Often when we are trying to lose weight, we focus on ensuring we eat a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner. But what about the 11am and 3pm slump, or the dreaded after dinner snack sessions?
By being prepared with snacks as well as your main meals, you can ensure that your day’s hard work doesn’t get undone in one fat-or sugar-laden hit.
When preparing your ‘perfect’ snack, make sure to include a mix of protein and carbs, along with some good fats. This will means that you’re tummy is kept full, and energy levels stable.
This is especially important if you plan on exercising in the afternoon/evening sometime before your main meal. A well timed, healthy snack can mean the difference between plenty of energy or dragging yourself along the pavement!
Which of these healthy snacks can you see yourself trying out next time the dreaded snack attack hits?
- If you love corn chips, why not try air popped popcorn? Drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom of a heavy saucepan (that has a matching lid, of course!). Heat over a medium to high heat until the oil is almost smoking.
Pour in half a cup of popcorn kernels, pop the lid on, and remove from the heat once the popping has stopped. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and some good quality rock salt. - If you love crackers and dip, why not try vegetable sticks and home made guacamole? Cut some fresh carrots and celery into batons and arrange on a platter. Cut open a ripe avocado, scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. Squeeze on the juice of half a lemon, and season well with salt and pepper. Finely dice a tomato and a quarter of a red onion and mix through.
See our recipe here - If you love hot chips, why not try your very own oven baked chips with rosemary and sea salt? Preheat the oven to 200C. Grab 6 large washed potatoes and slice into 1cm ‘chips’.
Place in a large bowl and cover well with olive oil, a large handful of freshly chopped rosemary (or from a jar) and lashings of sea salt. Place on a tray lined with baking paper and cook for 20 minutes. Turn the potatoes over and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until golden all over. - If you love chocolate, why not try our chocolate chip chickpea protein cookies? A little bit of chocolate in never a bad thing, especially when it comes packaged up in these delish little protein boosts. Simply rinse 1.5 cups of tinned chickpeas and combine in the blender with 1/2 cup nut butter, 1/4 cup skim milk, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract and 1 tsp of baking powder. Blend on high till a smooth batter forms then add in 85g of good quality dark chocolate chips. Dollop onto a baking tray (remember, they’ll spread out a little), then pop into a 200C oven for 15-20 minutes. Yum.
See the full recipe here - If you love lollies, why not try homemade trail mix? If you find yourself reaching for the sweets come 3pm, a healthy trail mix might be the alternative for you. While the only limit is your imagination, combining raw, unsalted nuts like almonds, cashews and brazil nuts with some dried fruit (raisins, craisins, banana chips, freeze dried apple slices) and some yoghurt buttons makes for a delicious and healthy snack.
See other trail mix suggestions here
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