I have had patients request wanting to learn more about nutrition. I’m aware that there are many nutritional options. There are also a lot of many opinions on this topic. Keep this in mind as I give basic nutritional principles for the average person. I covered breakfast in our last post. Let’s move along to healthy SNACKS and how to eat more VEGETABLES throughout the day.
Our bodies need proteins and fats to balance our blood sugars throughout the day and keep us satiated longer. Healthy snack choices are a great way to add more protein, fats, and vegetables in your diet between meals. Some great snacks include a high-quality protein bar, raw nuts, protein shakes, avocado, sliced carrots/celery with almond butter/peanut butter, or just some of your favorite raw vegetables.
Stay away from a lot of carbohydrate; this will decrease sugar spikes. Snacking throughout the day can help balance blood sugar and maintain energy.
Vegetables are good for you
Here are a few ways that we get more vegetables into our daily life. We chop up a lot of carrots, celery, broccoli, and cauliflower so they are ready to eat. “I’m hungry” is a common phrase at our house. Our kids are always asking for healthy snacks.
They are welcome to eat the cut-up vegetables pretty much any time. Pre-cut vegetables makes it easier to just grab some for a snack, add to a lunch or meals.
Another simple thing you can buy is riced cauliflower which can easily be added to meals or eaten by itself. For dinner we have a “green rule” which is that every dinner must have some green vegetable or green leafy food as part of the meal. Steamed broccoli, green beans, peas, brussel sprouts, and cooked spinach are some examples. Salads for dinner or lunch are also another way to get more vegetables in your diet.
