Snack smarter

If you’re ravenous, reduce the risk of making bad food choices by keeping healthy, tasty snacks on hand. Eating wholefoods little and often is the key to keeping energy levels up through the day.

The alternative is the all-too-familiar boom-bust-boom effect of eating sugary, processed foods, and then having blood sugar levels slump shortly afterwards, so necessitating another ‘fix’ for your fatigue as the day wears on. By eating wholesome snacks regularly, you maintain the correct, sustained levels of glucose in your blood, which is your body’s main source of energy.

Here are some ideas that are satisfying, taste good, and offer health benefits:

Toasted sunflower seeds
Dust with chilli powder, cumin and coriander.
Brazil nuts
If you’ve been avoiding nuts because of their high fat content, a new Harvard study has found this doesn’t seem to apply with Brazils – researchers found that women who ate them regularly had a 32 per cent lower risk of heart attack than those who didn’t. Just three a day can supply enough of the mineral selenium to help protect against cancer and heart disease.
Rice crackers
Spread with peanut butter, tahini or low-fat savoury spreads like tzatziki and tapenade.
Dried apricots
Keep them on standby as a snack if you’ve got a sweet tooth. They’re a good source of fibre, potassium, iron and beta carotene. Make sure they’ve been air-dried, not sulphur-dried, as sulphites have been linked with different forms of cancer.
Banana chips
A great pick-me-up, they’re rich in carbohydrates, iron and magnesium, with natural sugars to give your body a boost.