Healthy snack is a way to take care of yourself for every modern girl. Nowadays it is fashionable to be healthy, active and slim. Almost every woman devotes time to sports and carefully monitors what she eats.
More and more compliments are gaining fractional and separate meals. It suppose eating 5-6 times a day. Brunch and afternoon tea are added to breakfast, and then lunch and dinner.
The snack preparation can be a useful habit for you, but not a daily hassle.
According to dietary specialists and nutritionists, you need to eat often little by little to maintain a normal weight, digestion and metabolism.
However, a snack should be useful.
Buns, pies, chips and sweets are a direct way to extra pounds.
What options of proper snacks do healthy nutrition experts offer?
Main Rules Of Snacking
Why are snacks so important to our health?
The standard eating pattern is eating 3 times a day. Our ancestors were rarely able to get a lot of food at once. For hundreds of thousands of years, the body has adapted to frequent but small intakes of calories. Sometimes it can be a root, sometimes a handful of berries. The volume of our stomach is small. It is only about 0.5 liters when empty. But we regularly force him to stretch, eating more than necessary. It is simply because between two meals we manage to get pretty hungry.
As a result, we need more and more food each time to feel full. Overeating not only harms the figure. It greatly complicates digestion and slows down metabolism.
You need to eat about six times a day, and three of these meals should be small snacks. You can have a light brunch between breakfast and lunch, an afternoon snack between lunch and dinner. It is normal to eat something healthy a half to two hours before going to bed. However, snacks should not replace main meals.
The snack should be solid. It means that is not a couple of peaches or cookies. And it is because fast carbohydrates are extremely quickly processed by our body. But they do not give a feeling of satiety even for an hour.
Snacks that contain fast carbohydrates are absolutely not suitable for a snack. They saturate instantly, but not for long. Sweets, white flour pastries, chips, and similar snacks are by no means a light healthy snack.
Healthy snacks are high in protein and complex carbohydrates. Their calorie content is relatively low, however, they provide long-term energy supply, improve digestion, and promote the growth of muscle tissue.
Here are the best options for a light snack at work or at home. All of them either do not require cooking at all, or require minimal preparation.
Low-Calorie Healthy Snacks For Weight Loss
It matters if you think your weight is right. If you are trying to lose weight, you should choose a healthy diet and snacks.
In any case, it is important not to forget about the water.
People often confuse hunger and thirst.
It is enough to keep a glass of water on the table and drink a sip every time you look at it. It really works. With this system, the amount of food consumed is noticeably reduced.
Don’t replace snacks with the water. It is important to include both in your diet.
Water gives energy, vivacity and improves attention and concentration.
Smoothies
To prepare a delicious smoothie that will maximize your fiber intake
Not everybody like to eat raw carrots. But carrot is more attractive in the mashed form.
Modern baby food is the almost same smoothies.
Smoothies are a good option for those who are not particularly fond of vegetable and fruit salads. They allow you to eat vegetables and fruits into the diet that you would not eat just like that. For example, such vegs are beets or celery.
The important thing is not add sweet yogurt or ice cream to smoothies.
You can mix strawberries, currants, broccoli and a spinach with a spoonful of oatmeal, flaxseeds and coconut oil in a blender.
To add water to desired consistency. You can choose any fruits and berries for your cocktail.
The figures are next:
fruits and vegetables 200 gr,
seeds 10 gr,
oatmeal 20 gr,
oil 5 ml.
Smoothies are a great way to get the 25 grams of fiber you need a day.
Egg
Can be supplemented with vegetables, oil and sesame
Take your favorite vegetables and herbs and chop them. Add some delicious unrefined oil and add black sesame seeds.
Eat salad with a boiled egg.
Serving size:
chicken egg 1 pc,
salad 200-300 gr,
oil 5 ml,
sesame seeds 5 gr.
Sesame is an excellent source of concentration. It contains sesamin.
It is a grea antioxidant. It helps to prevent premature skin aging. Sesamin also affects the level of cholesterol. Sometimes it could be the prevention of cancer.
Sesame seeds contain a lot of vitamins:
vitamins A,
groups B, C, E
trace elements – zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, potassium.
Sesame seed perfectly strengthens the immune system, speeds up metabolism and make a beneficial effect on digestion and metabolic processes in the body.
Cottage Cheese
Better to add sour cream, cucumber and some greens
It is recommended to choose high-quality 9% fat cottage cheese.
But if you’re on a weight loss regime, look out for the 2% and 5% options.
