Healthy food snacks
To plan or not to plan? That is the question!
Do you underestimate calories in your snacks?
Healthy food snacks for seniors, children, athletes and other groups
Who is this snack good for? Quick snack guide
Healthy snack ideas
Five ideas of healthy travel snacks
Healthy snacks for teenagers: why bother and what to pack
To plan or not to plan? That is the question!
Eating healthy food snacks is something that many people overlook, even those who are trying to change their lifestyle toward something more holistic and fit. Everyone is so busy. People who have enough energy to plan a good meal may still grab whatever snacks they can find while on-the-go.
These snacks look small and tempting, but what we don’t realize is how BIG they are in things like sodium, unhealthy fat, sugar, and MSG. By the end of the day, a person can easily eat more calories in snacks than in their main meals!
Do you underestimate calories in your snacks?
Eating on the go is one of the first bad habits attacked by weight loss consultants and cognitive therapists. They want you to put your food in front of you and eat mindfully, chewing at least 26 times. They want you to know what's inside and how many calories you consume. Their advice is supported by the research. When eating on the go, it’s easy to underestimate amount of unhealthy snacks we’ve consumed. In fact, people underestimate their total calorie intake by 30 to 100%!
Yet, even if people try to plan, many of them still don’t know too many examples of healthy food snacks that are tasty too.
Healthy food snacks for seniors, children, athletes and other groups
Healthy food snacks minimize or exclude ingredients known to undermine our health (like salt, MSG and preservatives). You know that, right? Now read this:
What you INCLUDE in your snack is just as important as what you EXCLUDE.
Each person’s body is unique with similarly unique needs. A child’s nutritional requirements aren’t the same as his or her grandparents. Similarly, a pregnant woman needs different healthy snack foods than a 30-something man.
With that in mind, let’s see what to avoid and what to include in healthy food snacks, depending on your body needs:
- Seniors: Seniors need certain nutrients, especially ones supporting bone and brain health, usually found in greens, seeds and nuts. It’s vital that their snacks are low in saturated fat, sugar and animal protein.
- Weight Loss: To lose weight effectively, choose low-calorie snacks, snacks with a low simple carb content, and high fiber, high nutrient snacks.
- Children: Kids need both energy and nutrition. Healthy snacks for kids should reflect this. Look for snacks that have sound building blocks (vitamins), high calories, complex carbs, and some fat. Though simple carbs are the quickest way to provide energy, avoid them at all cost
- Fitness & Body Building Snacks: These include high protein snacks and very often high carbs right before or after a workout. High potassium and magnesium are important,too. Try to get your carbs from natural sources and use healthy protein, such as hemp protein. Any other form of hydrolyzed protein acts as an MSG in your body. This usually manifests as fatigue, cognitive problems and skin reactions. Please find out What is MSG?. Scroll down to a free MSG guide to aid your shopping decisions.
- Heart Disease: For those struggling with an unhealthy heart, avoid snacks that have high fat or animal protein. High cholesterol is a precursor of heart disease, and cholesterol comes from animal products ONLY. Many people, who eliminate animal products from their diets, including eggs and dairy, lower their cholesterol dramatically. U.S. Studies show that total cholesterol around 150 is the safest – and this healthy number is only found in vegans.
- Keep it Smart: Healthy brain snacks are those High in Omega-3 and low in other fats.
- Diabetic Snacks: The healthiest snacks for diabetics are those low in sugar.
Who is this snack good for? Quick snack guide
Low fat snacks:
- Everyone
- Seniors (critical!)
- People who are working to lose weight (critical!)
Low calorie snacks:
- Weight loss
- Low physical activity
High calorie snacks:
- Children
- Athletes
- Bodybuilders
- People doing high intensity physical labour
High protein snacks
- Bodybuilders
- Athletes
Low carb snacks
- Everyone
- Weight loss
- Low physical activity
- People with diabet
Important correction to this popular word combination: low carb. Healthy diet is low in SIMPLE carbs, like sugars, and high is COMPLEX whole food carbs, coming from grains, beans and legumes.
Low fat snacks
- Everyone
- People with unhealthy heart
High fiber snacks
- Everyone
- People with digestive issues
Healthy snack ideas
These guidelines might seem a bit obvious, but when you’re in a hurry the thought of eating healthy snacks often disappears to expediency or a craving. And some things that seem healthy may not be healthy at all. Some folks love deep fried tofu, for example. Tofu by itself is fine, but the deep frying it wipes out the healthy qualities. So it’s not just the snacks you eat, its how you prepare them too!
Wondering what to do about healthy food snacks? Here are some ideas for you:
- Begin by knowing your body
- Base your snack list on nutritional needs
- Prepare these snacks at home in bulk, freezing them, dehydrating them, and basically storing them for when you want
- Always keep them handy.
This way you’ll always know what’s in your snacks, and that they support your overall goal of fit and healthy living.
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