Smart snacking
Most of us have breakfast, lunch and dinner (BLD). Anything eaten in between is usually a snack. The danger is when BLD is replaced by snacks. You may wonder why. In an era where food is available in abundance there is a tendency to munch whatever comes in our way and hence a conscious decision regarding what goes in your stomach is important.
Snacks have the reputation of being unhealthy. If unhealthy snacks are eaten for weeks, the body gets weak as it becomes deficient in nutrients and minerals. To avoid this choose to eat healthy snacks.
It is good to take 3 snacks daily in addition to BLD; that makes it a total of 6 meals daily. This amounts to about 21 snacks in a week. It is suggested that at least 15 out of 21 snacks taken every week should be healthy. That still leaves you with 6 snack meals every week to cheat wherein urges to have unhealthy snacks or junk foods that you like are satisfied.
Snacking should be done smartly – whatever is consumed should not just provide calories but nutrients too.
Some examples of smart snacking include:
- Handful of nuts
- Any one serving of fruit
- Chunk of cheese
- Glassful of milk
- Any roasted stuff (like lotus seeds)
- Popcorn
- Baked chips
- Boiled corns (with salt and pepper)
- Sandwich (either grilled or plain)
Snacks to avoid:
- Crackers
- Cookie
- Soda
- Fried chips
- Anything fried
Snacking also depends on situations. People snack differently depending on place and in whose company you are in – examples: when you wake up in the morning, before partying, while travelling, before bed, in an aircraft, with friends, in movie theater, while watching TV, at school, before workout, after workout, while rushing to a meeting, in a long office meeting, etc.
Be watchful and take a conscious decision to eat the right snacks so that you do not put on weight or get deficient in nutrients and minerals and start feeling weak.
