photo by IDcross
Many of us have weak moments throughout the day when we feel like we must eat something. These moments of weakness never amount to anything good. I admit it, I have a weakness right around 3:00 PM everyday (Oreo cookies and milk or nachos beware!). If I don't plan my day in advance I will likely fail and eat something I shouldn't. Now, I don't mean we can't indulge in some goodies every once in a while, but not everyday and certainly not every time our little hearts desire.
First of all, if we eat balanced, nutritious meals, starting with breakfast, we are less likely to have these crazy cravings. Second, we must first recognize what it is our bodies crave. Many times I've been able to escape the claws of my cookies and milk by simply drinking a glass of cold water or herbal tea, hot or cold. I personally wouldn't recommend ignoring a craving or ignoring a grumbling stomach because chances are you will devour something before or during dinner and then you'll feel worse. It is best to recognize what your body is telling you and give it hydration and nutrition, it really doesn't have to be bad.
Second, it is also important that you prepare for your week, in advanced. Make a list of recipes, snacks, drinks, anything you can anticipate you might want to eat that week. Have a plan, a list, and a full stomach when you go shopping and you'll be less likely to buy foods you wouldn't normally buy.
Not long ago I went to my local Farm Fresh on the way home from the gym. I stopped in to get milk, cereal and fruit. I was starving after a hard workout and needless to say I picked up a bag of "healthy chips" to tie me over. The bag comes with 4 servings of what is supposed to be vegetable chips, however, I finished the bag before I arriving at the checkout. Yes I felt guilty, I drank lots of water on the way. I guess I was trying to undo the damage, but of course, it was too late.
With that in mind, here are some snack ideas to help get you started:
Fruits, nuts, vegetables, granola, yogurt, cottage cheese, peanut butter, low fat yogurt, dried fruit, herbal tea, water...the list goes on.
Freeze your fruits for a sweet summer treat: Grapes- wash them and place them on a plate or cookie sheet and put them in the freezer. Once they freeze, place them in plastic bags or containers and back in the freezer. This will allow them to freeze individually.
Do the same with papaya, mango, berries- same thing except these you can toss in your fruit smoothies.
Chopped fruit with cottage cheese
Sliced Granny Smith apples and Peanut Butter or cottage cheese
Chick Peas--make some humus and eat it with home made pita chips. Nancy from CR8 Health and Fitness has some yummy recipes you'll want to try.
Trail mix-- Easy stuff here, just toss together your leftover cereal which I'm sure its pretty healthy right? Also, add in dried fruits such as raisins, craisins, cherries, dates, nuts. For a sweet treat try yogurt chips or mini chocolate or peanut butter chips--keep these limited. Keep a jar ready to go or make up little snack bags in advance so that they are ready for you to enjoy or take along.
Veggies--cooked or raw, in salads, meat dishes, in a wrap or in your glass. Yes, I said your glass because you can juice just about anything these days. Mike at livelife365 says this about carrots:
Besides being an excellent source of fiber and low in calories (one cup of chopped raw carrots has only 50 calories), carrots are loaded with good stuff for you. Like potassium, antioxidants and pro-vitamin A carotene.
Now imagine adding an apple, cucumber, celery sticks and whatever else suits you in this juicing process. Very delicious and nutritious. If juicing is not your thing, then eat them raw don't over dip or you might miss the whole point of healthy snacking.
As you can see, there are plenty of food items for you to choose before you give in to the cookies and milk craving. From grabbing an easy "to-go" fruit such as apples or bananas to getting real fancy and making a smoothie or trail mix, you really can't go wrong if you select the most natural, raw foods available everywhere.
Stay tuned for the mind-body connection coming up in the next post. In the mean time, remember to stay in tune with your body and do what's right to keep it running smoothly! It's your health, make it great!
Stay well,
Quote from Ms Fit's Corner: "To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art."
