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You are here: Home / Archives for healthy snacks

healthy snacks

Healthy Snack Ideas

August 22, 2019 by Joni Leave a Comment

healthy snacks

Is healthy snacking an oxymoron?

Cravings happen even to the healthiest of us. Often, when a craving hits in the afternoon or the evening after dinner, we get the urge to snack. Snacking can be a bad habit to get into, because the snacks we choose are often junky, un-nutritious, and high in calories, sugar, or fat.

The trick to snacking without piling on the pounds is to find healthy alternatives to the regular snacks you might normally reach for.

Usually, when we get a craving it is for either something sweet (chocolate!), savory (potato chips!), creamy (ice cream!), or crunchy (crisps!). Obviously, my examples are foods you shouldn’t eat all the time if you want to be trim and healthy. But that doesn’t mean you have to fight your cravings for the rest of your life. Instead, you just need to substitute.

Next time you get a craving for something sweet, why not try:

  • fresh, whole fruit (check out this dip recipe for apples!)
  • apples and almond butter
  • dried fruit – without added sugar
  • green smoothies
  • banana “ice cream” (peel a banana, freeze, blend in a food processor with nuts, berries or  raisins ,and serve)
  • dates stuffed with almond butter or other nut butter
  • organic dark chocolate chips or carob chips

For your savory cravings, try these healthy alternatives:

  • olives
  • pickles and pickled vegetables, such as carrot, daikon, beets, and lotus root
  • tabouli, hummus
  • steamed vegetables with tamari/shoyu or umeboshi vinegar
  • freshly made salsa or guacamole
  • Sauerkraut (will also knock your sweet craving right out!)
  • salted edamame

Your creamy cravings can be met by eating:

  • smoothies
  • avocados
  • rice pudding
  • dips and spreads, like hummus and baba ghanoush
  • puréed soups
  • puddings made with silken tofu, avocado, or mashed banana
  • mashed sweet potatoes
  • coconut milk

Finally, don‘t cave and reach for the Pringles, when you can eat these crunchy (but still healthy) snacks:

  • apples
  • frozen grapes or my favorite, frozen blueberries!
  • rice cakes
  • plain popcorn (use coconut oil to pop in a covered pan)
  • carrots (particularly the sweet, organic baby carrots)
  • celery and nut butter
  • raw, unsalted nuts like cashews, almonds, and walnuts

Don’t fight your craving. Instead, listen to what it is your body wants specifically and choose the healthier option that will be good to your waistline.

Filed Under: Health, Healthy Eats Tagged With: healthy snacks, snacking

How to Eat and Enjoy This Summer

June 28, 2016 by Joni Leave a Comment

Summer Pool

Are you putting off slimming down, kicking your cravings or eating healthier because your summer is filled with events that tempt you to eat or drink more? Even though we want to feel our best when we’re traveling or hanging out with friends or family, our “vacation mode” often leaves us feeling sluggish, bloated, heavy, or regretful — and when we return, it can feel overwhelming to start from scratch (again).

While it should never be about deprivation, it is helpful to have a strategy for wellness — no matter where you are or where you go? Read my top tips below!

Traveling

Preparing for a trip requires pre-planning. Start with your mode of transportation and make sure you’re prepared with healthy snacks SummerTravelwhether you go by plane, boat or car. Below is a list of my favorite traveling companions. If I’m driving, I pack extra in a cooler to have in my hotel room; if I’m flying, I try to buy more at my destination:
– Almonds or a mix of almonds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds
– Roasted chickpeas (The Good Bean)
– Bottled water
– Cut-up fruit and veggies
– Individual-sized hummus, almond butter and/or guacamole
– Sliced apples (goes great with the almond butter!)
– Rice crackers (I like Mary’s Gone Crackers; goes great with guac or hummus!)
– Hard-boiled egg (If you can’t take it with you, you can pick up a Starbucks protein box.)
– Oatmeal (see on-the-go recipe here!)

Dining Out

With the possible exception of fast-food restaurants, every restaurant has options or will provide substitutions that will meet your needs. At a Mexican fiesta? Skip the chips and melted cheese and order the chicken fajitas, for example. Ask your server to bring just the grilled chicken, grilled veggies, and extra guacamole — hold the sour cream and cheese (maybe even the flour tortillas, depending on where you are on your healthy-eating journey).  Salsa works as a great side, as do black beans.

MenuNo matter where you go, you should be able to order grilled chicken or fish; steamed or grilled vegetables, and salad. You might even consider asking the server not to bring the bread basket. And what if you drank less alcohol and relaxed with some sparkling club soda with lime or berries? You may be surprised how GOOD you feel after the meal (without the bloating, sluggishness, or headache)!

Picnics, BBQs and Family Reunions

You can’t control what your hosts will serve, but you can stack the odds in your favor by BYOF (bringing your own food). Make enough to share, of courSummer BBQse! If you arrive with one or two healthy, delicious options, you’ll be sure to have something you enjoy without having food-related symptoms or regret. Check out my website for healthy recipes, from appetizers to desserts. No time to cook? A veggie or fruit tray is always welcome!

The Wedding Crasher

You can’t bring your own meal to the wedding, but you can prepare in other ways. Eating something healthy before you go will prevent you from being ravenous by the time the reception doors open. And Summer Weddingof course, while a sip of champagne to toast the newlyweds won’t significantly compromise your healthy eating, drinking throughout the evening might add up, interrupt your sleep cycle and could leave you feeling sorry in the morning. Be sure to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water (sparkling or flat) and if available, add fresh raspberries or sliced strawberries!

What To Know Before You Go

If you find that you cave in to temptations during these summertime soirees only to experience regret, you could be an “emotional or Summer Ice Creamsituational eater” or there could be situations that “trigger” your eating habits. You may want to consider meeting with me before your big event or vacation, so we can talk about your concerns and challenges and set you up for success. As your coach, I can help you change your relationship with food so that you are control of it, instead of it being in control of you. Together, we can learn why you might be “stuck,” what’s getting in your way, and how you can make small changes that will make a big difference.

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Filed Under: Body, Healthy Eats Tagged With: healthy snacks, summer, tips

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