The best tips for healthy snacking

What is snacking? 

Have you ever caught yourself snacking and wondered why you do it? A candy here, a candy there, will never hurt you, you would say. Make no mistake, continuous sugar has an impact on your health unless you snack healthily. First of all, let's get back to the very essence of snacking. 

Snacking is the automatic taking of a portion, more or less large, of food, without any particular desire or hunger outside of the main meals. It's a total letting go in front of the food available. If you take a chip while preparing food or in the middle of the day, that is snacking. 

What makes us snack? 

Some cravings are impossible to curb. This can be caused by your emotions but it can also be due to a physiological problem. 

Emotions

Sometimes meals are not enough. The call of foods that are too fatty and too sweet is too great to resist. There are many reasons for snacking, we think of: 

• Greed

• The need for comfort

• The stress

• Boredom

• Tiredness

• Physical inactivity

• Emotional void

• Need to change your mind

• Sugar

• Lack of sleep

• Hormonal disruptions

The real problem with snacking is consumption of caloric industrial products requiring no preparation. These include candy, chips, cheese, chocolate and salty and sweet biscuits. They are often considered “cuddly foods”. These are comfort foods.  

Physiology 

Snacking may be due to a serotonin dysfunction. It is very important for the brain since it acts on mood, anxiety, stress and she is also the one who controls food intake.

She is allied to tryptophan which helps serotonin maintain its regulatory role. It's a amino acid essential for the proper functioning of the body. If it is absent from your brain, it will not be able to ensure that serotonin does its job, which produces disturbances. 

In short, these two cells are crucial for managing weight loss, satiety, stress, fatigue and mood swings. 

Is snacking good? 

This is a question you can ask yourself. As a general rule, you only remember the positive either because you share a moment with your family or friends or because you enjoy what you eat. However, snacking is not just that. Indeed, it also has negative aspects. 

Benefits

As said above, snacking brings joy, a feeling of well-being or even relief. Furthermore, it can eliminate negative emotions as conversely, multiply a positive feeling. It can also recall pleasant childhood memories. Finally, snacking can give you good feelings but only short term. 

Disadvantages

To start, Snacking provides neither the nutritional qualities nor the energy needs that your body needs. And for good reason, the food swallowed during these moments are normal sugar And fat. As a result, your body transforms them directly into fat. Your total intake for the day may therefore increase and the distribution of different nutrients may be destabilized. 

Accumulated storage of these fats can lead to excess weight. That's not all. Being overweight can be responsible for additional health problems as the cholesterol, THE diabetes Or hypertension. 

It favors a dietary imbalance. In the long term, you may have nutritional deficiencies in minerals, vitamins, iron, etc. 

We also know that snacking can cause problem with the proper functioning of digestion. The more the digestive system is used, the greater the chances of being fatigue, to have skin problems and of sleep are high.

The risks

Snacking is dangerous for your teeth. Those that pose a threat are fatty and sugary products. What is going on ? Your oral cavity creates acidic secretions present in your saliva which attack your tooth enamel. Sugary and fatty foods are most likely to cause discharge, which increases the risk of getting cavities. 

By snacking, you can make your system addict, especially if you consume sugar. This is possible because sugar releases dopamine and the reward hormone in your brain. This state of satisfaction inspires you to start again, which creates a “reward circuit.”

As part of a salty snack, you may be subject to cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, etc. 

If you snack but don't exercise on the side, your body stores the fat and it appears in the form of cellulite. 

Snacking linked to emotional causes reflects a negative image of yourself in the long term. You will be unable to control yourself, deal with your emotions and you will feel guilty. 

Towards a new way of snacking

That doesn't mean snacking is over for life. It is possible to continue it, only with a healthier diet. You just have to find the right balance. Easy to say but difficult to do! That's why we're telling you how to change your craving habits for healthier snacks. 

Limit snacking

The first thing to do to limit snacking is to eat complete meals with enough calories. They need to be satisfying enough to not require eating between meals. Don't skimp on proteins, starches and vegetables because they meet your energy needs. 

Don't jump no longer the first meal of the day, breakfast. It is essential to have energy all day. For this, it must be composed of fiber, carbohydrates and proteins. Avoid all forms of processed foods like cereal or candy bars. 

In case you snack out of boredom, habit or stress, you can replace snacking with an activity that makes you feel good. Think about reading, gardening, drawing, sports, etc. 

Solutions

You can also turn to alternative solutions to avoid snacking: 

• Increase your serotonin thanks to foods rich in tryptophans. They will fill your satiety and therefore the temptation to snack will be less strong. Opt for banana, cashews, oatmeal or almonds.

• Limit your food frustrations such as restrictive diets or restrictions you impose on yourself. 

• Learn to differentiate between hunger and the desire to eat. Hunger manifests itself as a feeling of hollowness in the stomach, gurgling or even fatigue. 

• Managing your emotions through breathing exercises or others. 

• Sleep well

• Stay hydrated enough because lack of hydration causes a desire to eat. 

