healthy snack ideas • Nikki Kuban Minton

Banana Bread Protein Bites

Nikki — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 21:00:00 +0000

I love banana bread and it’s a favorite in our household, but unfortunately it is full of sugar. What if you could have a sweet treat with the same great flavor, a lot less sugar, and no baking involved? These Banana Bread Protein Bites are the perfect snack that literally will take you 10 minutes to make with only 8 ingredients. Check out the recipe below… I mean it can’t get any better or more simple than this!!

Banana Bread Protein Bites

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Healthy Valentine’s Day Snacks

Nikki — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 16:00:57 +0000

Valentine’s Day is 4 days away and sweets like candy seem to be the top pick when showing someone you love them. Fortunately, there are healthier options out there other than showering your kids, spouse, parents, friends, etc. with artificial sugars. These Valentine’s snacks are perfect for packing in your kid’s lunch to show them how much you love them, or as an after dinner treat for the family. Check out the link below for these healthy Valentine’s Day snacks that will make everyone smile and feel LOVED!!

https://www.delish.com/cooking/g30538742/healthy-valentines-day-snacks/

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Pomegranate Bark

Nikki — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 17:35:05 +0000

I have talked about the superfood pomegranate before and all of its wonderful health benefits. With pomegranate being in season and the holidays here, I thought I would share with you this awesome recipe. Ilana Mulhstein shares this super simple, pomegranate bark recipe below… honestly, I never thought about using pomegranate this way!! Who’s making some pomegranate bark for the holidays? You can also freeze pomegranate seeds and use as a quick after-school treat!!

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Sweet and Spicy Snack Mix

Nikki — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 21:00:27 +0000

Both fresh and dried apricots can be enjoyed for a quick snack, they also can be incorporated into many dishes. My next recipe is a very simple snack mix that can be made for a picnic, tailgate party, or just to have at home for the family. Sweet and Spicy Wasabi Snack Mix gets the spice from the wasabi peas and the sweet from the dried apricots. If the peas are too spicy for you, try adding another fried veggie such as sugar snap peas.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/270016/sweet-spicy-wasabi-snack-mix/

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Guava Bars with Coconut Crust

Nikki — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 21:30:06 +0000

Guavas are a great fruit to eat raw, but when cooking with them, I noticed most recipes either use guava in the form of a nectar, marmalade, or paste which are available at the store in all forms. The following recipe uses guava nectar for Guava bars with Coconut Crust. A great and healthy treat that remind me of a granola bar or dessert bar but with a lot less calories and sugar. Check out the recipe below… a great after school snack!!

Tales from the Trails

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Healthy Snack Ideas Take 2

Nikki — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:52:27 +0000

Don’t reach for that doughnut just yet. Here are some guidelines for choosing healthy snacks.

When snacking, it’s a good idea to think about blood sugar levels. If you consume a sugary snack, chances are your blood sugar levels will spike. And although you may feel a temporary rush of energy and an elevated mood, you’ll most likely feel like you’ve hit a brick wall and experience a crash shortly after snacking on high-glycemic index foods.

After crashing, you’ll feel hungry again and repeat the vicious cycle.

A little background …

It’s important to keep your blood sugar levels stable throughout the day. Therefore, when we eat snacks, we want to apply the same fundamental rule to that of each of your regular meals. (Hopefully, you’re eating breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, to maintain steady blood sugar and help burn fat.)

Our fundamental rule is that we always want to combine the following three macronutrients when eating:

protein
carbohydrates
natural fat

Combining macronutrients ensures that you’ll feel full longer and won’t need to binge on sweets. In fact, if your regular meals have a good ratio of the three macronutrients, you might find you may not have to snack at all.

Pay attention to your body

Start paying attention to how you feel after eating a meal. If you feel full for three to four hours after eating and don’t have bloating or a drop in energy, then whatever you just ate is the right macronutrient proportion for you.

For example, a breakfast of two eggs, one piece of sprouted whole grain bread with a little dab of butter and two small slices of all-natural bacon may satisfy you for several hours.

To keep your blood sugar levels steady, it’s a good idea not to go more than four hours during the day without eating. So taking the breakfast example above, say, eaten at 8 a.m., you’ll want to eat lunch at about noon.

Maybe you don’t get home till 6 p.m. If you wait till then to eat dinner, you’ll likely be tired and cranky, so it’s a good idea to have a late afternoon snack.

What are some healthy snack choices?

Here are some examples of healthy snacks that combine all three macronutrients:

Celery and raw almond butter: celery is a carbohydrate; almond butter is both protein and natural fat.
Cheese and crackers: opt for grass-fed cheese for higher essential Omega 3 fatty acid content if possible and gluten-free rice crackers for less intestinal bloating.
Hummus and carrot sticks: hummus contains a little protein and natural fat.
Nitrate and nitrite-free jerky: containsprotein and natural fat; you don’t always have to include a carbohydrate if you can digest meat efficiently.
Edamame sprinkled with sea salt: edamame is the whole soybean and it contains both protein and essential trace minerals if sprinkled with sea salt.
Greek yogurt: unless you’re on a restricted diet, go for the full-fat variety, which will keep you full for longer and includes all three macronutrients.
Apple slices with honey and olives: perfect for those who crave sweet and salty.
Organic turkey breast slice with crackers: turkey contains both protein and natural fat. (It’s easy to bring a package of healthy deli slices with you to work; just make sure your coworkers don’t steal it!)

Even nutritionists, dieticians and health coaches fall off the wagon. If you do and reach for a doughnut, the best thing to do is to eat a little protein and natural fat (preferably before eating the doughnut) to stabilize your blood sugar levels.

But if you adopt these healthy snacking ideas, hopefully, your cravings for sugary junk food will subside.

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