10 Smart Health Resolutions that can improve your health, and quality of life.

#4:  Choose healthy snacks.
    

➡ Use snacks as a way to fill in the gaps for healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and keep your metabolism burning at peak performance.  As much as the junk food industry wants us to believe a chip is a snack IT IS NOT.  It's a treat that is offered occasionally.  Don't buy into those multi million dollar advertising campaigns.  Get back to real food as snacks.  Choose to spend your calories on foods that provide nutrition without raising blood sugar.  It will help you get your weight down and keep it off. 

➡ Use your “label detective” skills when purchasing processed snack foods.  Processed kid snacks can be some of the most GMO, artificial color, artificial flavor, and chemical preservative laden foods on the supermarket shelf, and yet this is what we are persuaded to feed our children.  Advertisers even go so far to tell us we are being good parents when we offer these foods to our children or put popular cartoon characters on the packaging to make them even more appealing to children.  

➡ Be skeptical.  It is because of the ingredients that very little nutrition is delivered (but high profit margins for the company or how could they spend millions on commercials).  One trick food makers use to help justify you buying the product are claims for added vitamins and minerals.  Food companies are glad to do this because the cost of those chemicals could be a penny or two compared to adding whole food ingredients that come with the much bigger price tag.  This short changes you because whole food nutrition is superior in quality always.  We highly recommend you buy organic snacks whenever possible.  

➡ Become an educated shopper.  Snack products laden with these types of ingredients can cause more harm than good and many are on the Center for Science in the Public Interests (CSPI) list of ingredients to always avoid.  Use your label detective skills and the CSPI reference guide to find out possible side effects different food and snack products.  Click here to go there and review.

➡ When you see artificial flavor on a label know that it is hiding the 30 or so chemicals it took to create that artificial flavor.  One of the food industries dirty little secrets for hiding the "true chemical load" in their products.  Think that long list of ingredients you can't identify in that Spiderman fruit gummy are a lot compared to the organic version, try adding another 30 or so chemicals for every artificial flavor because that is what it takes to make fake strawberry taste.  If there are five artificial flavors used in a product, that could add up to as much as another 100 or more added chemicals.  Even though they may have been determined by the government to be safe alone, we don't have a clue what these "chemical cocktails" are doing in our bodies.  Why even gamble when you have a choice to not even buy it?

➡ “Natural” is not free of pesticides and genetically modified ingredients (GMOs).  The term "natural" is outdated with many scientists and consumer advocacy groups (who are looking out for our health and not making food profits) are fighting to get the term banned from labels because it is so misleading to consumers.  Since its inception, thousands more chemicals and GMOs have been created that are allowed under this heading, but are not natural by any means.  Don't be fooled by what's on the label.  Only "USDA Certified Organic" and "Non GMO" undergo strict evaluation processes from seed to shelf.  Every step is documented for these foods, but conventional has huge grey areas of not knowing more about sources or what was done along the way.

➡ Make foods like chips and candy “treats” and limit them to only a couple of times per month or during special occasions.  If we give kids that have been exposed to thousands of hours of chip and candy commercials power to choose, think we all know what most will pick.  It is up to us as parents and educated adults to be the strong ones and not give in to their pleas for junk food to protect them from themselves.  It can be hard not to give in, and even embarrassing if they  cry for you to buy it, but when you go to the dentist and find out no cavities need to be filled, at today's prices you will be glad you stood your ground.  The bonus will be your child continues to have healthy teeth into adulthood.  Saving on these types of healthcare bills is another way to "get more nutrition bang for your buck."  

➡ Its tough being a parent today.  We all love to experience the joy of making our kids happy, but their health can be a fragile thing that only we as parents are ultimately responsible.  

➡ Our children need parents more than a friend as a friend will just go along, but as parents we are willing to fight for the health of our children.  When you take the time to explain your reasons for saying "no," such as "this could put holes in your beautiful teeth," or "it has ingredients in it that are not good for little children like you, and mommy or daddy want you to stay healthy and strong,"  your child will begin to understand that saying "no" is another way you are saying "I love you, and we want to protect you from something that might not be good for you."  Love trumps all and what children want from their parents most of all.  

