Healthy snacks are just as important as your meals
Speaker: Coshocton Hospital Registered Dietitian Jenny Provo spoke to Coshocton BPW members on Feb. 15 about how to build healthy snacks. Beacon photo by Beth Scott
COSHOCTON – February is heart health month and one way you can help keep your whole body functioning properly is by building a better snack.
Coshocton Hospital Registered Dietitian Jenny Provo, MS, RD, LD counsels people in the hospital and out of the hospital to help educate them on healthy eating choices and empower and encourage them to make lifestyle changes. On Feb. 15 her audience was the Coshocton Business and Professional (BPW) members who gathered for their monthly meeting at Grace United Methodist Church.
“Snacking is something we are all going to do at some point of time and learning to build a healthier one can help you out with any goal you have from wanting to lose weight to being heart healthy,” she said.
The first tip she presented to the BPW members was to start with a protein. Examples she gave included turkey, chicken, yogurt, cheese, nuts, seeds and beans.
“Protein helps us keep our muscles strong and our hair and nails nice,” Provo said. “Fat also is important to our diet. It helps with our nerve signals, our hair and skin. There are better fats than others though and those come from plant sources like nuts and seeds and are better for our heart.”
She also suggests finding a good carbohydrate like a whole grain because it will have more fiber, vitamins and minerals. Fruits and vegetables though will give you the most bang for your buck.
“You get a lot of vitamins and fibers for a low amount of calories,” Provo said.
By putting some of these steps together you can build healthy and filling snacks such as a low fat cheese stick and a few Triscuits, apple slices and peanut butter or fresh vegetables and hummus.
“I enjoy cookies and cake too, but we can’t get into a pattern of having them or chips all the time for snacks,” Provo said. “Twenty-five percent of our nutrition and calories come from snacking.”
She ended her presentation by providing attendees with a snack of almonds and two miniature pieces of dark chocolate and one last piece of advice.
“Don’t get caught up in all the rules of different diets,” Provo said. “The truth to all of them is to eat more real food like lean meats, proteins and vegetables. It’s also nice to have a little snack in your purse so you aren’t tempted by all the other smells and goodies around.”
Coshocton BPW meets monthly at different locations in the community with a new speaker each time. The next meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, March 21 at Jerry’s Restaurant. For more on BPW and its monthly meetings, e-mail coshoctonbpw@gmail.com.
josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: Clubs & Organizations
