what snacks to eat well?

Nibbling, just the word sounds like a bad echo. And very often associated with a fault, a thing not to do unfortunate! However, eating a small snack while waiting for a meal shouldn't make us feel guilty. We give you 5 reasons to snack in peace, without hurting. So much evidence that eating between meals does not necessarily mean a misstep!

Often our lifestyle forces us to get up relatively early, eat a quick breakfast and wait 5 hours for the next meal. Ditto after lunch, it often passes at least 6 hours before sitting down to dinner. Is it really human to wait that long? What is our fallback solution? How not to feel guilty if we crack? Calm, calm! We tell you what to do!

1. Fall for hot snacks

First, no longer say snacking but snacking. This is the basis !
You will start by making your approach positive and thus see the merits of absorbing something in the morning and in the afternoon.
Why eat a snack? Because otherwise, it is the guarantee that you will throw yourself on your meal, eat with too much greed and not necessarily realize what you are swallowing. It is certainly good to eat when you feel hungry, but not to starve your body.

> So, in the middle of the morning, a yogurt and some almonds, or even a toast of wholemeal bread with a little ham or fresh cheese why not! Or a fresh fruit with some dried fruit.

Almonds are the subject of many misconceptions today, which are not necessarily true. Too high in calories, too much fat … In reality, these are not empty calories since by consuming a handful of almonds per day, you provide your body with many nutrients and minerals, which are beneficial and necessary for the recommended daily allowances. Plus, a study has shown that roasted and unroasted almonds actually provide fewer calories than previously thought. (1)

2. Manage your weight better

Distribute the calorie load throughout the day. If you swallow a few oilseeds, a dairy product, or even a yogurt with a banana around 11 am or 4:30 pm, you will also be able to better balance your meals.
You have to find the right balance and not suffer from cravings. To avoid hypoglycemia peaks, it is advisable to think about the glycemic index of foods, and to avoid very sweet snacks without associating them.
In addition, remember to eat lighter and more vegetable in the evening (soup, salad, vegetables galore).

> When we agree a nice snack (we are not talking about candy or Nutella toast of course!), we offer our body good nutrients.
To you, fresh fruits, compotes without added sugars, yogurts, dried fruits, without forgetting, very important, oilseeds : almonds, hazelnuts …
Some brands offer virtuous products, not too sweet and above all well balanced combining a supply of fast carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates, not to mention fiber.

3. Avoid deprivation and hypoglycemia

So remember to spread your intake over a whole day, not just over the three meals. Otherwise you risk frustration, and who says frustration, says cracking!
Likewise, at certain key moments such as after a good workout, it is the time to provide sugar to your body that will metabolize it properly. Otherwise, we risk hypoglycemia which could result in a sudden urge to eat something sweet, very sweet. And there, nothing worse to eat anything and especially what is bad!

> So take care to rethink your day.
Rather than a very sweet breakfast, reduce the bill and eat fiber, protein, whole grain products, and plan a snack in the morning so that you don't suffer from any lack.
Do you want cupcakes? So bet on nice cookies, with cereals, not very sweet, and that you eat after running, jumping, dancing for example. Sugar yes, but preferably after an energy expenditure.
Do not deprive yourself, but manage!

4. Sourcing the right things

Once you've figured out how to treat yourself to a morning t / or afternoon snack (because it's not just about just gulping down anything), then think about it. energy and nutritional intake of what you are going to eat.
Have you had lunch on a large salad made with greens, radishes, grated carrots and mushrooms? Think of a protein snack, with carbohydrates and fiber, dried fruits and oilseeds (important, to combine to lower the GI of dried fruits). We're not talking about giving yourself a large, well-supplied muesli but rather a handful of almonds (about fifteen) and a sweet yogurt with a few cranberries or three dried apricots.

Almond is a source of good fat. A study conducted by researchers at Penn State University (United States), funded by the California Almond Collective, and published in The Journal of Nutrition, has indeed shown that choosing a snack based on almonds, as part of a cholesterol lowering diet, may boost beneficial HDL ("good cholesterol"), and improve its ability to remove harmful cholesterol from the body (2). Unlike a diet high in saturated fat, which results in an increase in "bad" LDL cholesterol, a diet high in unsaturated fat can help lower both LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol.
Snack and almonds: an afternoon necessity. Dr Laurence Plumey. Nutritionist doctor.
"The 4 or 5 p.m. snack is perfectly legitimate and even fits in with a healthy and balanced diet. I would even say that you have to eat in the afternoon and for 4 reasons: to calm your hunger, to indulge yourself, to contribute to the nutritional contributions of the day and to avoid rushing on an overly hearty dinner which could then make you fat . Almonds are great for this and are nutritious! Indeed, they are satiating (because rich in fiber), at the rate of a nice handful of 23 almonds, they cover 60% of the daily need for antioxidant vitamin E! "

Mistrust therefore towards snacks that promise mini calories, real healthy products do not need to enhance their health contributions!

5. We eat better during meals

And finally, THE good reason to treat yourself to a snack: the meal that follows turns out to be better dosed. You have to eat more slowly, with more reason, calmly, in full awareness (no, you don't eat in front of your screen without realizing what you are swallowing).
And do not forget to force on raw vegetables, cooked vegetables (very important intake of fiber and vitamins), fish, good sources of fat … avoiding carbohydrates and refined products.

> The goal is to achieve feel hungry without having to throw ourselves on his plate, and therefore also capture when we have eaten enough.
A snack will have allowed to be patient, not to encourage cravings, but without replacing the main meals.

Article written in partnership with California Almonds

(1) Gebauer SK, Novotny JA, Bornhorst GM und Baer DJ. Food processing and structure impact the metabolizable energy of almonds. Food & Function. 2016; 7 (10): 4231-4238

(2) Berryman CE, Fleming JA, Kris-Etherton PM. Inclusion of almonds in a cholesterol-lowering diet improves plasma HDL subspecies and cholesterol efflux to serum in normal-weigh individuals with elevated LDL cholesterol. The Journal of Nutrition 2017; 147 (8): 1517-1523.