Move over Mother Goose, Snackie Jackie's rhyming in the kitchen! As you can see, I'm feeling silly- but how can I not be? We're talking snacks and snacks are fun. The word itself is exciting and the act of snacking is not only pleasurable, but healthful too. Snacking right supports weight loss, while revving up your metabolism. How can eating more make me lose more, you wonder. Let me explain, Foxy foxes.
Imagine your Metabolism like a flame and Snacks as fuel. Every time you snack you're keeping that flame bright and burning. Your body will love snacks in between meals (as will you, I'm sure) because snacking between meals keeps you from becoming ravenous and overeating from one meal to the next. It also helps your body maintain balanced blood sugar levels, which prevents you from getting shaky, irritable, and most of all avoids you from becoming what I love referring to as "hangry" (hungry & angry!).
I eat about six times a day. Ideally (but not always) my aim is breakfast at 6:00, snack at 9:00, lunch at 12:00, snack at 3:00, dinner at 6:00, and snack at 9:00. Now there are days I eat only 4/5 times a day, I do my best and what works for me. The key is to eat before you're starving and to support healthy metabolism. *On a side note, you may be confused how I can eat at 9:00 pm, as a lot of people believe you shouldn't eat late. That's not always true. As long as you stay in your daily calorie allotment, you will be fine. For example, if I'm allowed 1500-1800 calories a day and I already ate 1400 calories that day, a 200 calorie snack before bed isn't going to make me fat. I've been doing it for years and this is my routine. If you don't think it's going to work for you- don't do it.
My after dinner snack is always some form of dairy as a greek yogurt, fro-yo, cottage cheese or a mix of both. The reason being is because all the above contain "casein." Casein is a protein found in milk that breaks down very slowly. So the benefits of my after dinner treat is that while I'm sleeping, my body is working (burning) to breakdown the proteins and my muscles are replenishing. An additional perk is casein helps you sleep- hence the reputation to have warm milk before bed. Again, do what works for you.
Healthy snack ideas are really limitless. The perfect, healthy snack should contain a combo of healthy carbs (should have fiber) and protein (can have some healthy fat) and varies between 100-150 calories (200 at most). Always account for snacks in your daily calorie allotment. I advise writing down or downloading a calorie tracking app to your phone when you start. It may be tedious at first (or you may love it), but it will help until you get the swing of things.
I'm going to keep it simple by giving you a list of some "snackie" carbs and a list of protein ideas. The choice of which to mix and match is solely yours :]
Carbs: 1 serving of Fruit; 1apple, orange, 1/2 banana, 1/2 grapefruit, nectarine, 2 clemintines, 3/4 cup berries/grapes, 2 kiwis, 1 cup melon/pineapple.. Veggies; carrot sticks, celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, cucumber.. 100 calorie bag/serving of popcorn, rice cakes (brown-rice rice cakes are best), veggie chips, whole grain crackers, pretzels (whole wheat/grain if possible), light/baked chips
Protein: 1 fat free greek yogurt (add stevia and cinnamon if you want to sweeten up- vanilla extract too), 1 serving of part-skim cheese or a part-skim string cheese, 1/2 cup light cottage cheese (1-2%), 1 hard boiled egg (you can even mash with some light mayo & pepper to have a little egg salad), 2 slices lean low-sodium deli meat (turkey is my go-to), 2 tablespoons of hummus, 1 tablespoon of nutbutter (almond butter is my fav, but peanut butter or sun butter, cashew butter etc are all good), 1 handful of almonds or walnuts, 25 pistachios (these are the leanest nut at just 4 cals each)
You can also have a nice smoothie as a snack. Take a serving of fruit of choice and blend with water and ice and some protein powder OR a tablespoon of nut butter and sweetener (stevia is the best). Measure your powder and as always read labels. I use Sunwarrior Protein Powder. It's vegan friendly and has 70 calories and 17 grams of protein. The vanilla is yummy and I've been known to put it in my yogurt for a protein pudding type snack. Get creative and if you're unsure, ask me.
These are all just suggestions and I know you have your own ideas as well. I'd love to hear them!
Happy Snacking Foxes! xo
Remember to drink AT LEAST 8-10 glasses of water a day for additional metabolic support and to keep your snacks and meals moving along. If you're not a big water drinker add some cucumber slices (De-Lish-Us!) or lemon/lime wedges. These are not only flavorful but add additional health benefits as you can see in the image below, courtesy of rawforbeauty.com.
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