Eating healthy is a habit, and it’s a habit that is a lot easier to adhere to when you have a set routine and structure to the day (breakfast at 8.00am, lunch at 1.00pm and then dinner when you get home from work at 7.00pm). When people have a set routine for their meals, they tend not to stray too far from it, their eating habits are fairly consistent and snacking is less likely.
However, for a lot of us, over the last couple of weeks our normal routines have been flipped upside down. Now, many of us find ourselves working from home, with no set times for breaks and with a fridge full of moreish food only mere feet away – which makes snacking throughout the day a whole lot more tempting.
With everything that is happening right now though, and self-isolation being enforced throughout the country, avoiding snacking is probably the least of peoples worries, so we are not going to tell you to put the snacks down, but instead suggest some healthy swaps. After all, small changes can add up to make a big difference.
Making these small, simple swaps, is a great way to keep your daily calorie intake lower, ensure you stay on track with your goals and make those home workouts all the more worthwhile.
Here are some of our favourite super easy snack swaps, to ensure you’re getting the right nutrition to keep you healthy, both physically and mentally.
Chocolate bar – Swap to Loaded Legend / Protein Cravers
Chocolate bars are a favourite sweet treat in almost every household, but unfortunately they don’t provide us with much nutritional benefit and can see us easily consuming hundreds of empty calories per serving.
Swap to our Protein Cravers (vegan friendly option) instead and you’ll be getting a snack that is both high in protein and fibre, yet low in sugar, all whilst still satisfying your chocolate craving, thanks to their indulgent chocolate flavours and coatings, making them the ideal swap.
Biscuits – Swap to Superfood Bites
Much like chocolate, biscuits are another snack staple. But again, they don’t provide us with much more than the desire to go back to the cupboard for another handful.
When you swap to our Superfood bites, we can’t promise that you wont get the same impulses (in fact, we can near guarantee you will), but at least when you go back for another serving, you know you’ll be getting a lot more good stuff going into your body and helping you fuel your work days.
Packed with fruit and nuts, they are an incredible source of protein and dietary fibre, whilst being fully plant based, so you know it’s 100% natural goodness.
Classic Dips – Swap to Hummus
If you have sat down to watch a Netflix series during lock down, then it’s likely the “chip and dip” snack has made an appearance. With dips usually containing mayonnaise, sour cream and cheese, the calories can quickly add up and that’s without taking into account the tortilla chips.
Swapping classic dips for hummus is an easy way to reduce the calories and also bump up your protein intake and with a range of flavours available, you’ll still get a mix of tastes to choose between.
Cereals – Swap to Porridge
Grabbing a bowl cereal may be an easy option for a quick and simple breakfast, but most of them contain a lot more sugar than the front of the box will lead you to believe. When picking a healthy breakfast option, you want to aim for one that is low in sugar and high in fibre to get your day of to the best start and provide you with long lasting energy into the afternoon.
This is where porridge oats come in. Porridge is packed with fibre and complex carbs, but that isn’t the only benefits of the humble oat. Make a bowl of porridge and you’ll also be benefiting from a host of nutrients including Magnesium, Iron, Zinc, and Vitamin B’s, whilst helping lower your cholesterol levels (1).
Want a high protein or gluten free option? Then grab some TPW porridge
Chocolate spreads – Swap to Cocoa Almond Butter
It is one of those snacks where the suggested serving size just seems woefully small and you end up topping your porridge or spreading your toast with heaped spoonful’s of the stuff, which is great for your cravings, but not so good for the waistline.
Making an almost undetectable swap to Cocoa Almond Butter is a great way to still have an indulgent snack but only this time you’ll get plenty health benefits as it contains Calcium, Copper, Fibre, Protein and Vitamin E.
Crisps – Swap to Popcorn
If you’re anything like me, opening up one packet of crisps, will always lead to opening up a third or fourth without even realising. Their high fat and salt content makes them almost too irresistible to put down, so your best option is to not pick them up to begin with.
Instead, opt for the low calorie, low fat option of popcorn. Not only is it the healthier option in the moment, but its higher fibre content will also help you feel more satiated, helping prevent any further snacking later on.
Pancakes – Swap to Protein Pancakes
If you’ve found yourself with a little more time throughout the day, now your work commute is gone, you might find yourself spending a little more time baking and pancakes is always a popular option for the whole family. Classic recipe pancakes can however be high in sugar and fat, so why not swap them for TPW Protein Pancakes and get the same great taste but with less than 1g of sugar per serving, loaded with protein and fibre and only 75 calories per pancake.
Breakfast bars – Swap to Protein Crunkies
Breakfast bars, whilst portraying to be a healthy snack are often loaded with sugar, with little nutritional value. Essentially, they are biscuits in disguise.
Our Protein Crunkies however, are high in plant based proteins helping you maintain and build muscle mass – complementing your home workouts – whilst also being high in fibre and containing essential healthy fats. With three amazing flavours, it’s a great snack anytime, anywhere (within your house, for now).
Fruit juice – Swap to Fresh Whole Fruit
Fruit juice is often seen as a healthy option when looking to get your daily dose of micronutrients, however, it’s often the case that through the process of turning fruit into fruit juice a lot of the fibre content is lost. Fibre plays a major role in keeping our bodies functioning properly, so eating fresh whole fruit is a better option to meet your RDI. Eating the fruit whole also means your haver a lower spike in your blood sugar levels and better felling of satiety. (2)
Honey – Swap to Zero Syrups
Used to top anything from toast to pancakes to yogurt, honey can quickly add a hefty amount of sugar laden calories to your snacks throughout the day. Swapping to TPW Zero Syrups means you can still enjoy all the same snacks as before, but now you can top them with a choice of 7 great tasting syrups that contain zero sugar, zero fat, zero carbs and zero calories.
It’s a real snacking savour!
References
- Braaten JT1, Wood PJ, Scott FW, Wolynetz MS, Lowe MK, Bradley-White P, Collins MW. Oat beta-glucan reduces blood cholesterol concentration in hypercholesterolemic subjects. European journal of clinical nutrition, 1994 Jul;48(7)
- Haber GB, Heaton KW, Murphy D, Burroughs LF. Depletion and disruption of dietary fibre. Effects on satiety, plasma-glucose, and serum-insulin. Lancet, 1977 Oct 1;2(8040)
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