Tuesday, 23 June 2009
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Mediterranean Diet and Snacks That Don't Make You Fat
Snacks and snack food have always played an important part in American food culture. Frozen treats like ice creams, candy and chocolate, sweet snacks, chips and salted snack, nuts, crackers, cookies and even small cakes – you name it, typical American will it for snack. Americans really enjoy their snacks which are produced to be inexpensive, accessible, easy to eat and durable. But not healthy. And fattening.
If you snack all the time and have an overweight problem, the easiest answer would be: try cutting out of the snacks to see what helps. But that’s easier said than done, isn’t it? So, what to do if you can’t go about your day without snacks?
Luckily, there is another solution. HEALTHY snacks. It's not about avoiding snacks; it's about choosing the right ones! If you consume chips, salted snacks, cookies and small cakes of course this snacks will make you fat! It is much better if you opt for fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains or some low fat dairy products (yogurt), because these snacks can contribute to a healthy diet.
Here are some of the best picks:
- Low fat dairy products. Yogurt, cheese and other dairy products are full of calcium and protein, minerals and vitamins. Just be sure to choose the low fat versions of dairy products.
- Nuts and seeds. Nuts and seeds provide your body with proteins; they are high in monounsaturated fat – a healthy kind of fat! Seeds and nuts are high in calories so don’t eat large quantities.
- Whole grains. Rich in fiber and will give you a lot of energy. Choose whole grain pretzels, crisp breads or low fat crackers
- Fruits and vegetables. Great source of vitamins, fibers and minerals, fruits and vegetables have no fat and only a small amount of calories, which makes them excellent snack food.
Although consuming these snacks instead of your regular snacks can contribute to a healthy diet, even these snacks can also be a source of excess calories if not eaten in moderation!
Changing just your snacks will have a positive effect on your health, but will not be enough if your goal is to lose some extra weight. Keys to longer, healthier life are regular exercise and improvements in your diet, which can be easily achieved following Mediterranean Diet Weight Loss Plan.
Have you ever tried any Mediterranean snacks or diets? What would you recommend to others?
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About the Author
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- From: Alessia
- Name: Alessia
- About Me: I'm a nutritionist, passionate about Mediterranean food, diet and culture. I was born and raised in the Mediterranean Region and through my private and professional life I am connected with Mediterranean diet, food and the way of life. I wish to exchange interesting information about the best way to lose weight and life healthy life. Together with my boyfriend I manage a website where we give people an opportunity to learn about the Mediterranean Diet and all the „secrets“ they need to know in order to start living healthier and better through making small changes in their diets and foods. I do not obsess about diets and the gym… Our goal is to give you tools, tips and first hand advices from our experience. Our website is: www.bestmediterraneandietonline.com
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Comments (10)
I love ordering a meza-style meal at Lebanese restaurants. It's basically a bunch of appetizers; usually for the vegetarian option, it comes with hummus, tabbouli, grape leaves, fresh cut veggies, baba gannoush, falafels, labne/tzadziki, pickled radishes, Syrian cheese, garlic sauce and, of course, warm pita bread. I frequently also get the Lebanese-style spinach pies, crushed lentil soup, Lebanese-style rice and fattoush salad. MMmmmmm.... I recommend all of them.
I could eat that stuff all the time and never get sick of it. Plus, it's good for you and fills you up.
You can also get healthy, fresh squeezed juices and smoothies at most Mediterranean restaurants (at least in the Detroit metro area, but I'd assume it's the same in most other places).
i love mediterranean food! salad with olive oil, mmm.
panera has the BEST miditerranean veggie sandwich.
I could eat that everyday
I eat nothing but Mediterranean food, but I wouldn't change it for the world. =]
I've never heard of this Meditteranian Diet but I was and still am a big snacker! I used to be worse however. I once was 130 lbs. and 5'0". Yes, I as almost overweight. I look back at what I ate and it was no wonder why I had excess pounds. Every day after school I would eat a pack of ramen, or half a pack of cookies, or a bowl (or two) of ice cream, or two bowls of reeses puffs, or bag of popcorn (complete with salt and butter), or a half of bag of potato chips with salsa. I would literally make myself sick before ballet class because I would binge on these foods endlessly attempting to avoid homework or something.
I've since grown 3 inches... putting me at 5'3" and I have changed my unhealthy snacking ways.
Now when I am famished or just in the mood for something to nosh on in the late afternoon and dinner is two hours away, I choose my snack wisely. My favorites include fresh fruit (watermelon, apples, blueberries, etc.), raisins, graham crackers with peanut butter, a handful of almonds or pecans, or a cup of yogurt. I try to keep my snacks under 250 cals. and (not surprisingly) I have lost 20 lbs. (over a course of two years). I'm 110 lbs. and it is truly because I have changed the way I "graze".
I was on the South Beach diet for a good 6 months, which adheres to a lot of the same foods as the Mediterranean Diet. It actually did work (combined with exercise of course), and I ended up losing about 40 pounds. Plus, the food is so good! I was so worried about giving up white bread and pasta, but I discovered that I actually like whole grain breads and pastas better. You just feel better from eating natural food and not all that processed stuff.
When I was in Greece one summer in college, I wasn't even trying to watch what I was eating and still lost about 10 pounds.
WAY less processed foods, more vegetables, more healthy carbs... Living is much healthier overseas. The way that places are set up require much more walking to get where you want to go. They eat more often. Their big meal is mid-day, not in the evening. They graze all day or at least eat every 2-3 hours, so their metabolism doesn't suffer thinking it's starving and hoarding three meals 6 hours apart. You can almost eat anything you want overseas and still lose weight because the food isn't as processed and you're getting more exercise naturally. If you add being even more conscious of what you eat and catering to your body's *TRUE* needs, not just its cravings, and being sure to get in aerobic exercise and not just "everyday walking" exercise, you'll be even more successful.
At one point, I got up to over 300 pounds. I'm 42 pounds less than that now, and still have 85 pounds more to lose, but the progress is steady, and *evident* - It takes self-discipline, and self-motivation, and loving yourself enough to do what's right for your body.I think cutting anything completely out of a diet sets a person up for failure, because as long as you're concentrating on "I CAN'T eat that" it balloons into an "I HAVE to eat that!" until you're obsessed with what you can't do, and frustrated with your limitations. As long as you exercise, eat with moderation - keeping within guided healthy caloric/carb/protein limitations for your height/weight - you should be okay.
@LetMeGoToo@xanga - Well said! All diets take self-discipline and motivation, but most diets are too restrictive and all those rules about what you can and what you can not eat really set a person up for failure, because no one can follow any diet indefinitely. That's why Mediterranean diet is great choice, because it is not a diet in the regular sense of the word, it's an eating pattern with guidelines instead of rules and restrictions. Much easier to follow and you don't feel deprived of (almost) anything!
I want to move to Greece, so badly. I looooove greek food.
Whelp, looks like you just described the four bottom layers of the (original) food pyramid (minus fats and meats). This is pretty much what I eat every day, anyways.
It's not part of a "diet" plan or anything, it's delicious munching food that fills me up pretty easily.
@prototype_abbeyancyF7@xanga - Exactly! For me also, this is not a "diet plan" it's simple the way I eat, but many people aren't familiar with it.