Snacking can be a diet downfall for even the best healthy eaters. But it doesn't have to be that way. With a little knowledge, forethought and occasionally advanced preparation, you can reach for healthy snacks instead of those things that will undo much of your good behavior in short order. Here are some potential substitutions:
Instead of Greasy Chips
If you go for chips because of the crunch, you could try eating dry roasted nuts or rice cakes instead. They can still provide you with all the satisfying crunch, but a lot less oil. In the case of nuts, they also provide a great deal more nutritional value. In fact, a recent meta-study has found that having a handful of nuts a day is excellent protection against a number of serious health …show more content…
Some fruits lend themselves well to easy snacking, such as bananas. Other fruits can be pre-processed slightly in order to make them almost as convenient. For example, you can rinse grapes as soon as you get them home and remove them from the stem. They will stay fresher for days longer, making a handy, healthy snack food.
If you find that your cravings seem to be for a particular kind of candy rather than sweets in general, try to determine the "active ingredient" and try to get a healthier version of it in your diet. Many candies actually contain healthy elements with potential medicinal value, they just typically contain so little that it doesn't have much impact.
If you are a chocolate fiend, try buying higher quality dark chocolates. They will contain more actual cocoa and less sugar. Cocoa is a very healthy food with both good nutritional value and medicinal qualities. It just has a bad reputation because of the other ingredients with which it is routinely combined. Consuming dark chocolate may satisfy your chocolate cravings faster and with fewer empty calories added from …show more content…
Mint also has medicinal qualities, such as being a mood elevator. You can get mint in your diet without all the sugar. One option is to buy mint tea. You can serve it plain or with a modicum of sugar added. This may help you break your mint candy habit by getting the active ingredient -- mint -- into you without all the sugar.
Tips
Generally speaking, in order to successfully make the switch, healthier snacks need to be similarly convenient to traditional snacks. In some cases, this can be achieved with a little preparation beforehand. In other cases, you just need to think things through and choose something healthier.
Additionally, you should think about why, when and how you eat a particular food, then find a substitute that fits well with the same parameters. In other words, it needs to meet some of the same needs.
Snacking has a pretty bad reputation as a bad habit wherein we eat unhealthy junk food, but it doesn't have to be that way. With a little forethought, planning an preparation, it is possible to find healthier alternatives, such as dry roasted nuts or fresh
Instead of Greasy Chips
If you go for chips because of the crunch, you could try eating dry roasted nuts or rice cakes instead. They can still provide you with all the satisfying crunch, but a lot less oil. In the case of nuts, they also provide a great deal more nutritional value. In fact, a recent meta-study has found that having a handful of nuts a day is excellent protection against a number of serious health …show more content…
Some fruits lend themselves well to easy snacking, such as bananas. Other fruits can be pre-processed slightly in order to make them almost as convenient. For example, you can rinse grapes as soon as you get them home and remove them from the stem. They will stay fresher for days longer, making a handy, healthy snack food.
If you find that your cravings seem to be for a particular kind of candy rather than sweets in general, try to determine the "active ingredient" and try to get a healthier version of it in your diet. Many candies actually contain healthy elements with potential medicinal value, they just typically contain so little that it doesn't have much impact.
If you are a chocolate fiend, try buying higher quality dark chocolates. They will contain more actual cocoa and less sugar. Cocoa is a very healthy food with both good nutritional value and medicinal qualities. It just has a bad reputation because of the other ingredients with which it is routinely combined. Consuming dark chocolate may satisfy your chocolate cravings faster and with fewer empty calories added from …show more content…
Mint also has medicinal qualities, such as being a mood elevator. You can get mint in your diet without all the sugar. One option is to buy mint tea. You can serve it plain or with a modicum of sugar added. This may help you break your mint candy habit by getting the active ingredient -- mint -- into you without all the sugar.
Tips
Generally speaking, in order to successfully make the switch, healthier snacks need to be similarly convenient to traditional snacks. In some cases, this can be achieved with a little preparation beforehand. In other cases, you just need to think things through and choose something healthier.
Additionally, you should think about why, when and how you eat a particular food, then find a substitute that fits well with the same parameters. In other words, it needs to meet some of the same needs.
Snacking has a pretty bad reputation as a bad habit wherein we eat unhealthy junk food, but it doesn't have to be that way. With a little forethought, planning an preparation, it is possible to find healthier alternatives, such as dry roasted nuts or fresh