Tam’s Tips
 A Quick Bite on Snacks…
Snacks? Are you joking? Nope, I’m not. Overwhelmingly nutrition and dietary resources show that healthful snacking is key to maintaining healthy weight. Ideally you should have one mid-morning and one mid-afternoon snack in addition to your portion-controlled meals. Why? Because larger meals create dramatic swings in energy as our blood sugar levels spike and plummet. Maintaining a regular blood sugar level helps you to perform more consistently throughout the day, and helps you to maintain and even lose weight at a steadier pace by preventing over-eating at meals!
A good snack will consist of a complex carb, protein, and even a little bit of healthy fat. Portions should be much smaller than meals, but just as balanced. Each of the simple snack ideas below should be accompanied by a glass of water, skim milk, herbal tea or 100% fruit juice diluted with water to be considered complete.
1) Hummus Veggie Wrap:
Ingredients:
1 whole wheat tortilla
1-2 tbsp hummus
1/2 small tomato, sliced
1-2 lettuce leaves (choose your favourite, I usually just use some from my bag of mesclun mix)
Place the tortilla flat on a work surface, lay the lettuce leaves in the center (leave a boarder around the edges for folding), dollop the hummus in the middle, and place the tomatoes over the hummus.
Fold the bottom up and the sides in, and voila!
*this is really nice with a cup of Moroccan mint-green tea. We prefer President’s Choice Moroccan Mint Green Tea or a good quality green tea with fresh or dried mint leaves brewed in.
2) Red Pepper Boats:
Ingredients:
1/2 can tuna packed in water
1/2 bell pepper, seeded (your favourite colour)
Prepare tuna as you would for a tuna salad sandwich (i.e. salt, pepper, maybe a little low-fat mayo or ranch dressing). Scoop tuna into the bell pepper boat….that's all there is to it!
*To change this recipe up, try egg, salmon or chicken salad in your pepper boat!
3) Ants on a Log:
Ingredients:
2 celery stalks, cut into thirds if you like
1 handful of raisins (I prefer Sunmaid Natural Raisins because they contain no additives or preservatives)
1-2 tbsp Peanut Butter*
Clean and dry your celery stalks. Spread peanut butter in the groove of each stalk so that it is level with the edge of the stalk. Poke raisins into the peanut butter so they look like ants sitting on a log….enjoy!
* If you are allergic to peanut butter (P.B.), or work/live in a nut-free environment, try a seed butter that has similar nutritional values to P.B. My favourites are Pumpkin Seed butter and Sunflower Seed butter. These are all available at natural food stores like Ambrosia or Noah's as is the natural Peanut Butter I like best. Look for the 'Nuts to You' brand, they are the tastiest. Or, alternatively, try low-fat cream cheese!
4) Apples & Cheese*:
Ingredients:
1 apple of your choice (I prefer tart/crisp varieties like Granny Smith or Royal Gala)
3 oz low-fat cheese, in cubes or thin slices
This one is self explanatory but, just for fun, try arranging them nicely on a little plate. Food is always better when it looks good! You could even arrange the apples on a baking sheet, sprinkle a bit of low-fat granola and cinnamon on them, and top with 3oz of grated low-fat cheese, placing under the broiler for a few minutes for a melted warm apple snack!
*You can also try apples with low-fat cream cheese or one of the nut/seed butters as above.
5) Low-Fat Granola & Yogurt:
Ingredients:
1 single serve, low-fat yogurt with fruit
1/4 cup Bran Buds, PC Fiber First, or Low-Fat Granola
Put them both together and stir!
I find that a lot of 'high fiber' cereals really are not that high in fiber. Some only have 4 grams per 30 gram serving! A medium sized apple has 5 grams! Kellogg's Bran Buds and PC Fiber First both have about 13 grams of fiber per 30 gram serving. Please read the ingredient label, or bring yours to your next FabYourLife visit, so that your practitioner can help you demystify the contents and choose the best variety for you.
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