Snacking

For some reason, the word snack is a word which irritates me the same as nails on a chalkboard irritates others. I don't like the way the word sounds, looks, nor do I like the aggravation it causes.

Let's talk about snacking or munching between meals. I just walked to my refrigerator in order to grab another water bottle (bottles which are refilled btw) and I grabbed a snack at the same time. There is always some sort of food at our disposal, isn't there? Rather it be chips, vegetables, fruits, or even other leftover foods, it's there and it's within eye level, begging to be tasted. My snack of choice at this current moment was a handful of juicy, plum grapes, nothing major. What if there were a piece of pie sitting in there? Would I have grabbed that instead?

One of the things we all must learn, in order to be a healthy snacker, we need to avoid buying the foods which cause problems in the first place. I have generous sized basket in my fridge which is located on the top shelf. Why? it's within arms reach, I don't have to bend over to get anything, nor shuffle behind jars to get to it. In the basket, there are cucumbers, tomatoes, grapes, and baby carrots. These are typically the things I enjoy snacking on. As one who eats more proteins than carbohydrates, there are other times where you may find a bowl of BBQ chicken legs which I make with my own sugar-free BBQ sauce or even chicken wings or cheeseburgers. Seriously! If I get the munchies, I have learned that a protein will keep my hunger at bay as opposed to a handful of grapes or baby carrots.

That said, a common mistake many of us make, including myself, is eating improperly. I used to eat one single meal a day. Dinner. My dinners used to include mostly starches and carbohydrates or as I call them, empty nutrients which turn into fat! To this day, I still have troubles eating several times a day but I'm getting better at it as time progress. Rather than eating two or three meals a day, breaking these meals down to five or six eating sessions is healthier for us. It's hard for me to do this, do you have the same problem?

Anyhow, let's talk about snacking. What do you enjoy snacking on? What is your worst enemy and your best friend when it comes to snacking? Regardless of how you fulfill your daily nutritional needs, snacking plays a role for all of us.