To Snack Or Not To Snack
Posted by Charlie Prost on October 6th, 2010
It seems like whenever you go on a new weight loss diet there’s a part of your brain that tells you, uh oh, deprivation time. Well, “dieting” is not synonymous with deprivation. In fact, dieting does not mean that you have to stop eating good flavorful satisfying food. On the contrary, you might find that by adding some old foods (one’s that you might have thought of as boring and tasteless) and prepare them in a new way.
Snacking throughout the day has always been touted as a big no-no but depriving your body of nutrition because it’s “not time to eat yet” is wrong in my book. If you are truly hungry (and not just dehydrated which can create hunger pangs) then I believe you should have a snack. Now, I’m not saying get the chips out and down the whole bag. Your snacks should be healthy, nutritious, and filling so that you can make it to your next meal. Not only that, but by “fueling ” your body throughout the day, keeps that internal furnace going thereby revving your metabolism motor into high gear.
So what’s good as a snack? Nuts! Raw, unsalted, unflavored nuts are an awesome snack that fills you up and keeps you satisfied. Now a lot of you are saying, “but nuts are high in fat, aren’t they?” Yes, however, the fat is a good fat. It’s the bad fats you MUST stay away from.
Another great option for nuts is nut butters. All natural peanut butter or almond butters are so delicious with fruits, vegetables and whole grain breads. Just be sure that if you purchase any brand of nut butter from your grocers that they are truly all natural and unroasted.
If you have doubt, make your own. It’s easy! Try this great recipe with any raw nut and enjoy.
Almond Butter
- 3 cups raw almonds
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Add all the ingredients into a blender, food processer, Magic Bullet or Vita-Mix and start out on the lowest variable speed and then flip to high. Give it a minute to become smooth. At this point taste the almond butter; does it need more oil or salt? Try not to add any more oil than necessary otherwise you will be able to pick up the taste in your finished product. The oil is only used for blending purposes so the less the better.