10 easy healthy snacks for you!

Getting toward the end of this week hopefully you've read up on some good advice for snack time between meal time that are fairly simple to make, won't cost a fortune, can be prepared in advance, and are wholesome, nutritious and light on calories but will satisfy nonetheless. I found these ten handy tips and hints on 'ezinearticles' (http://EzineArticles.com/8849156) and written by Christina Major, a Natropathic Doctor and Holistic Nutrionist (http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christina_Major)


There is a balance between getting healthy snacks, maintaining weight, and loving food. But it can be done. My go to snacks are all about nutrition, pleasure, and taste. If you have picky kids, these snacks please. They replace the empty sugar snacks with brain boosting alternatives.

My favourite 10 Go-to Healthy Snacks

• Apples - I love apples just the way they are. Crunchy, tart, sweet, and packed with fibre, magnesium, potassium, healthy polysterols, and tens of thousands of phytonutrients.

• Homemade Granola - toast oats, nuts, and seeds; add dried fruit; dust with cinnamon - that lots of fibre, healthy fats, sweet taste, and it's easy to take along.

• Dark Chocolate covered almonds - melt dark chocolate; stir in nuts; cool - just make sure you portion this one out, because they are so good, I ate a whole pound without realising the first time I made it!

• Almond butter (get the hint nuts are good for you) - this omega-3 fatty acid powerhouse is so easy to spread on veggies and fruit (like the apples).

• Hummus - Another dipper for veggies - good protein, high in healthy fats, and low carbs!

• Yogurt with fruit - an easy way to get billions of probiotics, that serving of fruit, and if you combine frozen fruit with really cold yogurt, it's like eating ice cream!

• Mini Pizza - homemade, of course - use a tiny, thin homemade crust (here's the one I like), lots of sauce, stack on the veggies, top with cheese and spices.

• Fruit - I love just snacking of fruits - so much goodness, so little summer to grow.

• Cheese - Aged, flavorful cheese is good, when combined with something health - try apples and cheese, or shredded cheese on hummus.

• Jerky - make your own - flavorful (hopefully local, healthy) meats, seasoned heartily, and dried - makes a great accompaniment to the granola

Here's a tip for parents that have picky eaters and say their kids won't eat these snacks: There are two types of picky eaters, and they are:

• Medical conditions
• Stubborn

If you child has a medical condition, such as an allergy, it's important to get that checked and recorded. It could save their lives one day. And don't feed them the foods that irritate them! But, most kids are just stubborn. They want the foods that taste good and make them feel good. That's why they choose sugar. But you are the parent. It's your job to make them eat good food. Give them a choice, the healthy snack or no snack. Kids will only go so long without before they eat the good food. And most will find they actually do like the good food!

WhyWeight - don't hesitate, participate, before it's too late!

-Steve, at WhyWeight-