The struggle is real with snacks. To healthy snack or to not healthy snack? That is the question.

Do you push through the hunger barrier or do you give into your temptations? For those with the willpower, perhaps they can push through to the other side, but what about the rest? What do they do when temptations arise?

Fortunately, there’s a solution to this dilemma. And it’s simple. Find some healthy snack options that you’ll love, while at the same time giving you the health benefits you need.

To put it simply, healthy snacks need to have these qualities:

• Good supply of slow release energy It’s important that your healthy snack option has a good steady supply of energy particularly in the form of good oils and carbs. This will be useful to meet the demands of your day-to-day activities without the highs and lows of sugary snacks. An excellent example of a healthy snack that supplies good, slow releaser energy is bananas. Bananas are made up of good carbohydrates and fibre. They are also packed with some good vitamins and minerals as well such as potassium. Potassium is used in nerve cell function.
• Contains essential vitamins and minerals Any good snack will also contain a lot of essential vitamins and minerals. These are super important for delivering the “hard workers” of our metabolism – those special nutrients that keep our bodies functioning at peak capacity. A good example of a snack with essential vitamins and minerals would be muesli bars. These are not only convenient but they are often fortified with essential vitamins and minerals such as, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, and others such as iron, zinc and magnesium. To be sure of what vitamins and mineral are in your muesli bars, please check the labels.
• Quick, easy and convenient. The next best quality a healthy snack should have is they must be quick, easy and convenient. Nothing could be easier and more convenient than a bag of healthy nuts such as almonds. Almonds are full of good fats, fibre in particular and will help to stop the afternoon cravings. Simply prepare a small ziplock bag of almonds while eating breakfast.

Ready, set, snack!

Time to get into it! Choosing the right healthy snacks are easy once you understand the foundations and why you choose certain foods over others. Keep these three essential healthy snacks and their reasons in mind when you choose your next healthy snack options.