To ensure your family gets healthy and nutritious snacks, The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada’s website has some great advice on swapping out unhealthy snacks with healthy ones. Here are a few of their suggestions.
The Chip Swap:
Replace the chips by munching on plain popcorn – no butter or salt added. Or eat mini plain rice cakes that are made with whole grains. If you do bring chips into the pantry, pour a serving size into a container, don’t eat straight from the bag.
The Cookie Swap:
Try making your own with whole grain flours or adding other heart-healthy ingredients such as bran and flax seed. Most store-bought cookies contain a lot of fat, mostly the unhealthy saturated and trans fat kinds. If you do buy cookies, look for whole-grain varieties that are free of trans fat. Even better, bake a double batch, divide into individual portions and freeze.
The Chocolate Swap:
Instead of eating a chocolate bar to satisfy your chocolate craving, try melting some dark chocolate and drizzling it over a bowl full of fresh berries. Another great snack idea is to make your own trail mix with a handful of dark chocolate chips, whole-grain cereal pieces and some unsalted nuts and seeds.
The Soda Pop Swap
Sugary drinks including pop, fruit drinks and energy drinks can skyrocket the amount of calories you consume throughout the day. Keep these beverages to a minimum in your house. Instead focus on drinking water or lower fat milk.
The Candy Swap
Full of sugar and with no nutritional value, candy is just not something to keep on hand for snacking. To satisfy your sweet tooth, snack on a variety of whole fruits which contain natural sugars, healthy fibre and other important nutrients.
For more great information on healthy living from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada visit heartandstroke.ca
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