With kids going back to school and adults facing busy schedules after some time off, you will notice a big advertising push for ‘nutritious’ snacks, most notably protein bars. They are super convenient and there is no argument that protein is a needed nutrient for energy and focus. A protein bar on rare occasions is all right. Eating them every day exposes you to highly processed ingredients and may keep you from getting essential nutrients contained in whole foods. Read beyond the label’s self-praise and know there are better choices.
It’s also important to remember you need complex carbohydrates to energize you as well as protein. Filling up on highly processed protein bars can keep you from eating whole foods like fruits and vegetables that contain a spectrum of essential nutrients.
Below is a list of portable, healthy snack choices for kids and adults alike, separated into protein and complex carbohydrate groups:
Healthy Protein Snacks
peanut butter, on a piece of fruit
edamame
nuts - walnuts, almonds
yogurt with low sugar content
hard boiled eggs
hummus
Complex Carbohydrate Choices
fresh fruit
carrots
celery
broccoli
Figure Out what Satisfies You
Snacks are usually an essential part of school age kids nutritional needs. Their bellies are still small so they may not eat enough at breakfast to get them through to lunch with enough energy and focus. Giving them nutritious snacks that carry them over without overloading them will create a good pace energy-wise.
For adults, the ideal is to make your meals nutrient rich enough so you don’t need snacks in between meals. There are always occasions, however, when your schedule is overloaded and you can’t find time out for a nutritious lunch. That’s where a good mix of nutrient rich, unprocessed protein and complex carbohydrate swill be enormously helpful.
Before I learned about nutrition, I was the one looking for a sugar and fat snack by mid-afternoon, mostly in the form of a candy bar or a 3 pack of highly processed cookies. It would give me an energy rush but did nothing for my health. Eating like that led to high cholesterol and higher triglycerides.
Now if I’m hungry, I’ll grab a small handful of nuts and a few raisins and ramp up on water or tea until my next meal. It works.
The key is to always have nutritious foods around and to limit access to low nutrient foods. When we get hungry and blood sugar drops too low, it’s natural to go for a high fat, high sugar food. If they are easily accessible, it’s very tempting to go for them. But if instead you go for that hard boiled egg and a piece of fruit, the body’s biological systems become more balanced and we can more easily regulate appetite.