➡ Food companies can now choose from thousands of chemical fillers, and cheap substitutes for whole foods to increase profits over maintaining health.  It is now a reality that as parents we to be aware and cannot just assume foods are free from potentially harmful ingredients.  Sometimes that means giving up one thing to have more money to buy the choice that does not contain those ingredients.  By giving up foods that contain empty calories and using the money instead for organic versions of healthy snacks you could actually be doubling or tripling the amount of nutrition bang for your buck.  
40 Quick Healthy Snacks
  1. Nuts
  2. Trail mix:  Mix dried fruit, nuts, seeds, and a handful of real dark chocolate chips
  3. Fresh fruit:  Whatever deliciousness is in season – our selection this week is apples, oranges, and strawberries
  4. Dried Fruit:  Raisins, dried berries, dried apple slices
  5. Salad:  If your veggies are pre-washed you can put this together very quickly.  As well, salad can be preassembled.  Simply add protein and dressing at serving time.
  6. Veggies:  carrots, radishes, sugar snap peas, celery, peppers, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes
  7. Steamed veggies:  Top them with cheese or chopped hard-boiled eggs
  8. Eggs: Nature’s fastest protein – boil, scramble, poach or fry – eggs make a great topper for other “fast foods”
  9. Yogurt Parfait: Top your homemade yogurt with fruit and granola
  10. Leftovers
  11. Cheese: Opt for a healthy version without additives and artificial colors
  12. Smoothies:  Throw fruits, veggies, yogurt and your milk of choice into the blender.  Add a little pure vanilla and some honey.  We like to freeze fruit for this purpose to make a rich thick shake.
  13. Homemade granola cookies: Recipe HERE (you can make them into granola bar shapes if you want to)
  14. No-bake haystack cookies:  Recipe HERE
  15. Hummus:  Serve the dip with veggie sticks, homemade crackers, or tortillas
  16. Applesauce:  Try topping it with homemade granola and vanilla yogurt for a  quick no-cook “apple crisp”
  17. Chocolate Milk: Directions HERE
  18. Apples with natural peanut butter
  19. Frozen Yogurt Berries:  Toss well-washed berries in homemade vanilla yogurt.  Place them on a baking sheet in the freezer for at least 2 hours for a cold, healthy treat
  20. Popcorn
  21. Edamame
  22. Pancakes or Waffles:  Top with fruit for a nutrition boost
  23. Couscous:  This speedy grain only requires the addition of boiling water or broth.  Let it sit for 5 minutes, covered, and you have an instant hearty side dish.  Add some steamed veggies and lean protein to turn it into a one dish meal
  24. Cottage cheese:  Top homemade cottage cheese with fresh fruit
  25. Home-canned food:  Meals like chili, soup, and spaghetti sauce can be pressure canned at home for a delicious healthy “fast food meal”
  26. Fruit Salad: Top it with nuts and a honey-sweetened yogurt for a protein boost
  27. Dill Pickles:  Home-canned, of course
  28. Ants-on-a-log:  Celery sticks stuffed with natural peanut butter then topped with raisins
  29. Quick Greek Salad: Chopped cucumber, peppers and cherry tomatoes with feta cheese and vinaigrette
  30. Homemade Fruitsicles:  Puree fruit that is overripe, then freeze it in popsicle forms – strawberry-banana is a favorite combo here
  31. Guacamole
  32. Savory snack mix:  Popcorn and nuts sprinkled with parmesan cheese and spices
  33. Tzatziki:  This yummy Greek garlic and yogurt dip is a satisfying snack with homemade crackers or veggies
  34. Medjool dates and almonds
  35. Frozen grapes
  36. Homemade gazpacho:  Puree tomatoes, peppers, onions, jalapenos, and other seasonal veggies.  Keep in the fridge and serve cold.
  37. Quick Banana Nut Cookies:  Mash 2 overripe bananas well.  Stir in 1 cup of steel-cut oats and 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
  38. Latte:  Make a delicious latte with a homemade creamer
  39. Mexican Black Bean Salad:  (you can use a can of rinsed organic black beans or beans that you cooked yourself previously)  1 cup of black beans, 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup of chopped bell peppers, some fresh cilantro, and lemon juice
  40. Green Apple Salad:  Chopped green apple, red grapes, and walnuts sprinkled with a dressing made from honey, lemon juice and cinnamon

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