How to snack better

In our current society, it is difficult to miss industrial products that we want. And there is no need to repress the urge to snack because it is completely natural. In order not to affect your weight and health, it is advisable to snack healthily. In this case, say goodbye to sugary and fatty snacks! Choose balanced foods such as low-calorie snacks, low in salt, fatty acids and sugar and snacks rich in nutrients and satisfying for satiety.. There are foods that you can eat as much as you want, such as: 

• Nuts : almonds, pistachios, cashews

• Dark chocolate

• Fresh fruit : apples, bananas, oranges

• Cottage cheese

• Dried fruits : raisins, dates

The benefits of healthy snacking

Balanced snacking offers 3 advantages : 

• Regulate appetite : If you exercise regularly or at high intensity, snacking can be beneficial since after a session a feeling of cravings arises and makes you eat more. Snacking helps prevent this. The snack too, we explain it to you in our article healthy sporty snack. 

• Better concentration : Snacking allows you not to lack energy during the day and avoids problems falling asleep. Also foods rich in omega-3 such as avocado or nuts are excellent for boosting your brain function and your ability to concentrate. 

• More fruits and vegetables on your plate

Healthier Snack Ideas

A little craving tickles your stomach but you want a healthy snack, don't panic, we offer you healthy, quick and delicious recipes! You can discover other recipes in our article eat before or after sport.

Kale chips

You miss potato chips, here is a healthy alternative that will revive your taste buds! 

Why kale? Because it is filled with fibers, antioxidants, of minerals, phosphorus And calcium. You can mix it with olive oil for a result crisp, satiating And balance. 

To make it you will need: 

• 20g kale leaves 
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Let's move on to the preparation. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Place the kale on a baking tray and cover them with baking paper then bake them in the oven at 175° for 10 to 15 minutes until you have a crispy texture and the sprouts are brown.   

Humus

Hummus can do you good because it is a source of proteins and of fibers Who fills your hunger quickly. 

What you need: 

• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoon of lemon juice
• 1 can of chickpeas
• ½ teaspoon of Espelette pepper
• Some water
• Salt and pepper

Start by rinsing the chickpeas. Mix all the ingredients. Add oil as needed for a smoother texture. Mix one last time and that’s it! 

A smoothie

Let's go for a comforting smoothie full of vitamins to share !

What foods do you need? 

• 125ml of milk
• 1 apple
• 80ml of yogurt
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• 5 almonds
• A handful of cinnamon powder

Get your hands dirty for 10 minutes. Start by peeling, cutting and removing the core and seeds from the apple. Place the apple pieces and almonds in a blender. Add the milk, yogurt and honey. Blend until the consistency is smooth. Finally, add the cinnamon. Enjoy!

Cloud bread

Make a light bun gluten-free to enjoy plain or on toast. 

To do this, equip yourself with: 

• 3 eggs
• 2g of baking soda
• 60g mascarpone 

Preheat your oven to 150°C. Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Beat your yolks with the mascarpone to have a foamy and homogeneous mixture. Beat the egg whites with the baking soda. Incorporate them into the previous mixture. Make small piles and place them on baking paper and bake them for 20 minutes. 

Roses of the sand

Who doesn't dream of eating sand roses? 

To make your dream come true you must have: 

• 200g of chocolate at 70%
• 70g coconut oil
• 150g cornflakes
• 1 tablespoon dried edible flowers

Melt the chocolate with the coconut oil in a bain-marie. Put the cornflakes in a bowl and pour the melted chocolate inside. Mix to coat the chocolate around the cornflakes. Make piles that you place in individual molds. Leave to harden for 1 hour in the fridge. 

To sum up

We have given you all the tips for healthy snacking. Need a memory refresh? 

Snacking is due to urge to eat without feeling like it or being hungry. He can be caused by your emotions such as fatigue or the need for comfort or a physiological problem due to a dysfunction in your serotonin level. 

Does snacking have any positive aspects ? Yes, from joy but in the short term. There are moredisadvantages as'lack of nutritional qualities. Snacking can lead you to a risk of overweight. As well as digestion and dental problems. He can make you addicted to sugar, to create a dietary imbalance, make appear cardiovascular illnesses and give you a bad image of you on the long term. 

However, you can snack in other, healthier ways. Start with limit snacking by managing your emotions, favoring foods with tryptophan, sleeping better and hydrating yourself a lot. Choose nuts, of dark chocolate, of the dried fruit, of white cheese and fresh fruits. By doing this, you regulate your appetite, improve your concentration. 

For healthier snacks, we have offered you 5 recipes: kale chips, hummus, a smoothie, cloud bread and sand roses. 

Quench your hunger by dancing at DECIBEL®

Have you just had a healthy snack and want to exercise? 

Come experience a immersive dance experience at the house of DECIBEL®. Soak up the dance workout for 45 minutes. 

Spend on rhythmic choreographies all in rstrengthening your upper body and glutes on the playlists Also hectic as you can imagine. 

Have fun dancing with our energetic coaches who welcome you without judgement. 

Surpass yourself and forget your cravings at DECIBEL®.