~ La Rochefoucauld
(Trailmix photo by Elena's Pantry)
You've got so many healthy-snacking ideas! Yum-yum! :)
Posted by: Zandria | June 15, 2008 at 23:04
Frozen fruit is one of my favorite summer snacks. Especially bananas. I, too, have a 3:00 p.m. lull. That is the time of day I leave my office and it seems like every snack shop on the way home calls my name. I have started bringing a small bag of carrots to work and that is my "driving home" snack so I resist the urge to make any stops.
Have a great week.
Posted by: Tamara | June 15, 2008 at 23:56
Homemade hummus is truly one of my fave snacks of all time! So glad it made it to the list. Whew! No guilt there!!
Posted by: Topsy-Techie | June 17, 2008 at 22:41
Baby carrots have also become a favorite of mine. I didn't used to like them, but I guess they got better with age...............:)
BTW, I don't know if you've noticed, but the organic baby carrots have come way down in price and are almost the same price as the regular ones.
Posted by: Lisa Newton | June 18, 2008 at 00:19
You put a lot of great tips in this article which I know many, many people can benefit from today. But I do have a question to ask, in terms of the foods we may get cravings for like nachos or Oreos, why not not buy them at all. This way should you feel a craving come on, you will never have them as a choice in the house, but instead stock up on the other items you listed and hence, are forced to always pick something healthy.
Also I just wanted to mention, it is interesting how in society we still call the "junk" food "goodies" - I know this is an old conditioning we have to get past, but if we really want to be optimally healthy, we have to realize that only items that actually are beneficial to the body deserve the name "goodies" - not the junk that is mass produced today and fed to us as if it were some treat. If we are going to really treat our selves, we can't be harming our body in the process.
Posted by: Evita | June 18, 2008 at 15:39
Wow. great post. I'm very suseptible to starbucks at 3pm! I try to avoid but .....I've at least switched from iced mocha's to iced coffee.
Posted by: Rachel | June 18, 2008 at 21:27
Evita, Thank you for stopping in and leaving a comment. I have to agree with you on both counts--not buying the foods you crave and not calling junk food "goodies". On the food we buy I have to say that the best and really only way to avoid giving into the cravings is to just not have them available. Sometimes it's not a craving but a weakness we have about certain food items, whether salty or sweet, and if we have it we think we want it and we eat it.
One example is the Nachos. Since we stopped buying chips and salsa I realized that I don't even crave these when I go out to eat and smell it, but when it was in my pantry I could hardly resist the temptation.
Let's call junk food by their real name-- 1. fatties, 2. baddies, 3. junk, 4. garbage.... :-) The only thing good about them is the instant gratification which only last until the very last bite.
Again, thanks for stopping in and for adding a few great tips.
Posted by: spindiva | June 18, 2008 at 21:45
Great blog! There’s plenty of useful information and motivation. I’ll definitely be back. Check out my blog at Http://www.realfoodforlife.blogspot.com . I’ve been juicing for years starting with a “Vitamix” in the 70’s to a “Juiceman in the 90’s and love juicing’s benefits. Recently I found a ready to mix "Instafresh" powder that has 30 fruits and berries, 30 super greens and vegetables, 11 nuts, seeds and sprouts all in an easy to mix, delicious, organic concentrate that has 83 Active Enzymes and Minerals and 22 Resilient Living Probiotics. It's absolutely the best raw whole food supplement on the market today. Great for people on the go! And all for just $1 per serving! Now that's juicing for the new millennium! Just read the label and get a sample like I did at Http://www.urilife.com/realfoodforlife/products.html I think you’ll love it! And yes, I still make a fresh carrot, apple, parsley juice cocktail in my Breville 800JEXL 1000-Watt Juice Fountain Elite juicer and I freeze the carrot and apple pulp for fresh carrot cake!
Grace and Peace,
Ed
Http://www.urilife.com/realfoodforlife/opportunity.html
Posted by: Ed | June 21, 2008 at 07:31
What a great article. You have a way of combining useful information with personal experience. I love being able to read about how people are putting health and fitness into their lives and learning something at the same time. Thanks.
Posted by: Nanc | June 26, 2008 at 09:49