Spring Clean Your Snack Drawer – Tons of Healthy Upgrades

Did you know that 41% of surveyed workers have gained weight at their jobs because of snacking? Today, we expose the snack traps that you might be falling into at work and help you spring clean your snack draw and upgrade your choices to great tasting healthier alternatives.

Looking for a savory, crunchy and salty snack?

Would you eat healthier if you just knew a better choice than the one you are used to making?

There is always a way to enjoy what you want without the guilt or ill effects on your health; it just takes a little planning and thinking outside the usual snack box.

Bean chips are a great upgrade from your usual go-to chip. They are a great snack that won’t raise your sodium or have you eating the whole bag.  They are higher in protein and fiber so you eat less AND they are made with a natural complex carb so they are lower on the glycemic index. 

You don’t have to give up sweets.

The smartest way to eat sweets is to keep the sweetness but lose the sugar.

We eat considerably more processed sugar that our ancestors ever did and it is contributing to a host of health problems.

Fruit is a great way to get your sweet fix and stay satisfied for hours. When consuming fruits you always want to be sure you pair it with a protein so it doesn’t spike your blood sugar, causing a crash an hour later, leaving you hungry again.

A good choice is an apple (organic to avoid the pesticides) with almond butter. I recommend almond as opposed to peanut butter because peanuts are higher in mold and there are so many food sensitivities to peanuts.

If you don’t like nut butters try coconut butter, which is even sweeter and has enough good fat in it to keep you fuller longer (and it’s a GREAT thyroid food).  Another option is a handful of nuts with some dried fruit. Cashews with dried mango make a great, mood-boosting combo, or strawberries with melted coconut butter will taste like a sweet dessert.

C is for cookie!

We all love cookies, right?  When choosing cookies for a snack you want to avoid sugar, wheat, dairy, and soy.  Those are the ingredients you find in your typical cookie that have you going back for more and more. By avoiding these ingredients you will avoid the negative interaction they cause and be satisfied with less.

The right chocolate is good for you.

When choosing chocolate you want to use raw chocolate, which is totally different from the standard candy bar you see at the store. Raw chocolate is cacao. Cacao is super healthy, full of magnesium and releases dopamine which is a feel-good neurotransmitter. When buying chocolate you want to buy one that is 70-80% cacao, not cocoa. Cocoa is an unnatural processed food, whereas cacao is a natural superfood with loads of antioxidants and magnesium. When eaten in moderation, dark chocolate is a good source of antioxidants and has been proven to lower blood pressure!

Snacking to balance blood sugar is the best way to ensure living longer.

Having a healthy snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon is a surefire formula to help keep your blood sugar level steady.

Steady blood sugar levels are the ONLY thing people who live to be 100 years old have in common!

This article is reprinted with permission from the author, Christa Orecchio, CN, HHC, and first appeared in The Whole Journey.