Healthy Snacks

No matter if it is while we are watching television or a quick bite to and from picking the kids up at school, we all love snacks.
We can’t get away from that fact. So why fight it? Our whole life we have been told that snacking is bad for us. It will ruin our apatite, it will make us fat, it will break us out in pimples. Some of it is true, while on the other hand, it is nothing more than fiction. Snacking performs a very important role in our lives. Some times we snack because we are bored. We eat because we are bored. That 600 pound man didn’t get that way because he was eating three square meals a day. He got that way because he was eating too much food.
Our bodies tell us when we are hungry. That doesn’t mean that it that all the time we are hungry we need food. But, if you have a good diet it does. There is no reason to cut out snacking all together. Snacking is also a great way to avoid things that we do as a pick me up some days. For example, we can eat a piece of fruit instead of going for that cola to get a jolt of energy.
The key thing to do is, to know what to eat and what not to eat. Here we will give you some snacking ideas that will help you choose what is right. It doesn’t require a genius to figure it out, but you might be surprised at some of the suggestions. This might sound a bit strange, but I would suggest to you that you get a food dehydrator. You can get one for next to nothing and they are easy to use. I know that learning how to use something new isn’t always as easy as it sounds, but believe me, these things are a snap to use.
You can dry all kinds of things in your dehydrator. The key thing to remember is to cut things thin. The thinner the item is cut, the faster they will dry. Fruits are a great thing to dry. You can dry what ever is one sale at the super market that you can find. You can also dry canned items. I would suggest that you start out with a few easy things. Start out with strawberries. They are about as easy as you can get.
Not only are strawberries easy, but when they are dried, they carry a punch of sweetness that only sugar can match. The great thing is, these are sweet, but they don’t have the calories of candy. You can also dry veggies as well. Are you like me, do you love the instant soup mixes they sell at the store? Well, I love them but hate all the added salt. If you dry your own veggies, you can make your own soup. What I love is, I can control how much salt I add.
Here is something that I love to do as a snack. I take a handful of banana chips, strawberry chips, and about two apple chips. I take them and put them in some low fat yogurt. That makes for a snack that is good for you and something that I love eating. It doesn’t get any better than that. You can snack on the dried food just plain. Grab some fruit chips instead of potato chips or candy. You really can’t go wrong with dried fruits. They will last a very long time if you keep them in a baggie as well.
You can also make fish jerky, turkey jerky and beef jerky. I love making jerky because it saves me so much money. I don’t have to pay over ten dollars a pound for jerky. I can use what ever cut of meat that is on sale at the store. You can always go with the same boring veggie platter for a snack. I do love my veggies, but this can get a bit boring at times. That is why I love the dried fruits and veggies.
A great veggie plate can be made up of any type of veggies. I would suggest that you make yours out of what ever is in season. That will produce the best veggie plate that you can. Also try putting a little oil and vinegar dressing on them. Don’t use too much, but just enough to taste. Sprinkle salt to taste and also put some pepper or some pepper flakes on them. I love using pepper flakes because it gives the veggies a zing. You can also squeeze half a lemon over them for zing if you like.
You need to make sure that you aren’t eating a healthy diet and snacking on foods that aren’t good for you. I know tons of people who have a very good diet, but their problem is that they eat all kinds of junk when they snack. This doesn’t serve any purpose at all. I’m sure you know people like this as well. Actually, I feel like yelling at them and calling them a moron.
If you must have some carbs, don’t do anything stupid. Don’t go running for the potato chips. Instead, eat some sliced potatoes and add some seasoning to them. I like to use Cajun seasoning myself. I think that adds the kick that they are lacking since there isn’t any fat.
Another great snack idea is the small fruit cups that they sell in the stores. Don’t get the ones that are in heavy syrup. Heavy syrup is a nice way of saying loaded with sugar. Also some of the pudding cups aren’t too bad either. They also have yogurt cups these days too. They are good, especially if you get the ones with the fruit on the bottom. There you have it. The next time you feel guilty because you ate the wrong snack food, come back and read this article again. This will help you curve those hunger cravings and allow you to snack without the guilt.
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