Forget the old parental admonishments about “spoiling your appetite” with between-meal snacking – it’s all right to appease your appetite with healthy snacks. In fact, snacking prevents you from getting so hungry that you overeat at mealtimes. Have healthy snacks available for the times you need them most. Here are some suggestions to replace high-fat, unhealthy snacks with quick and easy healthy snacks ideas –

• ½ whole grain blueberry muffin.
• Frozen juice bar – Create your own with fresh fruit pureed in your blender. Experiment with different types of fruit and/or mix them.
• An ounce of walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts - Try to snack on the ones with shells. They take longer to eat if you have to crack the shells.
• Crackers with peanut butter – the peanut butter will fill you up.
• Jicama crunchies with lemon juice and cayenne – because of the cayenne pepper this may take longer to consume, so you stretch out snack time.
• Carrot and celery sticks 
• Low-calorie granola bars
• 100-calorie popcorn
• Light yogurt
• Frozen grapes
• Frozen berries
• Bananas – fresh or frozen
• Other fresh fruit which can be eaten by itself or as a smoothie
• Crackers with a little salmon cream cheese
• Low calorie light cheese spread such as Laughing Cow on pumpernickel toast
• Slice of tomato on toasted whole wheat bread with a dab of olive oil, sprinkled with garlic powder
• Add hot green tea to your snacks whenever possible. It’s full of antioxidant properties and the liquid is somewhat filling.

These are my favorites; I’m sure you can find more to add to the list. With so many choices, there’s absolutely no excuse for potato chips or candy. Learn to replace taboo eating with good food habits, and in a relatively short time you’ll notice a change in the way you feel. While I encourage going slowly, remember: the ultimate goal of the DEITY DIET is to eliminate bad eating habits and replace them in ways that nourish your body, mind, and soul.

About the Author: Connie Umbenhower is a published author of the cookbook DEITY DIET. For more information or to buy her book, pls visit www.thedeitydiet.com, www.himalayanbootcamp.com

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