After completing a course in Applying Nutrition Principles, I have become more aware of my eating habits and have been actively substituting fatty, sugary snacks with vitamin rich alternatives. Labels can be misleading when shopping because often foods advertised as “diet friendly” can be just as sugary, artificial, and sodium-filled as “junk food”. For example, Fiber One Bars, while a better choice than a candy bar because of high protein and fiber content, have a lot of added sugar and should be eaten in moderation. There are countless snacks, like Fiber One, which aren’t as good for us as we think, so I have compiled a list of healthy alternatives.
One of the most important nutrition rules of thumb is to look at the ingredients of a product; if you can’t pronounce most of the words on the list then you probably are going to ingest some harmful chemicals. Plus, how many different preservatives, dyes, and mystery ingredients does it really take to make a granola bar? The less ingredients the better. What I love about Lärabar products is that they have no added sugar, are vegan, and taste delicious; with simple and real ingredients (my favorite flavor has a whopping 6 ingredients) Lärabar fruit and nut bars are a wonderful treat you won’t feel guilty about later.
Homemade Trail Mix
I, for one, struggle to find a healthy snack when all I want is a Snickers Bar. But have no fear— making your own trail mix is almost as good as the real thing. Below is a list of trail mix ingredients which will curve your sugar cravings, fill you up, and leave you feeling energized. Feel free to add other fruits, nuts, or seasoning you love to make this healthy snack an enjoyable experience.
- Roasted peanuts, pecans, or almonds
- Sunflower, pumpkin, or chia seeds
- Dried coconut, ginger, or mango
- Some chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or M&Ms
Yogurt with Honey
Another simple, natural, and delicious snack that I have been addicted to lately is yogurt with honey. Although I recommend plain greek yogurt rather than vanilla yogurt (Chobani has 6g of sugar and 15g of protein compared to 20g of sugar and 5g of protein in Yoplait), feel free to get creative with your yogurt flavors and toppings. With some fresh fruit, honey, or nuts I promise you won’t even notice you’re eating plain yogurt. Below is a list of ingredients I like in my yogurt.
- Instead of honey, try agave syrup or jam
- All types of nuts are great in yogurt
- Dried fruit like raisins, craisins, and banana chips are always welcome
- Fresh fruit like apples, honeydew, or even oranges can be tasty in yogurt
- Some cinnamon, nutmeg, or a little brown sugar are great for some extra spice
- Add a scoop of protein powder if you’re really hungry
Homemade Popcorn
My favorite snack of all time is Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn, but unfortunately because I have no self control I will eat an entire bag in one sitting: not only denting my wallet but also ingesting way more than my fair share of fat and sodium. So, I’ve started buying popcorn kernels and making my own popcorn. This solution might not completely cure my addiction to white cheddar, but at least by making my own snack I can control what I am putting into my body. Try making your own popcorn with one of the seasonings below.
- Butter and salt
- Cinnamon and sugar
- Garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- Salt and sugar
Dried Fruit
Finally, a wonderful alternative to gummy bears, fruit snacks, or licorice is dried fruit. When looking at the label on a box of Welch’s Fruit Snacks I notice multiple red flags: 11g of sugar per pouch and Red 40, Yellow 5, and Blue 1 (which have been found to be harmful to your health.) Real fruit doesn’t have artificial colors which could damage my health nor does it have added sugars. Some of my favorite dried fruits are apricots, peaches, blueberries, and cherries. You can have that same gummy texture you love while also treating your body well.
Nutrition is a lot simpler than it looks. Eating natural, fresh, and real ingredients can help you decrease fat, sodium, added sugars, and more in your diet. As a result, this can lower your cholesterol, help boost your mood, and save you money. This year, snack guilt-free by opting for fruits and nuts instead of mass produced chemicals. That being said, a bag of Doritos every once in a while is not going to kill you; moderation is the key to any diet. Snack on!