The quick answer: There’s nothing wrong with a snack between meals. Just make sure it’s real food.
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The 13 Themes
As you know, the 52 Healthy Changes follow 13 themes, which repeat in the quarters of the year and when taken together reform the modern American diet (MAD). The three oracles of scripture, tradition, and science guide our transformation. A reader asked to see the themes listed so here they are:
#1 Slash sugar intake
#2 Enjoy healthy fats and shun unhealthy fats;
#3 Organize your diet;
#4 Proper meals;
#5 Exercise;
#6 1st vegetable topic;
#7 Micronutrients (antioxidants, vitamins, fiber, minerals);
#8 Special topics (snacks, fasting, natural light, spices);
#9 Meat topics;
#10 Whole grains;
#11 Home cooking;
#12 2nd vegetable topic;
#13 More special topics (sunshine, sleep, stress, probiotics/fermentation)
This is a work in progress so expect these to change with time as new information appears, or to combat some new craziness dreamed up by Food Inc.
Food Inc.=Tobacco Inc.
We believe in and support the free enterprise system. We really do . . . with one caveat: We support it as long as the corporations look after our best interests. Unfortunately when a business gets large, as happens in a big country like America, there’s a tendency for the ruling powers to stop caring about the customers. This is sadly true with Food Inc.
I don’t think it has to be that way, but at the moment I can’t think of a large food corporation that really cares about us consumers. It’s just about the money. Some fine day in the not-too-distant future, we may look back at their conduct as the low moral point of our time.
A fascinating article in the N. Y. Times, “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food,” told of a 1999 gathering of the titans of Food Inc. The CEOs of Kraft, Nabisco, General Mills, P&G, Coca-Cola and a few others gathered to discuss their role in the rise of obesity that threatens our healthcare system. One speaker linked the products of Food Inc to the rise of obesity and then did the unthinkable—the one thing no Food Inc CEO wanted to hear—he compared them to the tobacco companies.
The CEOs weren’t ready to hear the message that their crown jewel products were part of our obesity problem, and that they were acting much as the cigarette companies had, so the meeting was a failure. It was probably their last chance to be good citizens.
The author of the article, Mike Moss, has a book out this spring, Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. The book promises to reveal the clever science used to find the “bliss point” in factory food—the optimal mix of sugar, salt, and fat that can hook us on their products. It’s troubling, the sophistication and science being used to promote factory made food-like substances of doubtful healthfulness.
Healthy, Affordable Snacks
The goal of this post is to rediscover healthy snacks. In a prior post we summarized reader’s healthy snacks. Here are ten ideas for traditional snacks that are wholesome and affordable:
- Fruit: Nature wraps some fruits in individual servings, like the apple, banana, orange, and peach. Purchased in season, they’re a nutritional bargain. In winter, enjoy dried fruits.
- Veggies: Carrot sticks and celery (with PB) are favorites. But try broccoli, cauliflower, or zucchini with a little hummus. Important point: To get your daily five veggie servings, you should get at least one in your snacks.
- Green Smoothies; easiest way to eat your greens plus you get fruit too.
- Seeds: Sunflower seeds are a healthy treat. Popcorn is a real bargain—put popcorn in a paper bag, staple it closed, and pop it in the microwave.
- Nuts: Buy them in bulk at harvest, save them in the freezer, and enjoy year around.
- Homemade bread: This is my favorite snack, toasted with butter. You can bake a loaf for under a buck if you buy yeast in bulk. Homemade bran muffins make a great snack; put a batch in the freezer.
- Homemade granola makes a great snack too. Try Katie’s Granola Recipe.
- Hard-boiled eggs: A great treat: boil them on Monday and enjoy all week; pastured eggs are high in omega-3 fats.
- Cheese, especially with bread or healthy crackers, or in a quesadilla.
- Sardines: For essential long-chain omega-3 fats, sardines are the best value. Our grandparents ate them on crackers; we should rediscover the humble sardine.
Healthy Change: We used the weekly menu rule to take control of food selection. To control snacking, prepare a snack plate early in the day.
Please comment: When we eat regular, healthy meals, we snack less and make better choices. You can find healthy store-bought snacks but ours are mostly homemade. The best snacks are minimally processed—whole food snacks are best; we draw the processing line at granola and trail mix. Please share your favorite snack ideas.