Making room for some healthy snacks in your diet can help you satisfy food cravings without adding unwanted pounds to your waistline, while keeping your blood sugar and insulin levels under control. And the best choice when it comes to helping your body maintain a high level of efficiency all throughout the day is low-fat, high-protein food!
As you already know, protein-rich food can rev up your metabolism, provide fuel for the muscles and support greater fat loss – so when you simply can’t wait for lunch to come, don’t automatically reach for the chocolate bar. There are much healthier and equally delicious ways to snack!
1. Yogurt and fruit
Mix a cup of fat-free Greek yogurt, fresh berries and a handful of nuts for a quick and nutritious snack. Greek yogurt is one of the best dairy sources of protein and boosted with fruits and nuts, both of which pack a lot of essential vitamins and minerals, makes for the perfect healthy mouth-watering snack.
2. Cottage cheese
If you don’t want to overdo it with cottage cheese (easily done because it’s so tasty!), buy individual packages of a low-fat variant that you can use as single portions. There’s nothing tastier than a sweet and salty snack, so try pairing it with berries or slices of peach or pineapple. Another option is to use it as a spread on a few small slices of whole-grain bread for a well-balanced mix of protein and complex carbs.
3. Peanut butter with bananas
Again, buy one-serving packages of peanut butter to make sure you stay in the recommended daily amounts of this delicious product. Mix it in a bowl of fiber-rich banana and apple slices for enhanced tastiness.
4. Edamame
Edamame is young and green soybeans, still in the pod. Since these beans get picked before they fully mature, they remain soft and edible and can be easily prepared into a take-along snack that’s amazingly rich in protein and dietary fiber. Boil the pods in salted water, sprinkle them with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and you’re good to go.
You don’t eat the pod, just the beans – place the pod in your mouth and squeeze them out of the pod. If you haven’t tried this Japanese-style snack yet, give it a chance – you’ll be surprised how good it tastes! Combine with soy sauce for extra flavor.
5. Hard-boiled eggs
Prepare two hard-boiled eggs in the morning and use them as a power snack later in the day. They offer plenty of precious amino acids and minerals – the perfect pre-workout or post-workout snack that enhances the muscle-building process.
Pair them with a slice of your favorite low-fat cheese, preferably packed in an individual serving that you can easily keep in your handbag, and you’ve got an ideally potent and guilt-free snack to fight off the hunger cravings.
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