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Making
The Corrrect Atkins Snack Choices
We live in a
society of nibblers. Long gone are the traditional three square meals
per day. Today, people eat at their desks, catch a snack in the
afternoon and eat late night goodies. Most, if not all, of these snacks
are carbohydrate based and full of sugar. This poses a challenge to
people who are trying to follow the Atkins plan. Snacking is a
necessary part of keeping your blood sugar up, but most packaged snack
foods are forbidden on the plan.
Sweet snacks are high in calories, full of empty carbohydrates and
offer no nutritional value. But they sure are popular. There is
actually a Snack Food Association that tracks sales of packaged snack
foods. It is estimated that Americans eat 3.1 billion pounds of
chocolate. Snacking has increased more than a third since 1988. Sales
of snack foods gross over $30 billion a year.
If you’ve been a snack food junkie you’ve become used to eating
carbohydrates of the worst kind. Snack foods are made from highly
refined carbohydrates like white flour, white sugar, corn meal and corn
syrup. They are high in trans-fats (which is a contributor to clogged
arteries). All in all, they are probably one of the worst food choices
you could be making.
But there is hope! You can conquer your love of snack foods by making
Atkins-friendly snacking choices. Before you can make the switch, make
sure to educate yourself. Understand just how dangerous trans fats can
be by reading up on them. Then read the ingredients label of your
favorite snack foods. You may be shocked to discover how many trans
fats, artificial flavorings and preservatives that you are eating.
Next, get rid of all of the snack foods in your house. If its not
there, then you can’t eat it. Junk food is not good for anyone in your
home so ignore your family’s complaints and do what is best for the
health of everyone.
Now you’ll need to replace those snack foods with some better choices.
Giving up your snack foods is not the same as giving up snacks. Snacks
should be a part of your daily eating plan because it will help you
from becoming too hungry and indulging in high-carbohydrate treats.
There are plenty of low carbohydrate snacks that are easy to make and
simple to have around the house. String cheese sticks or small cheese
rounds are very easy to keep in the refrigerator. Meat snacks are also
a good choice. You can buy jerky strips and other meat products that
keep well for long periods of time. When you buy cheese or meat sticks,
make sure to read the labels carefully for hidden carbs.
There are low carb instant soups available that are very easy to make
and satisfying if you are craving something hot. Low carb soy chips and
celery can help with “crunchy” cravings. Try adding peanut butter or
cream cheese spread to add more protein to these snacks. Also, you
can’t beat a handful of nuts for a high-protein, quick snack.
All of the previously mentioned snacks are good for the initial phases
of the Atkins diet and beyond. If you are past the induction phase, you
can enjoy berries with cream as a snack. There are also many acceptable
fruits that make good snacks for the pre-maintenance phase.
PPPPP
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This
information is
not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and
informational purposes only
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