Adults and children alike love snack foods or snacks as we more commonly refer to them. They are eaten to reduce hunger pangs between meals or for pure enjoyment (which is usually the case). They provide some mystical feel good factor through spiking blood sugar levels and providing instant lifts when energy levels dip. Snacks foods receive far more advertising and media coverage than their nutrient dense counter parts and it is hardly if ever that a child or grown up will opt for an apple instead of a chip. So as part of your healthy lunchbox overhaul start reading the labels, don’t be conned by the bright colourful headlines that claim to be “sugar or preservative free”, as these usually contain other ingredients far more harmful to your health. Search for the actual ingredients and avoid any items that contain hydrogenated, or partially hydrogenated oils, sugar, preservatives, colourants, flavourants , MSG or any other numbers or letters that have no meaning. There is no half-healthy junk food, clean out the cupboard completely and replace it with some of the following healthier snack alternatives.• Preservative free dried veggies
• Snack bars (Ideally make your own or include some natural way bars which are healthier alternatives).
• Raw unsalted nuts
• Raw unsalted seeds such as sunflower, pumpkin, sesame etc
• Homemade or preservative free trail mixes
• Replace regular chips which are high in salt and fat with corn chips or veggie chips.
• Rice cakes
• Sesame chips or bars (Opt for the sugar free variety)
• Oat cakes
• Vegetable crudités spiced up with some hummus dip
• Hard boiled organic eggs (You can draw on the shells or mould them into different shapes)
• Natural yoghurt flavoured with fresh fruit purees (Not for the lactose intolerant)
• Whole fruit
• Popcorn (use an air-popper if possible as stove popped contains saturated fat and microwave versions are filled with additives, flavourings and fat.)
Return from 15 Snack ideas for your healthy lunchbox to filled cucumbers.
2 comments:
My husband still likes his snack lunch box, I started the snack box when my children were little and not really eating their lunches that I used to send. So I thought I have to change this up and hence the snack box. It is a great idea and good to hear that mom's are still practicing.
Great idea! thanks for the post. Would incorporate only healthy snacks on my kids lunchbox.
Post a Comment