Then you should add sour cream, cucumber, finely chopped greens to cottage cheese, salt and pepper.
Approximate snack size:
150 gr cottage cheese,
1 tbsp sour cream,
1 cucumber,
green onion,
dill,
parsley.
You can also use kefir instead of cottage cheese as a base.
If you mash all the ingredients in a blender, you get an interesting, satisfying and unsweetened smoothie.
Cottage cheese is a natural product that is obtained by curdling milk.
Cottage cheese is also a high-protein product.Cottage cheese contains many useful trace elements.
Additionaly, it has a high content of calcium and vitamins. It is a serious advantage for those people who are building muscle mass.
This is not applicaple to curds in cups, which are “flavored” and thickenered.
“Pure” cottage cheese is not liked by everybody. But only the natural cottage cheese can give the necessary satiety and benefits.
It is worth to buy a high-quality, natural product.
Then to take a small portion to work every day.
There are many natural additives to diversify the taste.
Baby fruit puree is a good option. It does not contain sugar in most cases.
Other options are Honey or Homemade jam.
Avocado And Creamy Cottage Cheese
With bread and sprinkle seeds on top
A hearty and delicious snack is a combination of whole grain bread and creamy cottage cheese with ripe avocado, sunflower or flax seeds.
Serving size:
bread 60 gr,
cream cheese 30 gr,
½ avocado,
seeds 15 gr.
Avocado is in the Guinness Book of Records as the most nutritious fruit!
Be sure to add it to your diet as a source of healthy vegetable fats.
It is easy to make a quick guacamole. Just to mash the avocado with a fork, add a few drops of lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Better to stir and serve with crispbread.
Lightly Salted Fish
With Bread and egg and greens
A sandwich of dark bread with lightly salted fish, boiled egg and your favorite greens, such as arugula would be perfect snack.
Pay attention to the fish. It should not contain anything other than the fish itself and salt.
The size of this snack can be as follows:
rye bread 40 gr,
boiled egg 1 pc,
weak salted salmon 60 gr,
optional greens.
The benefit of oily fish lies in the omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins of groups B, A, E. All of them together positively affect to the functioning of all body systems.
Try to eat fish at least three times a week.
Greek Yogurt
With nuts and berries
Choose yogurt with at least 7 grams of protein per 100 grams.
Very often manufacturers write on the label of yogurt that it is Greek. But in fact, the amount of protein more less. So, itis better always to check the quantity of fats.
Add your favorite nuts and berries to your yogurt, or use frozen ones in winter.
Serving size may be as follows:
Greek yogurt 150g,
nuts 30g,
berries 80g.
It is not recommended to use sweet yogurts as a snack. It is because of the sugar. Its quantity is quite high.
If you want to have add sweetness, better to use a spoonful of homemade jam or a sweet fruit. It could be pear or peach.
Greek yogurt is a thick, multi-strained fermented milk product.
That is why it removes most of the sugar and all of the whey during the manufacturing process.
This product uses twice the amount of milk. That is why Greek yogurt contains so much protein, good bacteria, and calcium.
Cheese With Fruits
You can add nuts
You can add 200-400 grams of fruit or berries to your cheese-nut snack.
Better to use seasonal fruits. For examplem, to choose apricots and juicy cherries in their seasons.
Nuts are an ideal source of plant-based protein and healthy fats.
They are enhancing any meal. So it is recommended to add a few of your favorite nutstypes to your diet on an ongoing basis.
Muesli
Muesli is good healthy snack.
They can be raw and baked.
Both types can be eaten with milk or kefir.
It is also good to add the raw Muesli to fruit salads.
It is possible to gnaw the baked Muesli just like that.
Natural muesli contains a lot of fiber that improves bowel function. They perfectly saturate and contain vitamins.
However, do not confuse muesli with corn flakes. They are different products.
Corn flakes are not so healthy, because they often contain a lot of vegetable oils and sugar.
Sweet tooth can be advised baked muesli with honey and dried fruits.They are more high-calorie dietary, but contain an additional dose of vitamins and minerals.
Chicory With A Slice Of Chocolate
Roasted ground chicory is very similar to coffee.
However, chicory drink has a lot of advantages.
It does not contain caffeine and does not increase blood pressure.
Coffee drinkers often experience problems with blood pressure. Coffee overdose often leads to nausea, mood swings, tremors and cognitive decline and insomnia.
If life is not sweet without coffee, you can drink morning coffee, but replace it with chicory in the afternoon.
A cup of chicory and a small piece of dark chocolate is a dose of antioxidants, minerals and vitamins.
