Are your meals healthy? Maybe you already focus on making sure you have lean protein, whole grains, and lots of vegetables. Hopefully, you’re also careful about how you prepare your foods. Using herbs and spices instead of salt? Good idea. Maybe you steam your veggies instead of frying them in oil.

Foodfacts.com observes that, unfortunately, meals aren’t the problem.

Snacks are the problem. When we get hungry between meals, we reach for junk food. It’s fast. It tastes good. It’s filling. But it certainly isn’t good for us and it doesn’t leave us feeling good either.

Some of you might have tried those 100-calorie packs. At first glance, they would seem to be a good way to stop overeating. But it’s still junk food. Recent studies show that people tend to eat fewer junk food calories out of regular-sized packages than they do when they buy the 100-calorie packs.

How about a better way to snack? Here’s an idea. Use a little cooler, and pack it with fast, healthy snacks the night before. Try to combine protein and fiber, so the snacks will leave you satisfied. On a given day, your cooler might contain an apple and string cheese, some peanut-butter-and-whole-wheat-cracker sandwiches, and some cut up vegetables with a little garlic herb cream cheese. You can include a bite-sized chocolate bar in there, too.

During the day, when you feel hungry between meals, just reach for the cooler. You’ll notice some good changes using this idea. First, you’ll seem to be hungry less often. Second, you’ll be less cranky and more alert in the mid-afternoon. Third, you’re spending less money at the vending machine. Fourth, you’re not wasting time debating whether you want a bag of chips or a big cookie, because you already know what snack you’re going to have.

Gimmicky packaging and junk food portion control can’t get around the fact that’s it’s still junk food. Make the switch now and start snacking healthier by planning ahead. Also check out the revolutionary Food Facts Health Score with FREE membership at Foodfacts.com for important nutrition help.

Source: Healthy Answers