I don’t know about you, but I love snacks! They always perk up my day, regardless of what time it is. And the good news is that it’s possible to enjoy nutritious, tasty, weight-loss snacks without feeling guilty and still stay on track with your diet program, whatever that may be.
Healthy Snacks Can Be Beneficial
Provides Fuel. Snacking while trying to lose weight actually helps your efforts. For one thing, snacking gives your body some needed fuel between meals. Sometimes dieting can deplete your nutrient or enzyme levels. If you are starting to lose steam before lunchtime or feeling some fatigue between lunch and dinner, then a nutritious snack could give you the boost you need.
Prevents Overeating. When you choose healthy snacks, it helps to curb your appetite so you’re not starving when lunch or dinner rolls around. This can help prevent the urge to eat everything during mealtime.
Tricks the Elephant in your Brain. If you've done certain diet programs, you may have heard about the "elephant" in your brain. The elephant represents that voice in your head that wants to skip the gym or eat a dozen donuts. Aka it's not very helpful when you're trying to make healthy choices. Because we're hardwired to think that snacking is bad, indulging in healthy snacks is a good way to calm your elephant without regretting it later.
What are Healthy Snacks?
For best practice, you'll want to have a list of go-to healthy snacks that fit your specific eating program, whether it’s Mediterranean, Keto, Paleo, Atkins, Ornish, omnivore, vegetarian, or vegan.
The internet is full of snack suggestions for anyone and everyone, but these are some of our favorite.
Try these delicious snacking suggestions, all less than 150 calories, and most of which can be applied to any dietary plan.
Avocado and jicama: ¼ avocado sliced thin on thinly sliced jicama with a dash of garlic powder and/or cayenne. Spicy, crunchy, and velvety smooth all in one.
Black beans and salsa: Always a treat, full of fiber, protein, and just the right amount of spice (you get to choose!).
Cucumbers and hummus: 1 cup of cucumber slices and 2 tbsp. hummus. Dip your cucumbers and enjoy!
Edamame: 1 cup of these treats are fun to eat when you suck them out of the pods. Or you can remove them from the pods and sprinkle with garlic powder, soy sauce, or hot sauce
Grapes and almonds: 1 cup of green or red grapes plus 10 dry roasted almonds. The combination of crisp sweetness and crunchy nutty flavor is a celebration in your mouth.
Guacamole and egg: Take a hard-boiled egg, remove the yolk, and mash the yolk with 1 tablespoon of guacamole. Sprinkle with cayenne for a spicy Keto snack. Make several hard-boiled eggs and keep them in the fridge so you can whip up this snack in a jiffy!
Nut butter and kiwi: 1 kiwi sliced and spread with 1 tbsp. peanut or almond butter. A delicious combination of juicy sweet and sticky protein!
Oatmeal and blueberries: Oatmeal isn’t just for breakfast - it's a fantastic snack! Enjoy ½ cup oatmeal plus ½ cup blueberries or other berries.
Turkey and cottage cheese: Use lean turkey slices and create a “burrito” by adding a teaspoon of cottage cheese and rolling the turkey around it. Have two for a quick protein snack.
Weight loss can and should be delicious and fun. Try these tasty weight loss snacks next time you’re craving something satisfying between meals. And for an extra nutritional boost from all the foods you eat, consider using one of our Real-Zymes formulas.