What Snacks Are Right for You?

Everyone loves to snack. But, if you’re health conscious and watching your nutrition intake, it’s important to scrutinize your snacking habits. Whether you’re snacking to fill a temporary hunger gap before mealtime, or just because you feel like chomping on something, snacking can be the downfall of many otherwise healthy diets. However, the good news is that it’s not hard to manage your snacking.

Snacking during the day can easily be modified so it won’t disturb your healthy diet. Staying on track with your diet while still indulging in your snacking habit may take rethinking, but it’s worth the extra effort to keep your body healthy.

One simple way to prevent snacking is to eat more meals. Instead of eating three large meals a day, try to eat smaller portions every few hours. If your snacking habits are mostly due to hunger pangs, you may very well be using more energy than you took in at your last meal, and are starved for extra fuel. By eating 6 smaller, healthy meals per day, you will keep high energy levels, which in turn will cancel the snack cravings.

Another way to stop your snacking would be to simply remove the temptation. Before automatically reaching for a snack, ask yourself a few important questions, like: Am I really hungry or just bored; is it because the food tastes good, or do I feel compelled to eat when doing a certain activity (like watching a movie)?

If you determine that you are really hungry, than go ahead and eat. But, if you are snacking for any other reason, try to remove the temptation. The best way to do that is to get rid of all the junk foods in your house and stop buying unhealthy snacks.

Healthy snacks are those that belong to one of the food groups, such as fruit, vegetable, grain, dairy, and protein. For example, carrot sticks (vegetables), yogurt (dairy), or whole wheat crackers (grains) are great snacks, as opposed to candy, potato chips, and processed foods.

When you snack, don’t forget to consider your beverages as well. Drinks like soda, fruit punch, iced tea, lemonade, and juice boxes are not wholesome and are laden with refined sugar or, even worse, sugar substitutes. In short, they are high in calories and low in nutrients. Instead, choose drinks that supplement your healthy diet, like water and natural fruit drinks, such as apple juice. Low-fat milk and sports drinks are also good for you.

Another recommendation is to avoid alcohol with possibly the exception of red wine with a meal, as this is considered good for your heart health.

Ann Stewart is an inspirational writer with the emphasis on healing. "With Wings As Eagles" is an awesome testimony of God's healing power. Individually, however, we also have a role to play in keeping the temple of the Holy Spirit in the best physical condition. Youth Makeover is full of practical Health Tips: Youth Makeover