If you enjoy snacking, the extra calories may end up being an essential part of your daily nutrient intake. Snacks can be included in a healthy diet and keep satisfaction high between meals. However, it is important to turn to whole nutritious foods and stay away from processed foods as much as possible to ensure you maintain optimum health and steady energy. As delicious as they may be, their calories are empty and negatively impact our bodies, so they will leave you hungrier and reaching for more. Here are some quick and easy swaps for healthier snacking during the holidays and beyond.
Swapping Your Potato Chips
If you’re craving something crunchy and salty you can still indulge without turning to traditional potato chips or Doritos. In fact, this is one of the easiest swaps. Feel free to add a dip such as homemade salsa, guacamole, or hummus. Or maybe pair with a slice of cheese for a bit of calcium. Swap chips for:
· Plain, seasoned, or salted nuts or seeds
· Homemade popcorn (use less butter or make with olive oil instead) or prepackaged “healthy” popcorn
· Organic tortilla chips, veggie chips, hummus chips, PopChips, keto high-protein pretzels
· Baked Kale with salt and nutritional yeast
· Charcuterie board
Swapping Soda and Alcohol
While the marketing is designed to lead you to believe that a diet or zero-calorie soda is healthier, they just aren’t. Yes, they are lower in calories, but they contain synthetic ingredients that do damage to our cells long-term. If you drink multiple sodas per day or are craving something carbonated, swap your soda for sparkling water or club soda with fresh lime.
Be sure to read the label as many flavored sparkling waters are high in sugar. That being said, you can find a variety of flavored sparkling waters that strike the perfect balance. Look for 0 to 4 grams or less of sugar per can. A few flavored brands to consider include:
· La Croix
· Bubly
· Vita Coco Sparkling
· Perrier
Also, consider flavoring plain sparkling water with fresh lemon, lime, or orange juice. Or maybe even a splash of cranberry juice.
Swapping Candy, Pastries, and Ice Cream
Whether it’s tempting desserts at a restaurant or sweet treats in the breakroom at work, you can still enjoy something sweet without going too far off track. Here are some easy swaps that will curb your sugar cravings and keep you satisfied much longer:
· Fresh or frozen fruit—may add some whipped cream or whipped coconut cream
· Dried fruit
· Greek yogurt
· Frozen yogurt
· Homemade hot chocolate sweetened with liquid stevia
· Dark chocolate with 70% cocoa or more
Swapping Flavored High Sugar/High-Calorie Coffee Beverages
Your at-home coffee treat, flavored creamer, and café coffee beverage of choice are definitely packed with excess sugar and calories. For example, the delicious holiday flavors that are sold each year between Thanksgiving and New Year’s often have your full day’s worth of calories in a latte or mocha. Sometimes more! Not to mention the additives and chemicals used to make these flavorings.
Not to worry, as you can keep your coffee if you make a few swaps most of the time (there is nothing wrong with indulgences during the holiday season or birthday celebration each year). Try to stick with coffee or espresso, flavored only with whole cream, milk, or nut milk. Even if you are not dairy-free, there are brands that make flavored low-sugar creamer that taste pretty great (holiday flavors included). If you are craving an especially sweet beverage, you can just take the calories down a notch by flavoring your drink with stevia, honey, or asking for significantly less syrup. A Starbucks mocha has 4 pumps of chocolate; ask for just 1 pump and you may be surprised how much you still get your sweet fix.
You can also swap some coffee drinks for unsweetened herbal teas (cold or hot), tea lattes, or freshly squeezed juice.
Swapping Fake “Healthy” Snacks
Learning to read labels is a must, as many food products attempt to make themselves sound healthier than they actually are. Also, understand the “goal” of the snack. For example, a Kind Bar is designed to be a healthier alternative to a candy bar, and while it still has 15g of fat, it also has 6g of protein, 7g of fiber, and just 5g of sugar. This definitely makes it a far more nutritious alternative to a candy bar, however, processed bars should still be considered a candy bar and not the healthiest option to eat.
Many snacks label themselves as “fat-free”, “low-fat”, “low-calorie”, “gluten-free”, or “whole grain” to mislead you. If it’s not a whole food, you’ll have to do more research to really know if it is actually “healthy.” Smoothies are a great example of this as well. Several restaurants and grocery stores sell “real fruit/veggie” smoothies that are extremely high in sugar and have tons of added ingredients. They may taste good, but they are not healthy and are not a significant source of nutrients.
Be sure to read labels, but especially for all:
· Cereal
· Granola and granola bars
· Bread
· Snack bars
· Yogurt
· Juice
· Smoothies
· “Healthy” desserts
Swapping Your Gummy Vitamins
While not a snack, gummy vitamins are a popular health trend. They are a fun and tasty way to take your nutritional supplements. This might have you searching for a gummy alternative to several of your daily supplements. However, many of these gummies are still high in sugar. Some as high as 10g of sugar per serving, which is almost half of your sugar intake per day.
Read the label to ensure you understand the servings of sugar per gummy and per dose. If you are currently taking 4 different types of gummies per day, you may be at or over your daily grams of sugar. Women should keep their sugar at 24 grams or less per day and men should keep their sugar at 36 grams or less.
Don’t Forget To Treat Yourself!
Yes, you can still enjoy all of the unhealthy snacks and sweet treats above! The goal is to be more intentional about your nutrition and to enjoy treats in moderation. This is particularly true during the holiday season where you may eat more sweet treats, large meals, and alcoholic beverages than you do year-round.
Look at your schedule for each week, and plan when you are going to indulge. Give yourself a guilt-free full pass on Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year’s. Then, prioritize nutrition on the days before and after.
For example, eat a well-balanced breakfast and lunch on the morning of your office holiday party. Then, splurge at dinner. Eat a healthy breakfast on Thanksgiving morning and eat all your heart desires during the big meal with your family. Maybe add more high-veggie vegan meals to the mix during the holiday season and experiment with low sugar alternatives you might find just as satisfying. Be sure not to skip meals as a way to bring balance, especially when you are hungry. While you may have the intention to even things out, skipping meals leaves you nutrient-deprived and low on energy, so your body is more likely to ramp up cravings to ensure over-indulging later. Consistent, balanced, whole foods eaten throughout each day wins every time over the long run.
As always, remember that food is fuel so you want to be running on clean energy! This process should be fun!
Reach out to me today if you’d like to learn how to personalize your nutrition for your individual needs.
Best wishes and Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Kimberley Hall
