New Blog Series: The Best and Worst!
This week: Healthy Snack Options
Foods featured in the “best” category earn their spot for being clean, nourishing options.
Foods featured in the “worst” category earn their spot for being over-processed, sugary options.
Top 6 Best Healthy Snacks
1. Hard Boiled eggs
Hard boil a half a dozen organic, cage-free eggs (Vital Farms*~) at the beginning of the week for a grab-and-go snack that is rich in protein and fat, and great brain food!
2. Avocados
A perfect snack that comes in its own bowl-just slice in half, season with sea salt, pepper, and lemon and eat with a spoon.
3. Carrots, celery and homemade ranch
Use cultured sour cream (Wallaby Organic*~) or a mayonnaise made with sunflower or olive oil (or email me for a homemade recipe) as a base, stir in equal parts chives, dill and parsley, and then season to taste with garlic, salt, lemon juice and paprika
4. Crispy Nuts
Nuts are hard to digest unless they are soaked first. Soak truly raw nuts (found in the bulk bins*~) overnight in filtered water and sea salt and then either dehydrate or put on a cookie sheet in the oven on the lowest setting for 8-12 hours.
5. Apples and raw cheese
Enjoy slices of organic apples and raw cheese (cheese made with unpasteurized milk*^~)
6. Cucumber and sea salt
A refreshing snack that you can feel guilt-free about eating mindlessly at your desk
*Find at most Whole Foods locations
~Find at the Santa Monica Co-op: Co-opportunity
^Find at most Sprouts locations
Top 5 Worst “Healthy” Snacks
1. Gluten Free chips/crackers
While eliminating gluten is a great choice, beware of gluten-free goodies which are highly processed and usually packed with refined non-gluten grains and lots of sugar
2. Protein/granola bars
Compare the nutrition facts and ingredients of most of your protein bars with a Snickers bar and you won’t be able to tell which is which. Beware of hidden sugars, hydrogenated fats and anything you can’t pronounce. ***Exception: EPIC bars*
3. Packaged smoothies
These are notorious for being high in sugar. Check the label twice: the serving size is usually only half of the bottle!
4. Trail Mix
Properly prepared nuts are included above in the “best” list, but trail mixes often contain chemically seasoned nuts, fruit coated in sugar and even candies.
5. 100 Calorie Packs
Just because it is only 100 calories doesn’t mean it is healthy. Most of the time the low calorie count is achieved by chemically processing out the fat and replacing it with artificial flavors
6. Flavored yogurt
Please read your ingredients here! Yogurt can be healthy, but if sugar is one of the top three ingredients, throw it out.
Lindsea Burns
Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP)
Clinical Nutritionist
Email: lindsea@atlashealthcarecenter.
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The views and opinions presented in this blog are those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the views or opinions of Krav Maga Worldwide.
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