Healthy Snacks = Less Bitchiness

Good morning!

My vacation did me good. I'm all jazzed up and full of energy even though I had to wake up at 5am this morning to go to work. To keep me feeling like this all day, I have some good snacks on me. I usually get my snacks and lunch ready at night for the following day. So, last night I was thinking about a criteria for a good snack while preparing my today's food.

Snacking is fun! At least I love to have a little snack couple times a day. I don't understand people who forget to eat or don't like to eat. That is just weird. If I don't eat regularly, my blood sugar drops and you know what that means. Yep, I get very bitchy (*evil wink*). If you don't feed me then, I will eventually faint. I have done that couple times when I was younger but now I know better. I always have something in my purse to snack on.

Good snacks keep your blood sugar steady and you won't feel hungry and tired. Bad snacks get your blood sugar up quickly but it won't last long and you will feel your energy level coming crashing down. Bad snacks are also high in calories, fat, sugar and salt. Good snacks provide you with a daily dose of vitamins and fibers.

So, I guess we have established that snacks are important. But do you really know what is a good snack? Because I'm the self proclaimed snack queen, I listed the Do's and Dont's of the snack world.

Awesome snacks:
- fruit like apples, bananas, plums, oranges and grapes (I eat bananas almost every day)
- natural yogurt with berries (why natural yogurt? because flavored yogurts usually have 15-25% of sugar plus colorings and other crap and barely any actual berries)
- crisp bread or whole grain crackers with slice of cheese and ham
- home made smoothie
- cottage cheese with some pineapple
- carrots (I like to cut mine in sticks because they are funner to eat)
- cherry tomatoes
- slice of whole wheat bread with cucumber and turkey
- granola bar (check that it doesn't have a lot of sugar and/or salt. better if you make them yourself)
- cantaloupe (my summer time fave! it is sweet like candy)
- cup of popcorn and some fruit
- glass of milk
- handful of nuts and seeds (I love almonds!)
- tuna on crisp bread or whole grain crackers
- boiled egg with crisp bread

Good snacks:
- peanut butter with whole grain crackers (use low salt and preferably organic pb, and only use couple teaspoons because it is high in calories)
- raisins and other fried fruit (high in sugar and calories but has good amount of fibres, so you should only eat a handful)
- dark chocolate (only have couple pieces, check that the cocoa level is high e.g 70%)
- few slices of avocado (great source of protein and good fats but high in calories, so don't go over board)
Bad snacks:
- fruit juice (contains lots of energy but no fibers, also often has added sugar, so better to eat the actual fruit)
- slice of pizza
- beer (*laughing*)
- chocolate bar and other candy
- donuts
- milk shake
- potato chips
- french fries (anything fried really)
- soda pop
I usually have my first snack at work on my morning coffee break around 8-10am. Lots of times I have a cup of tea, a piece of fruit and a whole grain cracker with cheese. If I only had the piece of fruit, I would get hungry fairly quickly because fruits and vegetables alone don't keep you feeling full very long. That is why you need the good carbs. And cheese has some protein and calcium that you body needs. So, you can really choose couple things from the good snacks list, as long as it is fruit/veggie paired up with something else. This would be an example of a good snack too; a cup of tea with honey, a banana, whole grain cracker and a couple pieces of dark chocolate.

When planning your snack, you will also need to think about your activity level of the day. If you know that you are going to the gym after work, you might want to have an extra snack or a bigger snack. But if you will just sit on your butt all day, you won't need as much of energy for the day and you can survive more on fruits and vegetables. I was thinking I will make a post later on about nutrition for people who want to work out and get some muscle because then you can really eat a lot but you need to know what to eat.Here's my today's snacks. I have a short day at work, so I won't be getting really hungry because I will be home already early afternoon. I have couple apples, plums and a granola bar that is made out of rolled oats (Elovena is a good Finnish brand, they usually have very little E-codes in their products). Then I have a smoothie and a couple pieces of rye bread with ham and cheese. I probably won't eat all the fruit but I will have them ready at work for tomorrow.
Snack on everybody!! And leave a comment if you have any other awesome ideas for good snacks. Have a happy day!