5 convenient and healthy snack ideas

Introduction

Finding a convenient and healthy snack nowadays can be hard if you don't know what you are looking for. Our newsagents and supermarkets are full of sugary, processed and bad fat containing items. There are a handful of farm shops and stores that do cater for the health concious and there are options within your local supermarkets and convenience stores that you can select if you know what to look out for.

So, what should I look out for?

Let's define the word snack to start with. "A snack is a portion of food, smaller than a regular meal, generally eaten between meals."

Usually when we talk about a snack a person that is not health concious may think of a chocolate bar, a packet of crisps or maybe a biscuit. A health concious person may think of a piece of fruit, a cereal bar or a smoothie drink.

Noticed the pattern?

If not, have you fallen into this trap before yourself?

Education is key in making better choices 

Over the years I have noticed this pattern emerging time and time again from my own clients. When you mention a snack the majority will suggest a carbohydrate source. The only trouble with this is that when you consume a carbohydrate at the wrong times of the day, your body can potentially be insulin resistant.

What does that mean?

Insulin resistance is when your body doesn't absorb the carbohydrates into the muscle storage sites all over your body, but rather shuttles the carbohydrates towards the fat cells.

For snacking at least, I prefer to advise my clients to eat items that have low or no carbs in them and lean towards healthy fats or protein as a more healthy option.

Let's talk about fat

Items that are higher in fat can be a great option for snacking because fats cause no insulin response. Insulin is released by the pancreas when we consume carbohydrates. Insulin makes glycogen form carbohydrates which is the only source of carbohydrate that can be stored in our body. The glycogen is then shuttled into our muscles or fat cells depending on whether we are insulin resistant or insulin sensitive ready to use when we move our body for both exercise and day to day chores or to store as fat for a later date.

Nuts

Nuts are a great snack option for most (as long as you aren't allergic to them). They are full of healthy fatty acids, vitamins, protein and fibre. This snack will keep you feeling fuller for longer than a carbohydrate based snack. Just be careful not to over eat them. As with all fat based foods, they tend to be high in calories Vs other lower fat options like lean meats, protein bars and eggs to name a few.

Coconut

Coconut is also a great snack option because it contains MCFA's (Medium Chain Fatty Acids) and these fatty acids are easier to digest than LCFA's (Long Chain Fatty Acids). They are not readily stored within your fat cells and they are processed by the liver, which means that they are immediately converted to energy and they aren't stored in excess.

Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese has proven health benefits that include a good supply of protein, B vitamins, healthy fats and it has also been proven to lower the risk of developing breast cancer cells. If you aren't eating cottage cheese and you aren't lactose intolerant, maybe you should consider adding it into your weekly menu.

Home made protein bars

Home made protein bars are easy to make and they are convenient to carry with you during the day. They can be made in under 5 minutes using certain recipes. There are lots of recipes online and video tutorials on YouTube that can be followed. The biggest benefit of making your own protein bars is that you know exactly what you are eating. Many shop bought bars contain words that most struggle to even pronounce. If you can't pronounce it you shouldn't eat in.

Avocado

Avocados are my last suggestion but they are definitely not my least favourite. They are packed with healthy fats that help to lower cholesterol and triglyceride's. They are high in fibre and low in carbohydrates and they contain more potassium than a banana. If you can eat them, you most certainly should.

Summary

So there we have it. My list of 5 healthy and convenient snacks that are full of goodness. If you want to find out more information about nutrition, training or you have an event coming up that you want to look and feel your best for feel free to send a message to Ben's PT Essex on Google and I will personally get in contact with you to offer my guidance. 

Stay strong and keep healthy

BC

How does training develop valuable life skills?

In this article I'm going to present a comparison between the struggles that you'll face in your training sessions and how training should help you to prepare for the real world struggles that we all have to overcome each day. 

I have seen thousands of people come and go from many gyms/studios each week for the last 17 years and the contrast of people from all walks of life. Being in this environment has provided me with a unique perspective on both life, fitness and motivation that I may not have been subject to seeing in a regular 9-5 job.

The gym for me is a place where all of life's worries and concerns should be left at the door. The one thing that every person who steps through that door to train, regardless of their social status, race, wealth or lack thereof have in common is that we all want to be better versions of ourselves. Perhaps we may not all follow the same path or agree on what better is however, personal improvement is the objective when stepping into a wellness centre, gym, athletics club, swimming pool, sports club etc...

Why else would we come into an environment that causes physical hardship towards us and keep coming back week in, week out with no immediate results? 

The gym breeds the foundational values, beliefs and self-confidence required to be successful in every other aspect of life by teaching us about delayed gratification.

A great example of this is, when you are struggling to complete a set on a given exercise (the exact exercise isn't relevant) and you have 3 reps to complete the total set of 10 reps. You may manage to squeeze out 7 reps. At this point your mind is telling you to quit however, if you ignore this brain signal which is a mechanism for self preservation, continue to stick to the desired repetitions and succeed in achieving your goal, this is where you develop as a person both physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually!!! 

You get your mind in gear, focus your breathing, brace and grind with the weight for the last 3 reps. You simply "refuse to lose!" It takes a certain type of mind set and personality trait to grind through the toughest part of the set.

So, how does this relate to life outside of the gym?

In life you are going to be faced with challenges. It's inevitable! You are going to have to look within yourself and dig deep and have the same type of mind set we use to grind out the last few reps, to find that reason to carry on, even when you may want to just give up! Anything in life worth achieving is usually a challenge to come by and will require work, dedication, consistency and a can do attitude.

This is true of relationships, friendships, business, personal goals and even being a parent. 

"Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone." - Neale Donald Walsch

You must find a process (that's specific to you) to help you achieve what you want. When the steps of your process are followed in the correct order, your goals are achievable. If there is a link in the chain missing you may not achieve the outcome that you desired. 

I hope that you enjoyed this short article and have taken some positive information from it along with a little motivation to keep pushing through when you feel like giving up. 

Stay strong, be consistent, don't quit and success will be closer than you expect.

BC