Healthy Snacking on the Go

Snacking is the consumption of food or drink between regular meals. Most will agree that a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack is a much-needed power break no matter the age. It is the time we treat not only our senses but also our minds by providing a fuel boost to our bodies so that we can stay focused on our work.

Snack choices are mostly affected by different factors on an individual level. A nutrient poor and energy dense snack can be considered as unhealthy. Most of the time our hunger pangs make us binge on an unhealthy snack.

This pandemic has definitely taught us that our health is our wealth. Now we are in the phase where we are gradually getting back to our routine and will soon resume work. What we need to consider is our health and immunity levels. We have to be mindful about the food we are consuming, the snacks we are munching on.

Mindless munching on snacks like biscuits, cookies, chips, chocolates or options like samosa, vada and roadside food can be detrimental to our health. Consumption of refined food products and packaged foods which are high in sodium and preservatives and fried food may lead to lifestyle disorders like obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.

Eating less or skipping meals is one of the reasons why most people feel hungry and make poor food choices.

Thus, it is really important to eat a balanced meal followed by a healthy and planned snack in between. Choosing a wise option for snacking and mindful munching is really important for good health. It is better to consume a healthy, low caloric, protein rich, nutritious snack which can provide nourishment to the body.

Some of the tips for healthy snacking:

• Always keep yourself hydrated. Carry a bottle and keep sipping on water to avoid excessive hunger.

• You can keep easy to carry snacks in your bag like roasted chana and peanuts, a trail mix of nuts and seeds or roasted soy nuts. Dry fruits like dates, apricots and prunes also serve as a good option.

• GRD Bix, the superior protein diskettes is another healthy and convenient options to curb your hunger.

• People with diabetes or trying to lose weight can opt for sugar free options like GRD Lite.

• Fruit is a healthier choice and easy to carry, 1 fruit while travelling or in between work can keep those hunger pangs in check.

• Carrying a box of sprouts or boiled chana is another healthier option.

• Avoid high sugar and refined foods like biscuits, cookies, chocolates.

• Packaged foods like chips are high in sodium and preservatives, hence they are better avoided.

• Avoid fried items like samosa, vada, bhajias and chaats.

A nutrient dense snack with a well-planned balance diet is very essential for a healthy body and mind.