Upgrade Your Filler Foods - One snack at a time (Series - Part 3)

While healthy snacking is a mood booster, it also helps to curb your cravings for junk food and to maintain healthy body weight. If you are ready to replace another of your nutrition-less filler food with a healthy snack, then I bring to you a fresh option in this part of the series. As many people may not like to make much effort to prepare fresh fruit juices or mess up with their juicing equipment, here is an easier alternative for such individuals who want to snack on something juicy and crunchy. Now, doing this is absolutely simple. If you can't juice it, don't; consume fresh fruits directly!

Health Benefits

Whether you like apples, oranges, bananas, kiwis, blueberries or any other fruit, you must ensure to snack on them in their raw or natural form, which is the healthiest. Just like juices that we talked about in my previous post, never process fruits or add sugar to them to make them sweeter. Remember, we are talking about healthy snacking. Explore some of the top benefits of snacking on fresh fruits.

• Source of fiber and nutrition: Almost all vitamins and minerals are abundantly present in fruits of different types. Snacking on fruits will never let you go deficient on vitamin A, C, E, and others. Fruits are also rich sources of prominently required minerals, including iron, magnesium, and potassium. You additionally receive a healthy dose of folic acid (folate) and fiber from fruits. It is said for no reason that an apple a day keeps the doc away. You can apply this to most other fruits too.

• Cardiovascular and overall health: Several chronic diseases, especially the heart diseases, can be prevented if you make fruit consumption a regular habit. Snacking once on one fruit daily and varying your fruit each day can be the healthiest habit you can develop. Fruits, especially the citrus ones, have phytochemicals and potassium to provide great health benefits. From skin to nails and hair, all get their healthiest shine and strength from fruit nutrition. The risk of cardiovascular diseases and stroke can be majorly reduced by consuming potassium-rich fruits daily.

• Prevention from Type-II diabetes: If you thought that fruits were sugary and could cause diabetes, then you should know that fruits contain natural sugar that maintains the blood glucose levels in your body in a healthy manner. In fact, snacking on fruits can save you from Type-II diabetes. However, do not go overboard and eat them per the calories you require. Those having diabetes should not follow it and should consult their physician before consuming more of fruits. This content is no type of medical advice.

• Active and energetic: The sugar in fruits offers instant energy. The fiber in them fills you up while saving you on calories, as most fruits are low on calories. Your craving for more food will also stop, and you will stay active when you make snacking on fruit a habit. However, remember again that fruits still have some calories! Thus, it works best when you replace an unhealthy snack with fruits and cut the amount of calories you were anyways going to consume. Never eat healthy snacks as additional snacks to your food.

• Immunity and disease prevention: Fruits strengthen your immunity by providing essential vitamins and minerals. Their health-promoting phytochemicals help you fight the risk of several diseases, ranging from certain types of cancer to kidney diseases and intestine issues. Even anemia and a few types of birth defect in childbearing women can be prevented by fruit consumption. Fruits are that good!

How to Consume

• Cut 2-3 different fruits to prepare your mixed fruit salad. You can sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper, as well as a few drops of lemon juice on your fruit salad. Keep varying your choice of fruits so you can get all essential vitamins and minerals on a regular basis.

• If fruits are your brunch snacks, then you can also add them to a bowl of cereal. Adding a few nuts and some milk to your preparation will make it more nutritious and beneficial. However, that is your personal choice based on your taste.

• While candied fruits or those served with sour cream may look tempting, you must control your temptation, as you are not an ordinary foodie. You are a healthy foodie who is trying to adopt a healthier snacking option. If you find the raw fruit boring, you may add some low-fat yogurt to it, instead of whipped cream. "There is always a healthier replacement available." - go on with this thought.

• Get a ready pack of dried fruits that are available without added sugar or preservatives.

Question for Readers

As you are aware that fruits are total health foods, what will be your way to snack on fruits? Which fruits are your favorites?

(To find one more healthy snack to add to your choices, don't forget to check my next post, which will be Part 4 of this series. We'll catch up soon, guys! Until then, eat and stay healthy.)