Snack right!

                                 

  Healthy Snacking tip

We all including myself indulge in a guilty pleasure once or twice per week which is fine but when it becomes a habit that is when your on a down hill slope that will diminish the results you would like to get from working out especially if your goal is weight loss!
Picture this scenario if you will ; its mid morning you have possibly skipped breakfast because you slept the alarm, your starving but only have 15 minutes to grab a quick bite until lunch. you go next door to the local coffee house or deli.  The smell of coffee and bakery are dense in the air it is overwhelming your senses now and your look around in search of a fix to get you through to lunch time.  (I am a self confessed chocoholic so this is a story about me) your pupils dilate as you spot the wonderful array of sweet treats beside the coffee machine. hook line and sinker you pick the most luxurious muffin/cupcake you can pick out with an ex large cappuccino.  You have exactly 5 minutes left after possibly queuing for 10 minutes as you and the rest of the country are in the same boat at this time of the day. So you scoff it down bits of chocolate everywhere! you look like a 1 year old child after eating without its bib!! Now you wash it down with that extra large coffee hmm.......  Now its back to work and your flying, no; you are absolutely wired from the insulin release/stunt that your body had to perform to handle that much sugar and caffeine. 

It is now one hour later you cant function you have a headache your thirsty, your hungry you can not concentrate, your snapping at colleagues like its their fault you were not prepared for the day and they made you swallow that 11am "snack" that contained  over 600 calories! yes that's what your coffee and muffin will land on your ass! it's shit but its reality my friends and guess how much physical exercise is needed to kick 600 calories? 1 hour of a boot camp class that is what!

Your in trouble to say the least because your going down a slippery slope to having the breakfast roll or ham cheese and coleslaw roll with another coffee for lunch.  So here is an idea for a hunger satisfying snack without overstimulating your pancreas and draining you for the rest of the day! Yes you will have another high from that and yes another low.  Its about balance people!
So have a look below

Carrots

One serving of Carrots equates to one medium sized carrot or ½ cup of carrots chopped into batons.

Carrots get their bright orange colour from are beta carotene and are naturally high in Vitamin A.

One medium carrot will roughly provide your body with the following;

1.      210% of your RDA of vitamin A

2.      10% RDA Vitamin K

3.      6% RDA Vitamin C

4.      2% RDA Calcium

vitamin A can help improve and maintain the health of your Brain, liver and has anti-inflammatory properities.

Hummus

What is Hummus?

Hummus or houmous is a Levantine food dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic.

Levantine cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Levant, known in Arabic as the Bilad ash-Sham. This region shared many culinary traditions before and during the Turkish-Ottoman Empire which continue to carry an influentially mainstream character in a majority of the dishes today.

A history lesson as well eh?  Anyway!!

From two tablespoons of hummus you are getting 2 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein and 5 grams of fat.  Do not panic my friends; this is polyunsaturated fat which the body needs to absorb nutrients into the blood stream.

So what am I getting from my mushy meal?

1 serving of hummus provides us with;

1.       6% RDA folate

2.       4% RDA Vitamin B-6

3.       4% RDA Thiamine

All three above Vitamins help with turning food into energy as well as keeping our hair, skin, nails and eyes healthy.  Not to mention proper liver and brain function as well as keeping our nervous system in check and optimal!

Next, you will also benefit from;

4.       6% RDA of Phosphorus and Magnesium

5.       4% RDA Iron and Zinc

Phosphorus is needed for creating energy, repair of cells and tissue and proper muscle, nerve and kidney function.

Magnesium is needed for muscle and nerve functions also as well as, maintains healthy bones.  Iron and zinc are needed for healthy immune function and DNA creation and repair.

Carrots and hummus together

Although this is a very healthy and nutritious snack for you it is very easy to go overboard with the hummus which can be very high in calories in what you would think to be relatively small portions.

Use this example as a guideline for one your new favorite snack of choice when you’re feeling those hunger pangs!

100 calorie snack

 

 written by: Fergal Lawlor of Apeiron Fitness  9/10/2014