Healthy Snacks

Uncontrolled hunger, which is often a leading cause of weight gain, is the constant "feeling" that you need to eat. Whether this is due to you actually being hungry or due to simple boredom, if you incorporate healthy snacks into your daily diet you will be able to control that hunger and maybe even start losing a little extra weight. Here are some fantastic healthy snacks that not only provide loads of energy throughout the day, but also provide you with that "full" feeling that helps you to keep from overeating.

• Edamame (Soybeans). Edamame is a Japanese soybean snack that is starting to make huge inroads in the United States. When roasted, they look quite a bit like bar nuts. However, these soybeans can also be used in fresh green salads, soups, and stir-fry dinners. Without any additional flavoring (like wasabi, barbecue, etc.) they have a sweet, nutty flavor and are extremely easy to digest. This handy finger food is also healthy since it is rich in vitamin A, calcium, antioxidants, fiber, and are really high in protein since one cup contains about 32 grams of protein.
• Low-fat dairy. Whether you are at the office or home, low-fat dairy products can be a great healthy snack that fills you up. Simply have a few packages of low-fat yogurt (the flavor of your choice) or low-fat cheese and crackers. The lower the fat content, the better due to the fact that you can get loads of protein and complex carbohydrates all of which will help to fill you up and provide that little extra energy boost to help carry you through the day.
• High water content. Fruits (like apples and grapes), broths, soups, salads, or simply anything that happens to have a high percentage of water content will help to fill you up. An example of why this principle works can be seen in your children at dinner time. Have you ever noticed that when they drink a lot, children tend to not be able to eat anywhere near what they would normally?
• High protein. Preparing snacks made with high protein content (like tuna salad and crackers) to eat throughout the day will provide you with not only a great tasting snack, but one that will fill you up and give you tons of energy. Some other high-protein snacks are nuts, salmon, turkey, or even lean meats.