You just had your breakfast hours ago and it’s still long way to go before lunch break, but your stomach is rumbling, crying to be fed. It’s completely natural for a growing teenagers and young adults like you to feel hungry all the times. So, what’s the answer to satisfy your hunger? Snacks!
Snacks aren’t necessarily bad. Healthy snacks provide a good source of energy and essential nutrients to keep you going. In fact, research has shown that healthy snacks could support lifelong healthy eating habits and may help to maintain a healthy body weight and prevent you from suffering from chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. On the other hand, the wrong choice of snacks like burgers, fries, chips or candy may provide you a quick boost of energy, but could be detrimental to your health in the long run.
You may feel like your hectic student or working life make it impossible for preparing healthy snacks. In fact, healthy snacks are much easier to prepare than what you think, or you can also opt for ready-made snacks from the supermarket. Remember, the key for healthy snacks is to keep everything in moderation, along with a well balance diet.
Here are some ideas for you to prepare and shop for healthy snacks. Choose snacks from these food groups:
Fruits and vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables have little or no fat and only small number of calories and are also rich in essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals. Since they have a higher fiber content, they will provide you with a feeling of fullness and help to prevent constipation.
Try lots of different fruits and vegetables and prepare them in various ways to find out what you like best. Fruit can be served in different ways like eating whole, sliced, cut in half, cubed, or in wedges. You can also opt for frozen, canned or dried fruits as they often need little preparation. You can also make smoothies by blending fruit with low fat yogurt or milk with ice. You may want to limit store-made smoothies as they generally come with added sugars. Vegetables can be served raw or you could also dip them in low-fat salad dressings, like fat-free Ranch or perhaps light dips such as hummus and salsa.
Whole grains.
Whole-grain snacks are rich in fiber and complex carbohydrates, and are a terrific snack that will tame your hunger and provide you energy. Look for whole grains items rather than refined grains items.
Choose low-fat whole-grain crackers, whole-grain pretzels and whole-grain crispbreads rather than rice crispy treat and cookies. When you shop for whole grains snacks like granola bars, try to choose those with less than 100 calories per serving, have added sugars less than 10% of the total calories, low in saturated fats and no trans fat.
Low-fat dairy products.
Low fat dairy products are great sources of calcium, protein and many other vitamins and minerals. Making low fat dairy products as snacks may keep you on tract in order to meet the daily calcium requirement. We need calcium not just for strong bones and teeth but also for normal blood clotting, healthy muscles and for a well-functioning nervous system. Children and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 18 should aim for 1,300 mg per day while adults need about 1000 mg, which is about 3 to 4 servings of high-calcium food or drinks.
Look for skim milk (0% fat), or you can also go for low fat milk (2%, 1%, 0.5% fat) as these types of milk provide less calories and fat per serving than whole milk. If you like yogurt, look for brands that are low-fat/fat-free or light varieties with less sugar (no more than 30 g sugars in 6oz cup) and high in calcium (at least 20% of daily value for calcium in 6oz cup). You may also want to try Greek strained low fat/no fat yogurt as this provides more protein and calcium.
Cheese is also a good source of calcium, but it also can be high in saturated fat. Consider low fat or reduced fat cheese (less than 5g fat per serving). Try to have cheese with whole grain crackers or with fruits and vegetables.
Nuts and seeds.
Nuts and seeds provide protein, so you will feel fuller longer. Furthermore, they are also high in monounsaturated fat, a healthy kind of fat. However, it is important to note that they are high in calories, therefore, you shouldn’t eat them in large quantities. A small handful of nuts is a reasonable serving size for snacks. Examples include peanuts, pistachios, almonds, walnuts and cashews. Try to get unsalted nuts/seeds. You can also serve them along with fruits.
References:
2. Snacks, how do they fit into your weight loss plan.
