What’s your sloppy snacking status? If you’ve been following along, you know that this month I’ve devoted Monday’s to the Stop Sloppy Snacking Series. I’ve used Monday’s as way to motivate you to make more nourishing snacks – and make them easy and fun! Now it’s time to learn some tips on smarter nourishing snacking.
Snacking Demystified
What type of foods do you think of when you hear the word “snack?” For some people it’s a bag of chips and super-size cola, for others it’s hummus and baby carrots. While both are indeed examples of snacks, do you think perhaps one is better than the other. Better? How can I pit a food against a food? Well, while I do feel that an occasional handful of chips and an infrequent soda are fine, I also know that those foods don’t nourish us. That’s why, when it comes to the BEST snacks (the un-sloppy kind), you should always choose the ones that give you the power of good nutrition.
Practice Better Nourishing Snacking
To help you with this, I’ve created my snacks under 200 calories, but also this chart below that gives you an idea of the foods that offer the most nourishment – making them excellent snacks!
The “Yes!” Snacks: The foods that are soooo nourishing, that yes, of course you should consider these a snack.
The Not So Much Snacks: These foods offer little, if any nutrition so consume them infrequently or enjoy as a treat and NOT a snack.
Yes!
Fruits
Vegetables
Whole grains and whole grain products (bread, cereal,crackers, etc)
Yogurt and kefir (low in sugar)
Cheese (in proper portions)
Nuts and seeds (including butters)
Lean cuts of meat, fish and seafood
Beans and bean dips (yes, hummus!)
Low sugar granola bars
Not So Much
Potato chips, cheese puffs, you get the idea
Cookies, pastries and other baked goods
High sugar cereals
High sugar yogurt and smoothies
Fried foods
Soda or flavored waters/drinks (with lots of sugar)
Fattier cuts of meat
Sugary or chocolate-dipped granola bars
Five Snacks Around 200 Calories
May You Have a Great Week of Snacking
Make these snacks or make your own, just remember to make them NOURISHING! Drop your favorite, nourishing snack in the comment section below! And check out the week 1 list and week 2 list of snacks if you missed them. Happy snacking friends!
