5 Healthy Snack Options To Get You Through The Day
Who has time for lunch? Me either! But energizing snacks can get you through the day.
Syracuse University Food Services has many healthy options including veggies, smoothies, cottage cheese and some of the items listed below that you can grab at food.com. There are many options to fit various dining needs including gluten free and/or vegan foods. Things you can also grab on your next Wegman’s run. Most of the information below is according to the Mayo Clinic.
Fruit
Bananas are great for potassium. If you want, adding peanut butter makes it a much more energizing snack (albeit more messy) especially with protein and Vitamin E added into the mix. Vitamin E is great in that it helps vision and fights free radicals. There are also Apples that with or without peanut butter adds fiber into the nutrients. Fiber helps blood sugar levels as well as one’s cholesterol.
One of my favorites is grapefruit with pectin and folate, which helps one’s blood sugar and energy according to Medical News Today. The citrus smell awakens your brain and the tartness doesn’t hurt either. Too much? “Add a spoonful of sugar… It helps the medicine go down” Okay, maybe that was too much. Slice in half and stick in an easy to store zip lock round container. Just make sure you don’t eat (or drink) grapefruit if you’re on certain medications.
Veggies
Kale! Yes, I used the “K” word. Kale is high in vitamin A, K and calcium. To some kale may be an automatic turn off, but kale chips are aplenty and at your local Trader Joes or you can make your own. Add some sea salt, which is a healthier alternative than regular table salt and it makes for an easy to grab snack.
If you like the peanut butter idea, add that to some high-fiber celery sticks. Celery stalks are cheap and raisins are fun to add to your “ants on a log.” Cream cheese works as well for a different flavor with the celery.
Yogurt
One can add fruit with yogurt or even granola. Plain yogurt reaps many benefits including potassium and magnesium. If you don’t get enough potassium you may have nauseousness and an irregular heartbeat. If you don’t get enough magnesium you may feel weak, irritable and lack of that mineral could affect your ticker as well. So yogurt is pretty great, right? Some of my favorites from the recommended brands from Eat This Not That are Chobani, Siggi’s & Noosa.
Hard Boiled Eggs
Hard-boiled eggs are beneficial in that they contain vitamin B12. If the body lacks in B12 it could lead to anemia, which drains a person of energy. So eggs are an amazing boost! They taste great dipped in a salt and pepper mix and can be put on salads if not eaten on their own. Hard boil a whole bunch at the beginning of the week and leave in sealed container in your fridge. Trust me, you want to seal that container! Egg smell is only pleasant to a point.
Nuts
Unless, of course, of an allergy, nuts make a great snack. Cashews are filling and they are full of protein. Walnuts, according to Healthline, provide healthy omega 3’s, which helps with strength and antioxidants that keeps a person healthy. Sweet Almonds, though actually considered a seed, have a great flavor and good for cardiovascular health as well. Unfortunately, nuts are expensive. If you can buy in bulk it helps. Wal-Mart seems to be cheapest. Yes, they’re pricy, but make for great corny jokes for your upcoming holiday banter. Oh yeah, and laughter is said to help with energy as well. So a good bout of chuckling on your snack break can only add to the benefits.
Popcorn
Easy and light to package in a zip lock bag, popcorn also has fiber and antioxidants. You can eat it plain or there are varying ways to make it a more unique snack by adding a certain flavor or flavors and mixing it with other snack options like nuts and even dark chocolate, which Healthline states that studies show can improve brain function. You didn’t think you would see chocolate on this list, did you? Aren’t you glad you did?
So there are a few healthy and fun snacking options. There are many more, but these will lead you down the path of more energy and brainpower for those midterms coming up! Speaking of…
