Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable. – Theodore N. Vail
Vail’s quote about difficulties, real and imagined, can be considered in light of this month’s topic of snacking. As detailed below, snacking isn’t a weakness of character that you might imagine it to be. Rather than an unconquerable imaginary problem, might it be thought to be a, real, solveable one with a few simple changes of the content and context of the snack?
Snack Attack
Why Snack
We are lead to snack, wisely or otherwise, for various reasons. Busy-ness leads to forgetting to eat, which leads to making hurried choices from a selection of convenient, though low quality food. There is some research from UCSF finding that eating food with sugar & fat appear to calm the body’s hormonal response to stress. Appropriate snacking can act as binge control. Or perhaps your more comfortable with more smaller meals rather than fewer larger ones. The choices you make and the context in which you make them, can either support or undermine your health goals. Supportive snacking includes, you’re being so fascinated with the task at hand that you forget to drink enough water, so you have water with a piece of fruit. Unsupportive might be you’re over stressed, and the only solution is a lot of cheap chocolate from the newsstand. Perhaps addressing the stress in other ways would be a wiser choice, supported by a piece of chocolate.
What to Snack On
Snacking options will vary, but prepare for the inevitable & prep/locate health supportive options. If you’re home, have on hand pre-made/packaged grab-&-go combinations a protein and a carb: any combination of pre-cut fresh and dried fruit & nuts, fresh veggies and dips on hand. When planning these options, think of mini meal combinations that can satisfy you like a regular meal can, just on a smaller scale.
How to Redirect Focus to Healthier Choices
Mindfulness/savoring. If you’re snacking out of boredom, stress or fear, take a few moments in a restful place (even if only in your mind’s eye) to just breath through the stress. Focus all of your attention on only one thing. Take the bite, savor the qualities, chew well, swallow, wash down with water, feeling the different sensations of each gesture.
Healthy substitutions might include:
Salt: popcorn/veggie chips vs. potato chips
Sweet: fruit/dried & otherwise vs. low quality processed sweets
Chocolate: a little good choc vs. a lot of low quality
Fat: avocado and/or olive oil on w/w toast/cracker vs. French fries
For those times that when re-directing your focus isn’t an option, go ahead and have the indulgence. The stress from denying yourself can be more damaging. If you’ve overdone it, take countermeasures, such as drink more water, exercise a little longer than usual and better plan your snacking requirements.
Food Focus: Turning Healthy Snacks into Meals
Assuming we’re talking about healthy snacking as discussed above, consider the myriad snack options that can be turned into a meal. The pureed vegetable dips below are perfect as a dip for vegetables and various types of chips or toast. Also consider that they can be paired with any combination of protein, grain, or soup base to create a quick meal. Consider serving them on toast with a salad for a light lunch or dinner.
Bean Dip
(Don’t be fooled by the generic title, feel free to experiment with different types of onions, beans, and herbs for an infinite number of variations)
1⁄2 a medium onion sliced
1 clove of garlic minced (or to taste)
1⁄4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 1⁄2 cups of cooked beans (ideally homemade from dry beans, a can of beans drained and rinsed can be substituted.)
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
fresh squeezed lemon juice to taste
olive oil as needed
Saute the onions & garlic in a bit of olive oil over medium heat until slightly caramelized (browned). Toss the onion/garlic mixture, cilantro and beans into a food processor to puree. If too thick, dribble olive oil into the processor while going to achieve desired consistency. When that point is reached, move into a bowl to season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.
This can be served as a dip for a snack, on toast for a light lunch/dinner, or added to a soup stock for a quick soup. Can also be heated gently to be served with as a side dish.
Kale Walnut Pesto
1 bunch of fresh kale, trimmed of center stems & washed.
2 cloves garlic, (or to taste) chopped
1⁄2 cup walnuts
1 cup walnut oil (olive oil can be substituted)
1⁄2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
Blanch the kale in boiling water for 7- 9 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water to stop cooking. Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for a few minutes until you can smell the walnuts, 2 or 3 minutes. Put the kale, garlic, and walnuts into a food processor. While processor is going, slowly dribble oil through spout until the desired consistency is reached. Place in bowl and add parmesan cheese, salt, & pepper. As there is a bit of salt in the cheese, you might use less salt than usual.
This can also be served as a dip for a snack, on toast for a light lunch/dinner, or added to a soup stock for a quick soup. Can also be heated gently to be served with as a side dish.
Send This On!
I hope you have found this newsletter to be as informative and inspiring to read as it has been for me to share it with you. Please feel free to forward it to those friends, family and colleagues in your life that you think might also be interested and inspired by it. If you refer someone who signs up, it?s $100 in your pocket or a free exercise session.
Toni Taylor
Holistic Nutritional & Exercise Consultant
212-586-0681
ttatpdt@mac.com
