give it nutrition from each of the food groups. Eat everything in moderation, and eat food as whole and clean as possible and think of whatever you're putting into your body as nutrition, and fuel for life.