Chicory also contains inulin. This substance helps to better absorb calcium, maintain healthy intestinal microflora and normal weight.
Fermented Milk Products
Natural yogurt, kefir or fermented baked milk and other fermented milk products are a nice light snack.
The bonus is the high content of calcium. It is a building material for teeth and bones.
Lactobacilli from the kefir help to maintain normal intestinal microflora.
But you should not rely only on them in the fight against diagnosed dysbacteriosis. Kefir is a food, but not medicine.
Vegetables
There are no restrictions here!
Celery stalks or vegetable salad are almost the best healthy snack.
Vegetables, both raw and cooked, are high in fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants.
They prolong youth, help maintain a figure, and improve overall health.
The most useful vegetables are those with a high content of vitamins and a low calorie content.
They include broccoli, radishes, carrots, eggplants, sweet peppers, cabbage, celery.
If you don’t feel like eating a regular vegetable salad, you can grill vegetables. They are peppers, zucchini, eggplant, carrots, beets, squash and tomatoes.
You can also make a veggie sandwich on whole grain bread.
Healthy Snacks For Teens
A teenager needs enough calories for energy and nutrients in the form of varied and tasty food.
The amount of calories the teen need depends on the age and body weight.
The smaller the child, the more calories he needs per kilogram of weight.
For example, an infant needs 100 kcal per kilogram of body weight per day. But teen of 12-18 years old needs only 30-60 kcal per kilogram.
Cheese
You can add nuts and vegetables to the cheese.
Cheese it is a fermented milk product which overtakes even meat in terms of protein content.
That is why it is guaranteed a satiety for 2-3 hours.
Processed and smoked cheeses will not work correctly. These products often contain additives that are not useful in any way.
It is necessary to choose hard sort of cheese. And also it is good pickled or natural curd cheeses.
You should not take ready-made cuts in the store.
It is much better to buy a couple of favorite sorts and take a few different 3-4 slices everyday.
You can choose any cheese.
It could be parmesan, sheep, semi-hard cream cheese or mozzarella. It doesnt matter, any cheese types that you like.
Nuts can be different.
But they should not be roasted, such as pine nuts, hazelnuts, cashews, or almonds.
As a vegetable addition, you can choose leafy greens. If you like you can take spinach, arugula, lettuce leaves and any delicious seasonal vegetables such as tomatoes, radishes, sweet peppers.
Size of such a snack should be of approximate figures:
cheese 80 gr,
nuts 30 gr,
vegetables 100-150 gr.
Cheese contains the amino acid tryptophan.
It is involved in the synthesis of the happy hormone serotonin. That is why constant moderate cheese eating will positively affect your mood.
Sandwich On Bread
With tomato, cheese and herbs
A cold or hot sandwich is a great snack. It can help you to wait the dinner without feeling hungry.
Serving size:
bran bread 60 gr,
tomato 50 gr,
hard or semi-hard cheese 40 gr,
optional greens.
Dark leafy greens are rich in magnesium, vitamin B9 (folic acid), vitamins A and K.
Be sure to add leafy salads, mustard, arugula, curly and regular parsley, chard, mustard, spinach and green onions to your diet.
Mag Cake Or Cake In A Mug
Magcake or “cake in a mug” is a type of diet cake.
It is very popular among healthy food lovers who consume magcakes as a breakfast, afternoon or snack.
Cake in a mug is baked in a mug in just five to seven minutes in the microwave.
Of course, this dessert is useful only if it is prepared without sugar and fat.
The presence of sweeteners in the composition allows you not to deny yourself in sweets, but also not to gain extra calories.
There are a lot of recipes.
The classic recipe includes low-fat cottage cheese and milk.
You can use yogurt or kefir.
To add an egg and flour from bran ground.
You can take oatmeal, flaxseed or rice bran.
Baking powder and a sugar substitute.
Sometimes cocoa, honey, nuts and berries are added.
Most of those who have ever tried to bake this diet dessert agree that the cooking process is very simple.
The main thing is not to forget to add all the main ingredients.
There are also a lot of ready-made mixtures with a balanced composition, which are suitable even for novice cooks.
Nuts
This is a real “superfood”.
Almost all varieties of nuts contain a high dose of vitamins E and B3, a lot of potassium, phosphorus and magnesium.
They improve memory, the ability to concentrate and work.
In addition, nuts decrease the cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart attack. Moreover, the nuts have a beneficial effect on the genital area.
They contain vegetable fats and they are extremely beneficial for the brain.
