HEALTHY SNACKS WITH A WARM-WEATHER ZING

Simona Stepancic BSc, RHN, ROHP

 

Healthy snacks are an important part of a balanced diet. Eating something nutritious every few hours keeps your glucose levels healthy, maintains mental and emotional stability, boosts your energy and provides nutrients that your body needs.

 

 

5 EVERDAY ESSENTIALS

 

GREENS Drink green food concentrates first thing in the morning. They are nourishing and easy to prepare. Mix them with water or your favourite juice to embellish the flavours. Green drinks detoxify the body, have an anti-inflammatory effect, and give you abundant energy and stamina.

 

PROTEIN Take a protein drink every day to repair and build the body tissues. Protein keeps you energized, alert, balances blood sugar, and is needed for healthy cells, maintenance of lean muscle tissue, and formation of happy hormones. Arugula, maca, chlorella, bee pollen, hemp seeds, goji berries, spirulina are all good protein sources. You can also use rice, hemp or whey protein in shakes. Mix it with water, and add some berries.

 

NUTS and SEEDS Bring along a bag of almonds, sunflower seeds and/or pumpkin seeds to snack on in-between meetings or on a long drive. They nourish the brain and contain protein, fibre, vitamin E and calcium. Make your own pâtés with almonds, parsley, lemon, green onions and olive oil. You can also use arugula and watercress instead of parsley. Filling and nutritious, use them on whole grain bread and crackers. You can also use pâtés in wraps, such as rice paper, kamut pitas and raw nori sheets.

 

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Fresh berries, whole apples, papaya, mango, pineapple and banana can provide energy. They’re refreshing and packed with nutrients and fibre. Eat fruit as a snack at least 30 minutes before a meal and two hours after a meal.

 

Prepare a convenient salad-in-a-jar. Make a dressing from olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon and Celtic sea salt and pour it in the bottom of the jar. Add in radicchio, romaine, green leafy lettuce, collard greens, red cabbage, napa cabbage, kale, dandelion, endive, watercress, and parsley. Toss in some ground flaxseeds, hemp seeds or dulse.

 

SEA VEGETABLES Include seaweed, daily, such as dulse, wakame, arame, kombu, spirulina, and chlorella. They are a good source of organic minerals – alkaline-forming to buffer the acid ashes of proteins and grains. They remove toxic chemicals and metals from the body. Toss them on salads or use in sandwiches and wraps.

 

 

 

I recommend a step-by-step approach, in order to be successful in your journey to conscious eating habits. Start incorporating new food choices one week at a time. If possible, eat at least 70 to 80 per cent of raw, live food every day. Write your daily and weekly menus for snacks on paper; it will help save you time, and prevent impulse shopping.