Eat Empowered, Healthy Eating Tips, Healthy Snacking Ideas
The Formula for a Healthy Snack
Registration for the spring 2019 session of The Nutritious Life Studio’s signature Nutritious Life Certification course is now open! Apply now to officially jumpstart your health and wellness career.
Ask Keri: Can snacking be part of a healthy diet? If so, what does a healthy snack look like?
Keri Says: Lots of health experts say snacking is a bad habit that ruins your healthy diet. Let me tell you…I am not that expert.
In fact, I’m such a big fan of snacking, I wrote my first book about it. The Snack Factor Diet was all about how the problem with snacking isn’t snacking itself, it’s the way in which most people snack.
When most of us get hungry between meals, we reach for things that quickly satisfy our cravings, like sugary, salty, high-calorie foods. Think office cupcakes and bags of potato chips and even “healthy” packaged snacks that are actually less healthy than they seem. Or we go way overboard with our snacks so that it’s not really snacking at all…it’s just another (extra) meal.
To help you get on the right snack track, I’m breaking down why snacking is a good idea and how to do it right every time.
Why Snacking Is a Good Thing
Nutrient-dense snacks, eaten at the right times of day, anchor your health. While the research is mixed on whether eating frequently or less often throughout the day is best for weight maintenance, there are studies that suggest that eating every few hours stabilizes blood sugar and keeps your metabolism humming. In my work, I’ve found that snacking really helps clients feel satisfied. Plus, when you snack properly, you are more likely to make better food choices throughout the day, because you’re not starving or dealing with low blood sugar that makes you crave a sugary treat.
RELATED: What Do Your Food Cravings Really Mean?
The Elements of a Healthy Snack
Okay, so you’re ready to snack. What do you reach for? I can easily share some of my favorite snacks (and I will, below), but I also want to set you up with the knowledge you need to create a healthy snack based on whatever is available to you. You know, the whole “teach a woman to fish…” thing. The formula for a healthy snack involves a few elements.