By Milli Thornton
It can be tempting (and fun) to snack while writing. But since writing is such a sedentary pursuit, unless you’ve got a great metabolism—and unless you get some exercise nearly every day—the hazards of over-snacking are obvious. Especially if you choose snacks loaded with salt or sugar, such as flavored Pringles or Hershey’s chocolate bars.
Before you give in to those cravings, consider some snacks that can still taste good but won’t put you into an early grave (or Weight Watchers) for the sake of some munching.
Naturally, if you have a medical condition, consult with your health care practitioner before trying anything suggested on the Internet.
STONYFIELD CHOCOLATE UNDERGROUND
WebMD says “One of the words you’ll be hearing more of in relation to yogurt is ‘probiotics.’ Probiotic, which literally means ‘for life,’ refers to living organisms that can result in a health benefit when eaten in adequate amounts.”I love this from the Stonyfield web site: “We make our yogurt and other products from fine organic ingredients and nothing artificial ever. Our ingredients are produced without the use of toxic, persistent pesticides, chemical fertilizers, synthetic hormones, antibiotics or genetically-modified organisms.”
Stonyfield produces a range of organic yogurts. I’m highlighting Chocolate Underground because it’s a decadent chocolate snack without the guilt or pimple-power of a Hershey’s snack. The chocolate at the bottom of the creamy, whole milk yogurt is worth scraping the cup for!
RAW, UNSALTED ALMONDS
To me, these taste good. Earthy. I eat them nearly every day just because I love the taste.
Some of the benefits of raw almonds: protein, magnesium, potassium, trace minerals, vitamins B2, B17 and E, lowered gallstone risk, weight loss, monounsaturated fat (the “good” kind of fat that your heart and arteries love).
While researching this article I found out that not all almonds labeled “raw” are good for us (or truly raw). Alas, labeling laws can deceive us, even for the innocent almond. See Related Topics at the end of this post for a link to more information.
DEVILED EGGS FROM THE DELI
We’ve all seen those boxes of deviled eggs in the supermarket. But do you only buy them as hors d’oeuvres for company? Eggs are a great source of protein and can be so satisfying when you’re trying to resist temptation.
Unfortunately, eggs get a bad rap due to the cholesterol scare. Sometimes the things we’ve been told are bad, bad, bad are later eased up on or exonerated by more research, such as the egg.
These days you’ll see products touted as healthy (cholesterol-free) that use only the whites of the egg. But if you read up about whole foods, you’ll soon see the folly of using only part of a food instead of the whole food that nature provides.
KASHI SOFT-BAKED COOKIES
Kashi is the name of a company that believes in the benefits of whole grains. Their products feature high protein content, high fiber, antioxidants and phytonutrients.Ever tried to find a healthy cookie and ended up disappointed? In my opinion, the low-fat bandwagon has gone too far—sacrificing real education about what constitutes good and bad fat to instead manipulate people’s fears about gaining weight.
The Kashi folks say: “Our cookies combine 7 Whole Grains with hearty, natural ingredients like peanuts, raisins, cranberries, shredded coconut, and dark chocolate, for a chewy, home-baked taste.”
And they’re delish! My favorite is the Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chip, but there’s also Oatmeal Raisin Flax and Happy Trail Mix.
What are your favorite healthy snacks?
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RELATED TOPICS
Nutritionists take a fresh look at the health benefits of eggs
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Milli Thornton (aka Milliver) is the author of Fear of Writing: for writers & closet writers. She is owner of the Fear of Writing Online Course, where her mission is to put the fun back into writing. Milli also coaches writers individually at Writer’s Muse Coaching Service.
Thanks for the snack tips. I’m on a low carb diet, so I frequently eat eggs. The almonds, I’d enjoy more if the prices would come down. I checked out the links, too.
Twitter: fearofwriting
Marvin, I agree about the price of raw almonds. My local grocery stores carries a home brand several dollars cheaper than the competitors . . . but now that I know about the tricky labeling issue, I’ll have to check whether they sterilize them or fumigate them with propylene oxide. Sheesh.
Good luck with your low carb diet. 🙂
~ Milli
Twitter: wordsxo
I try to stay away from snacks in general (because once I start I can’t stop….) and rarely keep many snack foods in the house. But I do love raw almonds, and I’ll look forward to trying the cookies because they look great!
Twitter: fearofwriting
Julia, ever since I read in The Leptin Diet that snacking makes our leptins go out of control, I’ve found it much easier to resist snacking. Leptins are a master hormone and they’re easily messed with by bad eating habits, even simple things like irregular meals. Powerful information that actually changed my habits. I wish all positive info that I read would have such lasting effect on me. 😀
P.S. It’s amazing the comic value the word leptin takes on with a MEH in the house. I know you understand.
I love Kashi’s Mocha Almond granola bars, but we haven’t been able to find them at our store for a while now. Their peanut butter ones are great, too!
Also, celery and peanut butter is tasty, as are carrot sticks. And one of my favorites, when we can afford it, is a fresh fruit salad topped with sliced almonds, flax seed, and shredded coconut. 🙂
I don’t snack much. Sometimes, I even forget to eat lunch! But when I do snack, I like to make sure I have something healthy on hand, if at all possible.
Twitter: fearofwriting
That’s great, Lois. Your snacks sound like healthy choices. I, too, love peanut butter on celery and the protein boost can come in handy if I’ve gone too long without eating.
I think all writers are guilty of skipping meals when we get too engrossed. 🙂
Your fruit salad dish with the sliced almonds, flax seed and shredded coconut sounds like a perfect little article for this series, accompanied by a photo, if you ever want to do that. As long as we can inspire people to try something simple and healthy, that meets the criteria for the kinds of articles I like.
I’ll definitely keep this in mind. I don’t have everything for the salad this week. I’ll try for next week…so I can get a good accompanying picture! 🙂
Twitter: fearofwriting
Excellent, Lois, thanks! With the whether turning so warm fruit salad would make a great topic for the Healthy Writers series.
Lucky you to have weather turning warm. It’s May 31st and here in No. California it’s like a winter day – raining, cloudy and cold. Brrrrr
I always have hard boiled eggs handy! I love Greek style yogurt, and also carrot/celery sticks with peanut butter! I can buy those “good” raw almonds at the farmer’s market. I prefer mine soaked over night in water.
A favorite quick snack of mine is: tomato slices with chopped avocado & onion or garlic w/ a swish of olive oil, drops of apple cider vinegar and sea salt. Hmmmm…Think I’ll go make one now.
Twitter: fearofwriting
It might be fun to do a joint guest blog post for this. Lois could do the fruit salad and Catherine could do the “tomato slices with chopped avocado & onion or garlic w/ a swish of olive oil, drops of apple cider vinegar and sea salt.”
I could put them in the same post as healthy snack suggestions from a couple of our regular readers.
P.S. It’s 91 degrees here today and this rented house we live in does not have AC. My chair is giving me a thigh sauna. 🙁
I have an awesome recipe for Ensalata Caprese, too. I’ll have to add that, as well. 🙂
Twitter: fearofwriting
Wonderful, Lois. Two kinds of salad – one fruit and the other savory. I’m sure they’ll both make great photos, too.
Yes, they will! 😀
Cool! 🙂
OK let me know when and I’ll make some, take a photo and write it up. I’d be happy to co-blog with Lois, my Super Woman pal.
As I said I would, I did go and make the tomato salad and we ate it with the coconut thai soup leftovers I made last night. Yummm
Awwwwww 91 degrees! From winter to summer and just skipped spring this year. Time to get one of those frosted trays Milli. Then you can sit on it!