What are the best healthy Indian snacks for a Perfect Munchy Evening
Wiki Article
I need to lose those extra pounds! I will start watching my diet from today.”
This is what you think at the beginning of the day having a healthy bowl of oats, egg white, and green tea. What a wonderful start to the first day of my diet!
Juggling between household chores, work, kids you manage to pull off victoriously till lunch, keeping track of all the protein, fats, and calorie intake.
Then comes the toughest time of the day, Tea-time. That’s when your growling tummy tempts you to devour that fried hot samosa, kachauri, or chips with a hot piping cup of tea or coffee. In short – comfort (junk) food wins and you lose!!
Relatable. Right?
So the question comes, what to eat then? One certainly doesn’t want to keep cooking or prepping the next meal the whole day!!
Well, there are loads of healthy Indian snacks which can be munched upon in the evening.
Some of them are
• Makhana
• Puffed rice
• Tilgud laddoos
• Mixed Dry Fruits
• Trail Mixes
• Khakra Chips
• Millet cookies
• Dry roasted puffed rice (laiyya), to name a few.
The evening is a time when if you eat too much and that is too unhealthy, it throws the rhythm of the entire day off the trail. Filling yourself up too much in the evening will lead to a late dinner, which is a big no-no when it comes to digestion. Not eating anything makes you have a heavy dinner since you are famished. Both situations are not favourable to the body.
The snacks mentioned above solve this problem to a large extent.
Let’s talk about Mixed Dry Fruits and Trail mixes.
Mixed Dry Fruits :
If you are looking forward to munch something that will not only satisfy your hunger pangs but will also keep your energy level stable then you must have a portion of mixed dry fruits. There is a wide variety of dry fruits to choose from like raisins, almonds, walnuts, cashew nuts, pistachios, etc. You can mix and match the nuts of your choice and get the benefits of all nuts in one go. Dry fruits are a wonderful source of proteins, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibres, and unsaturated fats, thus making them the ideal choice for a snack. Maintaining portion size is crucial when you are snacking on dry fruits.. 1/4th cup of mixed dry fruits is the correct amount. Too much intake of dry fruits owing to the taste or thinking that it’s going to provide more nutrition will only lead to diarrhea, high blood pressure, flatulence, etc.
Trail Mixes :
Trail mixwas initially innovated for hikers since it is dry and does not require too much storage space or any cutlery sort of a thing. It is a kind of snack mix that is very easy to carry and convenient and is high in protein and fibre and also has heart-healthy polyunsaturated fats. It contains granola, dry fruits, nuts, and seeds. Some varieties also include candy, chocolate, cereal, and seasonings like sea salt, thyme, and paprika. Trail mixes are very popular because of their versatility, portability, and the quality of ingredients used. 1/4th cup or approximately 28 gms of trail mix is good enough for you. Be careful not to go overboard due to the crunchiness and nuttiness. Try to avoid mixes with candy, chocolate chips, or cereals as they have added sugar in them which can lead to other health issues.
You can of course prepare these healthy snacks at home too, but, most of the time we get confused as to how much quantity one should be using of each ingredient. To avoid this confusion they are available online too in the form of Premium mixed dry fruits or healthy Trail Mix. You can buy these healthy snacks online too in India. Search for packed mixed dry fruits and trail mixes.
The dry fruits, berries, nuts, and seeds prove to be an excellent source of antioxidants, polyunsaturated fats and provide excellent nourishment to the body. They are any day better than a pack of chips or samosas which have zero nutritional value. The downside with trail mix is that some companies mix candy, chocolate chips, and cereals that have added sugar in them. These ingredients make the healthy mix, unhealthy. It is recommended, therefore, to read the ingredient detail carefully before buying or ordering them online.
Summary 1:
The bottom line is that even though, the combination of dry fruits, seeds, berries is very beneficial for health, yet one must not overdo the portion size as it may lead to diarrhea, flatulence, high blood pressure, and also be harmful to a diabetic patient. Nuts, should be eaten in moderation to avoid complications.
Summary 2:
Healthy snacking is very much possible with a healthy scoop of dried fruits and nuts or trail mix. If you control the portion size, and incorporate exercise at least 5 days a week, along with a balanced diet, you can reach your fitness goal.