Homemade Organic Granola

Low Calorie Snacks To Help You Lose Weight

If you are trying to lose weight or watch your diet, low calorie snacks can be a big help. While it’s important to watch what you eat at your main meals, it’s equally important to pay attention to your snacking habits. If you eat fattening and unhealthy foods between meals, this can undo the good you may be doing by exercising and eating well at your primary meals.

Snacks are very tempting, and most of them are less than ideal for your health and weight loss goals. Vending machines with potato chips, pretzels and candy bars are everywhere. Then there are donuts, pastries and other high calorie treats that are often consumed mid-morning at the office. Fortunately, you can easily find low calorie substitutes for these snacks.

If you go to work or school every day, be sure to carry some healthy snacks with you. This way you won’t be tempted by snacks you have to buy outside -or at least you’ll be better equipped to resist the temptations. Some good, low fat snacks include fresh or dried fruits, salads, carrots, celery, sunflower seeds, low fat yogurt, low fat cereal or granola, healthy juices and energy bars.

Now, when you look at the above, you have to realize that when it comes to buying “healthy” foods like energy bars, juices or granola, that there is a wide variety of items to choose from. Many are actually quite high in sugar and calories, so you have to read the ingredients. The healthiest foods to get are those without added sugar. Those that are made entirely from raw foods are best. You don’t have to be on an extreme raw foods diet to appreciate the health benefits of raw foods. Raw foods energy bars are now available; these are not only low in calories, but they provide the best kind of long term energy compared to overly sweetened products.

It’s even better if you can prepare your healthy snacks at home. For example, get a quart of low fat yogurt and mix in your favorite fruits and maybe some flax seeds, alfalfa or blackstrap molasses. Other such nutritious “superfoods” can also be good for snacking. Get some small containers so you can take a portion of your homemade yogurt food to work or wherever you’re going. Of course, if you are staying home, that’s even easier!

A word of caution about low calorie snacks. You should avoid diet or low calorie foods that are made with unhealthy artificial sweeteners such as aspartame. Many health risks are associated with these. Look for organic or all natural foods, that are either unsweetened or sweetened with honey, agave nectar, stevia or pure maple syrup (there are some other all natural sweeteners as well).

One category of foods that are healthy as snacks but not especially low calorie are nuts. Nuts, such as almonds, walnuts and cashews are high in healthy fats. They are also a great source of protein. So you may want to put together your own mix of nutritious nuts, or perhaps get a healthy trail mix that has nuts and dried fruits. If you consume a handful of this mix when you get hungry, you won’t be getting too many calories. And this kind of healthy protein and fat will make you less likely to eat less healthy foods during your meals.

These are some ideas for healthy, low calorie snacks. The first step is to pay attention to your snacking habits. Then make it a priority to eat healthier in between, as well as during your meals!

Can I store homemade parfaits in the fridge with no lid?

I cut up mango & strawberry chunks and placed in the middle of Yoplait yogurt topped with organic granola chunks. Will it be fine if I store this in regular cups in the fridge with no lid?

It would be best to cover with a plastic wrap so the yogurt does not dry out. If you are only storing for a few hours, it should be fine uncovered.

Homemade Granola – Raw or Toasted

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