Nourishing Your Body Through the Holidays: The Power of Healthy Snacking

The holidays are a busy time. From grabbing a warm coffee with friends to enjoying a sweet treat with your family, baking cookies, and attending large festive feasts, there are plenty of occasions to indulge. While it’s important to embrace all of these amazing opportunities to celebrate with your loved ones guilt-free, your health goals can still be a priority. 

A lot of what lands on your plate during the holiday season is out of your control, and that’s okay. However, making healthy choices in the meals and moments that are in your control can result in big steps towards your wellness goals. One thing that is seldom out of your control is your snacks.

Snacking is an art, a science, and, for many, a daily ritual. Whether you're the mid-morning muncher, the afternoon grazer, or the late-night snacker -- snacks play a significant role in our daily diet. But with the avalanche of options - from Christmas cookies to baby carrots - how do we ensure our snacks are as healthy as they are tasty?

Understand the Snack's Purpose:

First, establish why you're snacking. Is it hunger, boredom, stress, or habit? True hunger calls for nourishment, but emotional eating might need a different approach. Replace reaching for the chips with a brief walk or a moment of mindfulness and witness the wondrous works of listening to your body. If you’re currently having difficulty supplementing your body with enough nutrients, you may need to plan snacks into your diet more frequently than your hunger cues. No matter where you’re at, your snack should honor your body. 

Whole Foods First:

Nature, in its wisdom, provides snacks in their purest form. Foods such as fruits, nuts, seeds, and vegetables are already given to us in snackable sizes. These unprocessed treasures are packed with nutrients and devoid of artificial additives making them a very healthy choice to hold you over between meals. When you think of snacks, you may automatically associate it with a pre-packaged bar or bag of chips. The first step you can take towards healthy snacking is ensuring that your house is stocked with fresh whole foods to snack on.

Check the Ingredient List:

While packing your own whole food snack is ideal, there are plenty of healthy packaged snacks out there! The ingredient list on a packaged snack is a telltale sign of its health quotient. Ideally, a snack should have a concise ingredient list, indicating minimal processing. When you come across a new snack, try out this test:

Read each of the ingredients in your snack. If you think that a third grader could not pronounce one of the ingredients, you might want to rethink eating that snack. Aim for snacks with ingredients you recognize and understand so that you’re aware of what you’re putting in your body.

Mind the Macros:

A balanced snack contains a mix of macronutrients: proteins, healthy fats, and some carbohydrates. Snacks that contain all of these are hard to come across. If you can’t hit all of the categories in one snack, rotate your snack choices to ensure a range of nutrients and avoid monotony. Experiment with different fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. You may even discover new favorites!

Watch the Sugars and Sodium:

Many snacks, even those labeled "healthy," can be laden with hidden sugars. Aim for snacks with minimal to no added sugars. Packaged snacks, especially savory ones, can also be high in salt. Excessive sodium can have an extremely negative impact on heart health, so opt for unsalted or lightly salted versions. Information on sodium and added sugars can both be found on the nutrition label, where you’ll already be checking out the list of ingredients! 

Hydration Highlight:

Sometimes, our bodies confuse thirst with hunger. Before reaching for a snack, take a couple of sips of water. If this doesn’t do the trick, you can also indulge in hydrating snacks. Cucumbers and watermelon can be refreshing sources of hydration on a summer day while herbal teas can warm you up on a cozy winter evening. 

Fiber is Your Friend:

Fiber-rich snacks can help you feel full and provide sustained energy. They are great to incorporate around the afternoon slump of your work day instead of reaching for that second (or third) coffee. Vegetables like carrot sticks, bell peppers, or whole fruits (with skin) are excellent sources of fiber. You can even pair them with hummus or nut butter for added flavor and nutrition.

Plan Ahead:

One of the pitfalls of snacking is the lack of preparation. When hunger strikes, we often grab whatever's convenient, not necessarily what's nutritious. Dedicate some time each week to prepare snack portions for the days ahead. Keep a variety of choices on hand to satisfy different cravings and nutritional needs. Create a designated area in your kitchen with all of these options, making it easy to grab and go. Preparing snacks in advance not only saves time, but ensures that you have wholesome options readily available at any moment.

Snacking is more than just a bridge between meals. It's an opportunity to fuel our bodies, stabilize blood sugar levels, and keep our metabolism active. Healthy snacking is not about deprivation, but about making choices that align with your values and contribute to a vibrant and balanced life. By making informed choices and being mindful of our snacking habits, we can ensure that these mini-meals nourish and sustain us.

This holiday season, you can prioritize your well-being without sacrificing the joy of festive treats. Here are five simple snacks to incorporate into your weekly repertoire so that you can live out a healthy holiday season:

Festive Fruit Kabobs: Skewer a mix of colorful berries, pineapple chunks, and grapes for a visually appealing and vitamin-packed snack.

Spiced Nuts: Roast a combination of almonds, walnuts, and pecans with a pinch of cinnamon and a touch of honey for a satisfying and protein-rich treat.

Greek Yogurt Parfait: Layer Greek yogurt with granola and fresh berries for a probiotic-rich and protein-packed snack that also serves as a sweet treat.

Vegetable Crudité with Hummus: Cut an assortment of colorful vegetables like carrots, bell peppers, and cucumber, and pair them with a flavorful hummus for a satisfying crunch.

Dark Chocolate Dipped Fruit: Dip slices of banana, strawberries, pineapple or apple in melted dark chocolate for a sweet yet antioxidant-rich indulgence.

Additional Resources:

The first step in healthy snacking is making mindful choices at the store. The best way to do this is by understanding what is in your food and how it was made. Nutrition labels may seem daunting, but with a few tips, you can easily navigate all of the information that you need. Check out one of my recent blogs to familiarize yourself with food labels: https://www.virtualhealthcoaches.com/blog/getting-familiar-with-food-labels 

If you’re more interested in the specific science behind the impact of your snacks, you can dive into the details and plan your snacks accordingly. Check out this article titled “How to Snack Correctly, According to Science”: https://www.newsweek.com/how-snack-correctly-science-health-diet-1814852 

Claudia is an NBC-HWC Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, the owner of Vibrant Health by Claudia LLC  and Virtual Health Coaches LLC. She studied Health and Wellness Coaching at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where she also completed courses in Gut Health, Hormone Health, and Advanced Coaching. She is a Havening TechniquesⓇ Certified Practitioner and certified 21-Day Sugar Detox Coach as well as a co-author of two Amazon Bestsellers “The Ultimate Guide to Creating Your Soul Aligned Business” and “The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Successful Soul Professional”.

To schedule a time for a free information call click here or join her Vibrant Health Power Community - a free Facebook Group - here.