Our friend Amanda, a Keto Lifestyle Enthusiast, and one of our Graphic Designers here at Pure Flavor® shares some of her hacks on how to turn unwanted snacking habits into feel-good, healthy choices for you and your family. Get inspired with simple tips and easy recipes to help update your snack choices. Start enjoying the rewarding benefits of including more vegetables today. With greenhouse grown vegetables, you can choose fresh any time of year!
As modern life is more demanding than ever – from looking after our families, domestic duties, working full-time, and commuting on a daily basis – time moves quickly. We get set in our routines and we tend to put others needs ahead of making time for our own well-being. Even with the best of intentions, we often choose not-so-good snacking choices for the sake of time and convenience. Unfortunately, many convenient options are also packed with sugar, preservatives, bad fats, and other processed ingredients that have an impact on our bodies. Consuming these types of snacks can affect you both daily, and in the long run. But don’t despair – just by taking baby steps and piggybacking on current daily routines can result in positive change! There is nothing like snacking on nutrient-dense vegetables, that are juicy, refreshing, full of flavor, and most importantly, pure natural fuel for our bodies. So how do we incorporate the good fresh snacks into our busy days? We’ve put together a few easy hacks that use the best greenhouse-grown snacking vegetables to make you feel great. It’s time to #snackhealthy and experience Pure Flavor®!
IT STARTS AT HOME
The best way to make significant change is to start with baby steps. When things are too difficult or seem daunting, we are quick to give up. We often go to what is easy and accessible, especially when life is busy. Your current snacking choices may not be ones that you are proud of, and if we’re being honest they may also be addicting. It’s best to start small, replacing one bad snacking choice with a more nutrient-dense flavorful option. Starting big and eliminating all the bad snacking choices increases your chances of failing and defaulting back to your old habits.
Think about your patterns. Be aware of what are your current go-to items for snacking and figure out the ones that you want to change. Do you tend to walk by the fridge or pantry and easily grab what’s there? Do you have a secret stash of treats by the couch or bed for when it’s your time to unwind? Is there a certain time of day when you really want to snack? Where are you? What do you do? Once you are aware of what you typically snack on, when and where, then you can start thinking of solutions to swap them with a better snacking choice. Sounds easy but it is definitely hard to create lasting change. We are creatures of habit and this can be a major mental battleground but by putting a few key things into play, you should be able to work on forming new, healthier habits.
Habits are built through repetition. To be able to form or break a habit, it’s important to understand the three stages of our actions:
- Cue – Something that triggers to act a certain way. An example could be stress that triggers you to snack. The trigger tells your brain to provide you with a reward for how you are feeling.
- Response – After the trigger is set, you may impulsively or mindlessly respond with action. It could be that you decide to easily find a quick snack to satisfy the need. Maybe work has a vending machine with goodies, or at home your pantry has a bag of chips calling you.
- Reward – As a result of your action, you received the reward. Your craving is now satisfied. But how do you feel?
If you can identify the triggers and what the current rewards are, then you can swap those actions into better actions.
IT’S TIME TO GRAB THE RIGHT STUFF
Did you know that fresh, greenhouse grown produce is available year-round? It’s often the first thing you see when you walk into the grocery store making it super easy to grab and enjoy! Though it may be a habit to reach for quick, convenient, and processed snacks, vegetables are refreshing on their own and they taste great with other ingredients like hummus. Choosing healthy items like veggies doesn’t have to mean that you lose the conveniences.
Time is of the essence, that’s why Pure Flavor® is passionate about offering healthy snacking items to help families make healthy decisions. Eating all the rainbow of colours can make you feel vibrant and full of life. Even when life gets busy, whether it’s work, school, or social activities, Pure Flavor® has a full line of Snacking Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Peppers that you can easily stock your fridge with so that they are ready to grab and go.
CHANGE THE SITUATION
Here are some great snacking ideas for the busy parts of your day or typical situations where you may find yourself reaching for a snack. When it comes to vegetables that are sustainably grown in a controlled greenhouse environment, these snacks are packed with energizing vitamins and minerals.
Mid-Morning Snacks:
Instead of typical carbohydrate heavy snacks like croissants, donuts, or cookies, why not easily replace them with healthy choices like snacking on juicy Juno® Bites Red Grapes Tomatoes, Sangria® Medley Tomatoes, or give yourself an extra burst of energy with a handful of Mini Cucumbers. These are quick and easy to grab; great to eat at home or on-the-go. If you have 20 minutes or less to spare check out these mouth-watering mid-morning snack recipes that you can easily prep beforehand or quickly make in an instant.
On-The-Go At School or Work:
Spending the day at school or the office means you need to be at your best! By incorporating nutrient-dense whole foods to snack on, you’ll find yourself full of energy throughout the day. When we get home and are over hungry, we again tend to reach for what is quick, not always what is best for us. Some of the recipes below like Mini Caprese Bites and Turkey Sandwich, Deli Style Protein Box, or Rainbow Flatbread have a good balance of healthy fats, proteins, and carbohydrates with low amounts of sugar. This will keep your blood sugars stable in order to prevent sugar cravings and distribute energy evenly throughout the day.
It’s really all about having good snack options easily accessible in order to form the feel-good habits. Pure Flavor® offers sweet and crunchy treats, all in easy and convenient travel packs. Looking for something fun for kid’s school lunches? Why not check out the Mini Munchies Snack Packs which are a tasty lunchbox companion. Need something quick to bring to work or on a road-trip for your epic adventures? Refuel with Pure Flavor® Snack+ packs! Being prepared is key and using these recipes below will help you stock your fridge with great options.
Cheat Nights
Sometimes we just need a good cheat night – whether you are curled up on your couch watching a movie or you have guests over to enjoy some snacks and socialize. Typically, those sweet and or salty snacks we tend to serve magically disappear and then appear on our waistline. Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers, are, simply put, the perfect popping peppers to enjoy! Plus they make some really yummy appetizers for guests.
Here are some great, healthy alternatives for evening entertaining or late-night snacking featuring Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers:
So, as they say time flies as we get older and maybe that is because our schedules get busier. With more demands on busy families, we want to ensure that you have the options you need to choose healthy snacks that will leave you feeling great.
Take stock of your current snacking and eating patterns to identify where and when you reach for snacks and start from there! Maybe start by substituting your morning snack for some sweet grape tomatoes or switch those chips for cucumbers and hummus at TV time. It really is as simple as starting with small steps to bring more fresh produce home and to have it accessible to make it just as convenient as pre-packaged snacks.
With greenhouse grown vegetables that are available all year round, you can start to enjoy all the rewarding benefits of eating well no matter the season. We hope these quick ideas inspire you to form new habits and help you feel great when you #snackhealthy.
To learn more of the benefits of healthy snacking check out our page: Healthy Snacking
