Choosing healthy snacks over junk food like chips and soda can give you more energy, curb appetite and help you lose weight. While many healthy snacks, like popcorn and oatmeal, require cooking, there many healthful, no-cook snacks that don't require a stove or microwave.
Fruits and Veggies
Inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption is responsible for nearly one-third of all heart attack cases worldwide, the World Health Organization reports. In addition to reducing heart attack risk, consuming five or more servings of fruits and veggies per day reduces the risk of diabetes, certain cancers and obesity. Fruits and vegetables provide your body with an abundance of nutrients crucial for health like vitamin C, dietary fiber and antioxidants. Snacks that include fruits and veggies include a banana with peanut butter for dipping, fruit smoothies or carrot sticks dipped in fat-free ranch dressing.
Nuts
The high fat and caloric content of nuts have many health-conscious folks avoiding them. However, nuts like walnuts, Brazil nuts and pistachio nuts require no cooking and give your body ample amounts of dietary fiber, B vitamins and vitamin E. In fact, regularly eating nuts may actually reduce the risk of becoming obese. A study published in the August 2006 issue of "Obesity" noted that individuals who ate at least two servings of nuts per week weighed about 10 pounds less than those that almost never ate nuts. One ounce of almonds contains 130 calories.
Fat-Free Dairy
Fat-free dairy products like yogurt and cottage cheese are bursting with healthy nutrients like vitamin D and calcium -- without the saturated fat of full-fat dairy. Snacking on no cook, fat-fee dairy products may also reduce your risk of suffering from hypertension. A paper published in the February 2008 issue of "Hypertension," notes that habitual dairy eating decreases the likelihood of becoming hypertensive by 10 percent. Other fat-free dairy snacks include kefir and frozen yogurt.
Whole Grain Cereal
Whole grain cereal is a no-cook snack that can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, the Center for the Science in the Public Interest reports. Whole grain cereal has a low glycemic index -- an indicator of how much a food impacts blood sugar. Diets that include whole grains can help prevent type 2 diabetes due to the magnesium and fiber content of these grains. You can eat whole grain cereal by the handful, sprinkle it over yogurt or have it in a bowl with low-fat or nonfat milk. A snack sized serving of whole grain cereal is two-thirds of a cup.
References
- University of Illinois: Smart Snacks
- World Health Organization: Fruit and Vegetables for Health
- "Obesity": Nut Consumption and Weight Gain in a Mediterranean Cohort: The SUN Study
- "Hypertension": Dietary Intake of Dairy Products, Calcium, and Vitamin D and the Risk of Hypertension in Middle-Aged and Older Women
- Center for the Science in the Public Interest: The Whole Grain Guide
- USDA National Nutrient Database: Almonds
Member Comments