Snacks

A snack is a small portion of food eaten between meals. I advise 3 meals and 3 snacks (3M3S) so these occur at 

midmorning

midafternoon

bedtime (yes!) 

The purpose of the snack is to keep your metabolism and energy high between meals, to keep your blood sugar steady, and to add to your nutrition. 

What does it take to have great snacks ? 

1. Shopping twice a week to have fresh foods handy

2. Knowing your proteins and keeping some prepared in the fridge at home 

3. Putting together a small serving of protein and a small serving of produce. 

4. Having nice little containers and a carrying case for your lunch and snacks 

5. Being willing to bring food with you during your day and possibly to refrigerate it while you work. 

6. Remembering to eat snacks and your meals on a schedule. 

Once again we touch on this theme of "protein plus produce", PPP. The snack should be composed of a protein plus a produce, meaning a fruit or a vegetable. The produce serves as the healthy nutrient rich carbohydrate, and the protein buffers the entry of the carbohydrate into the system and make the snack long-lasting and more likely to be metabolized rather than stored as fat. 

This type of nutrition management, 3M3S + PPP is ideal for those working on their ideal body weight and composition, pregnant women, bodybuilders (which is what a pregnant women is after all) and diabetics. All are trying to build lean body mass, keep blood sugar stable for sustained energy and to avoid putting on fat. 

Idea for snack items that are easy to prepare, store and handle: 

Here are some classic snacks that fit our criteria :

Peanut Butter and fruit slices on toast

 corn chips or pita with fresh salsa and hummus 

Plain Greek yogurt and berries

Cottage cheese with fruit

hard or mozzarella cheese with fruit or vegetables 

glass of milk with fruit 

¼ cup of almonds and wasabi peas, with piece of fruit

Hard-boiled egg and fruit or vegetables 

Fruit smoothie with protein powder