I've been getting questions about strategies for helping stay on course in pursuing wellness and fitness goals, so I wanted to write about some great snacks that can help bridge the gap between lunch and dinner, while providing some actual nutrients (say no to cookies!). Depending on your weight loss/maintenance goals, whether you workout that day, how active you are (in addition to any workout you do), and how many hours you actually spend sitting in front of the computer, you may want to adjust your portions. For instance, I aim for a 150-calorie snack portion on light activity days and 250-calorie snack portion on the days when I do strength training/cardio and take 10,000 steps. However, since exercise doesn't burn all that many calories, adjusting your portions upward too much can stall progress.
When I choose a snack, I look for ingredients that are as close to whole foods as possible, -- the less processed, the better (say no to trans fats, MSG, or preservatives, the ingredient list needs to be short). Any of these are also top priorities for me: no GMOs, raw ingredients, no added sugar, decent amount of fiber, high protein. Snacks also must be flavorful and taste great. Since one cannot live on protein shakes alone, here are some chewable options. None of the require refrigeration, which also makes them a great travel option (airline food is scary).
 |
| Epic bars: Turkey and Beef. These are great if you like jerky, but don't care for the leathery and hard-to-chew texture. Epic also has Lamb and Bison bars. The Beef bar has 190 calories, 9 g sugar, 13 g protein, 2 g fiber. The Turkey bar has 150 calories, 6 g sugar, 14 g protein, and 2 g fiber. |
 |
| Organic Mamma Chia Chia Squeeze Vitality Snacks, Green Magic and Strawberry Banana, with 1200 mg of Omega-3. Chia is all the rage these days and these little packs are delicious. Each has 70 calories per pouch, 7 g sugar, 2 g protein, 4 g fiber. |
 |
| Doug's Nuts Coconut Beach Crunch. Gluten free, cholesterol free, no preservatives, all natural. 1 ounce has 150 calories, 12 g fat, 3 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 3 g protein. It tastes like a vacation. Best of all, it comes the wonderful city of Eugene, Oregon! |
 |
| Bhuja Snacks Crunchy Seasoned Peas. Vegan and Vegetarian. These pack only 100 calories per 1/2 cup, with 4.5 g fat, 2 g fiber, 1 g sugar, and 5 g protein. Spicy and yummy. |
 |
| Roasted Coconut Chips from Trader Joe's. 1/2 package has 160 calories, 10 g fat, 4 g fiber, 9 g sugar, 1 g protein. Tastes like the Caribbean. |
And this is not really a snack, but something I like to add to smoothies.
 |
| Aloha Daily Good Packets. 40 calories per packet and tons of nutrition. |
Happy and Healthy Snacking!
No comments:
Post a Comment