The quantity matters here.
The nuts are high fat content and high in calories.
You should not eat more than 10 grams at a time.
A small handful is what you need to “charge” and not harm the figure.
It is better to make a mix of nuts or to eat different nuts every day.
Bars or Fitness Bars
Bars or Fitness bars are in two types.
Firts bars consist of cereal flakes. Sometimes, they made with the addition of dried berries, dried fruits, nuts or dark chocolate.
The second type is based on fruits and nuts. Fruit and nut bars are the best choice for hungry office workers. But they are especially recommended for those who often work out in the gym.
Fitness bars are the most loved by the athletes, regular visitors of fitness clubs and people working in the fresh air.
Both types of bars are healthy and a great option for a light snack. However, it is important that they do not include sugar, flavorings, dyes and preservatives.
Snacks To Bring To Work To Share
It is important to have Healthy snacks at work.
During the working day “reinforcement” is especially necessary.
Not every one of us is capable to eat strong breakfast in the morning, that is why many are limited with a cup coffee or tea.
A “blizzard” begins in the stomach after 2-3 hard working hours.
And you have no a single thought in the head, except for scrambled eggs or a sandwich.
Usually Candy bars are used in such moments. They give quick satisfaction, but not satiety and benefits. Most often, the “bonus” of such a snack will be extra pounds and dissatisfaction with yourself.
The chance of overeating increases if you “pulled yourself together” and decided to endure until lunch at all costs. You will want to gobble up the main food and drink tea for the future.
The best option is to prepare a snack ahead of time!
It’s worth starting with the little things. Buy a set of cute containers for snacks. So the chance to take something useful from home will increase dramatically.
Chocolate With Nuts
Chocolate should be only bitter, with a cocoa content of 72%.
A couple of pieces will give a feeling of joy, comfort and cheerfulness. It may seem that dark chocolate is not as tasty as milky.
It is better to buy chocolates from different manufacturers.
They have different flavors and everyone can find their favorite tile.
And the choice of chocolate is very important.
It should contain the following ingredients:
cocoa butter or cocoa liquor,
sugar,
lecithin,
vanilla.
Milk powder may also be in the composition if the chocolate is milk.
Chocolate may well be in your diet and act as a snack.
Amount:
chocolate 30-50 gr,
nuts 30 gr.
Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is a source of bioflavonoids. These special substances help to reduce bad cholesterol and prevent atherosclerosis.
Healthy Sweets
Marmalade, marshmallow or fruit marshmallow.
This option is for those who cannot imagine a snack without sweets.
Sweets must be natural to be called a useful product.
Usually they based on fruit puree and without unnecessary additives.
You can drink a cup of coffee with marmalade.
Dried Fruits
Possible to combine with Green tea.
There are a lot of different types of dried fruits.
Most popular are apricots, prunes, dried cherries and raisins.
In general, it is huge amount of vitamins!
They make beneficial effect on the heart, organs of the gastrointestinal tract and improve immunity.
Fruits And Berries
When we say “healthy snack”, we are all imagine berries or fruits.
But it is necessary to be cautioned.
Of course, all fruits and berries are healthy, rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals.
However, some of them are very high in sugar.
They are grapes, bananas, figs, mangoes, persimmons and cherries.
If you follow the diet, you should not get carried away with them.
Pay attention to low-sugar fruits such as grapefruit, watermelon, strawberries, cranberries.
Apples are also a controversial product. They are rich in vitamins, rich in iron and fiber, but at the same time they have the ability to increase appetite.
Whole Grain Crispbreads
Whole grain Crispbreads are also great choices for a healthy snack.
Whole grain crisp bread is not made from flour, but from soaked, crushed and pressed cereals.
There is no flour, there are no fats. It is good if there is no yeast or eggs.
It is a heavy, slightly moist bread with a coarse texture.
It has a huge amount of fiber. It improves metabolic processes and the condition of blood vessels, reduce cholesterol levels and contains B vitamins.
But not make a mistake.
This is not a dietary product.
100 grams of such Crispbreads contains 300-350 calories.
If you decide to add nuts, seeds and dried fruits, then the calorie content wiil be even higher.
Don’t confuse whole grain crispbreads with wholemeal bread.
They are completely different products.
Wholemeal bread contains sugar, yeast, and other familiar ingredients.
Conclusion
Snacks are necessary for people who suffer from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys and the cardiovascular system.
If you have health problems, you should coordinate with the doctor your menu and snacks. Your diet must be approved by the attending physician.