Healthy Snacking - Drop It Snack Ideas

Someone asked me the other week if I thought snacking good – especially when one wants to DROP IT. My resounding answer was ‘YES!’ Off the top of my head, I was able to say that provided the snack was [relatively] healthy and nutritious it could actually help you keep your metabolism revving all day long and keep hunger pangs at bay – helping us maintain a healthy lifestyle and body.

But the question still remains, is there a good way of snacking? To this I will say a resounding YES – because if you are not careful you could end up eating too much, eating the wrong things and piling on the pounds (or kg’s as the case may be) – believe me this is experience talking. So I’d like to share tips I have learnt (and am trying to adhere to) to ensure that my snacking is healthy and actually facilitates my DROP IT lifestyle rather than works against me.

How many snacks are permissible each day? My nutritionist advised me that I should stick to three small snacks each day – she emphasized that these snacks must be low fat and low calorie options (this is a must to note!). I have to be frank and say that some books and articles I’ve read about snacking advice just two snacks a day. I’ll leave it to you to decide which way you want to go. But I snack between my three major meals and have one last snack (if I can call it that because my last snack of the day is a very basic cup of tea) before I turn in for the day. So, 2 or 3 make your choice and make it count. But the main reason I subscribe to a healthy snack between meals is to stave off hunger which will helps me not overindulge during my main meals.

What can I snack on? This I had to learn…so for me some options include:

• Fresh Fruit – orange, apples, small banana, tomatoes, grapes, avocado pears (is this a fruit?)
• Fresh Veg like carrots, cucumbers, celery...
• Seeds (hemp seeds, sesame seeds, melon seeds etc) – I try to keep a dry mix of nuts and seeds handy for snacking.
• Fresh yoghurt
• Rice cakes (no more than 2 at a sitting – although I did read a blog post recently that alluded that this may not be too healthy. The brand I buy is 50 calories each, so you will understand that I cannot afford more than 2 a pop)
• Nuts (tiger nuts, almonds, walnuts, cashew nuts, pistachios etc) – the trick here is to know your nuts as they each have different caloric contents – you don’t want to eat too much of a high calorie nut and knock your diet sideways.
• Cheese (my particular favorite is cheddar or edam and I usually pair this up with fresh grapes; you can also have tomato and buratta or mozarella chesse topped with black pepper and a light drizzle of olive oil  - but this is more of a mini meal than a snack, right? – I’ve included pictures of my own cheese snacks for you to see, (above & below) looks yummy right? J )  

In addition to these you may want to try:

• Brussels sprout chips
• Popped Corn (sorry, only 1 cup per sittingJ)
• Beetroot chips
• Boiled pears (Eastern Nigerian favorite)

I personally do not think there is any hard and fast rule about snacking…just guidelines J. And the guidelines is simply make your snacks count by ensuring that they are healthy and have the best balance of fats and calories. Then if you are going to buy readymade snacks (like fruit/nutri-bars) please don’t fall into the trap I did and fail to check the labels – some of these things are loaded with high fructose corn sugar, additives, and stuff that could contribute to your daily calorie load and you will not lose weight – believe me, this is experience speaking.

Do you have any go to healthy snack options, please share with me and I will be delighted to post it up for everyone in the DROP IT community to enjoy!

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