Welcome to the latest issue of health for life ezine.

Last month I talked about moving your current food choices away from foods that contain unsatisfying refined carbohydrates towards foods that will fuel you, nourish you and help to reduce the snack attack.

It's ok...from a nutritional and health perspective to snack throughout the day. However, you might be surprised when you find that you can control your desire to snack on unhealthy foods much more than you'd expect...not requiring to snack nearly as much as you thought...as long as you develop healthy eating habits.

High quality nutrition will in time impact your body's chemistry and you'll find that your appetite will change to become more healthy and normal as opposed to continuous. Being constantly hungry is often one of the problems faced by those who are having difficulty controlling their weight.

I'd like to focus for a moment on some healthy snack ideas you could start to bring into your snack times. Snacks should be nutritious and tasty...but if you're trying to control your weight right now the types of things you should ideally be snacking on will look and taste a little different to what you might be used to.

1. Hard boiled egg. Free range with no salt. Salt is a flavor enhancer and will stimulate your appetite.

2. Celery. Three finger lengths. Try a little cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese or peanut butter - no more than a ½ tsp per stick if you feel you need to enhance the celery flavor. Celery is fibrous and juicy and is very refreshing right out of the refrigerator.

3. Mini salad. Put this salad on a very small plate or in a small container. Make sure that the salad contains spinach, lettuce, celery, cucumber, cauliflower, one thin slice of tomato and three black olives if you like them. Add extra virgin olive oil with a ½ tsp of ground cumin or coriander as your dressing to add flavor. Do not drown your mini salad in olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is good for you but it is calorie / Kilojoule rich.

4. Almonds. Six to eight raw, unsalted - not roasted . This may not seem like very much but this will really help to quell that gnawing feeling of hunger. If you are normally physically inactive throughout the day you need to limit the number of nuts you eat at a time as they are energy dense just as olive oil is. You could also try walnuts if you prefer the flavor. Nuts are very good for you, but don't go over board.

5. Water, Tea and Coffee. To drink, you should have a readily available supply of fresh still water. It is good for you to keep hydrated and will help to control your appetite. Moderate your coffee intake as it will dehydrate you. Don't add sugar to your tea or coffee and add only a small amount of milk if you drink these beverages white.

These snack suggestions will help you through a long morning or afternoon. Noticeably absent are sodas or fizzy drinks, so called energy drinks, buns, donuts, pastries...anything that is unnaturally too sweet and starchy. These types of snacks are high in refined carbohydrates and will not satisfy your hunger for long or supply your body with high quality nutrition.

As a snack treat, you could indulge in some chocolate...but make sure that your chocolate of choice is a high cocoa bean variety...70% concentration or greater for positive health benefits and is low in total carbohydrates...around 11 grams per serving. Don't eat more than six small squares in any given day...sorry!

Enjoy your healthy snacks.

All the best in vibrant health

Kind regards.

Andrew.

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