Hidden Calories Part 2: Snacks

Did you know that snacks also count as meals? So, if we try to eat well and adopt a healthy lifestyle, we are supposed to eat healthy snacks. When dieting it's even more important to have low calorie snacks, and to avoid high calorie foods.

But which are healthy snacks and how difficult is it to prepare them? To get some low calorie snack ideas and learn some quick and easy healthy snack recipe, continue reading this nutritional advice.

Avoid High Calorie Foods in Snacks

Elimination of hidden calories from our diet is crucial in the process of weight-loss. We might think that our diet is perfectly balanced but we forget about our drinks and snacks. We've already discussed the former in previous advice about hidden calories, but this time I'd like to say a word or two about hidden calories in our everyday snacks.

Usually, we are not aware of calorie intake caused by snacks. For example, when a coworker in the office opens a box of cookies or when we subconsciously start eating just because we have a bag of potato chips near the couch at home. But the worst are unhealthy snacks we replace main meals with. Has the idea of having a bar of chocolate for dinner because it's easier than to make a salad ever occurred to you? But have you ever thought about having an apple instead?

Healthy Snack Ideas

So, basically, to avoid hidden calories, we have to avoid sweet and greasy industrially processed snacks. The next step would be to replace our old high calorie snacks with healthier ones. Healthy snacks can consist of fresh or dried fruits, vegetables, nuts, low-fat dairy products …

What if next time instead of putting a bowl of nachos on the table, you serve fresh stripes of veggies with home-made yoghurt, salsa or guacamole dip with? Here's what you'll need:

• yoghurt, seasoned with dried garlic powder, rosemary and a little salt,
• fresh tomato, onions, pepper, salt and chilly to make a spicy fresh salsa,
• avocado, lime juice, red onions, cilantro, and a little salsa you've made before to enhance the taste,
• fresh cucumbers, peppers, carrots, celery, and any other veggies that come to your mind, sliced in stripes.

If you feel like putting a little more effort into your social-snack-meal, you can also make your own chips in the oven. Slice potato and zucchini very thinly and put them on a plate, covered with baking paper that will help you avoid oil. You can also season the sliced veggies and then bake them until they look and taste like chips. This is just one healthy snack idea, but if you check the internet a bit, you will easily find many more.