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Health NutritionSnack time turns nutritiousby Emily Bender The word snack comes from and old German word meaning the bite or snap of a dog. We think of it as something we grab quickly, not something we sit down for or plan. Herein lies the problem. I would bet that a lot of you probably get hungry mid-morning or mid-afternoon. I certainly do. Those are times when we do not have a mealtime scheduled, so most of us just grab easiest thing-a snack.Truth be told, snacks play an important role in keeping us going though the day. Hey, in France and England they have actual names for the afternoon snack. It's really a fourth meal-and we could benefit from thinking about it that way, too. As we learned in this column a few issues ago, snacking keeps blood sugar in balance, giving us sustained energy and brain power to make it through the day productively. Talking to people about nutrition day after day, I find that the time people are most likely to eat unhealthy food at snack time. I am convinced that there are two reasons for this: 1. Even though we are hungry at those times, we are so convinced by our weight-obsessed culture that we "shouldn't" eat between meals that we don't plan for it; 2. There is a huge snack food industry just waiting for you to get that mid-morning muffin craving or the mid afternoon desire for a candy bar. You can make snacks work for you by taking two simple steps. The first is to cast aside your fear of snack-induced weight gain. Healthy snacks have the potential to help you maintain a healthy weight by providing essential nutrients and keeping you in touch with your bodies signals-i.e eat when you are hungry. The next step is to plan your snacks just as you would any meal. If you know you get hungry at 4 o'clock, bring a sandwich on whole grain bread instead of buying a bag of chips. If you lose energy around 10 am, bring an apple with cheese instead of going out for a scone. A good snack will be nutrient-dense and keep blood sugar even. In order to do that it should include at least one fruit or vegetable, along with a source of protein and a source of fat (it is fine to have one food be both your protein and fat source as in nuts). The fruits and veggies provide carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Protein helps us build and repair our muscles and organs, and fat makes us feeling sated longer, while supporting our nervous and hormonal systems Here are some good snack ideas that are fast, portable and tasty: . Apples or bananas with almond, peanut, cashew or hazelnut butter . Pear slices with cheese . Celery with cream cheese . Turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with lots of yummy veggies . Avocado, cubed with toasted pumpkin seeds with vinaigrette (add cubes of cheese for a high-powered snack that can really keep you going for a while!) Tomato, avocado and cheese sandwich on whole grain bread . Sugar snap peas with nuts and seeds or cheese slices . Raspberries with toasted hazelnuts . Figs, goat cheese and walnuts-drizzle with local, raw honey for a special treat So tomorrow, instead of spending your money buying empty calories at coffee break, bring a healthy snack from home. You can even keep a jar of nuts and dried fruit on your desk for emergencies. With all the new energy, you may find that you don't need the coffee any more! Emily is a Certified Nutrition Consultant practicing in Fairfax. She can be reached at Emily@gourmethelping.com. |
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