Recipes -- Healthy Snacks, by: Vicki Churchill

In today's hectic life style it probably feels like there is no time for healthy eating, or you simply can not find recipes that are both healthy and quick to make. As a result it is tempting to reach for the quick and easy snacks such as potato chips or candy.

Do you ever run out of healthy recipes for snacks, or find them to time consuming?

Snacking is a major part of our lives, especially when it comes to kids. This article looks at why healthy snacks are important for all the family and will provide you with some straightforward and interesting recipes.

Foods with natural colours are on the whole good for you, like red apples, yellow bananas or orange carrots. Possibly the most important thing to remember is variety, a balanced diet will keep you healthy and fit as well as feeling good.

First of all I am going to give you some snacking tips.

Always make your snacks interesting

A rice cake is better than a packet of potato chips but is probably considered boring, so why not spread peanut butter and raisins on the top, or find some quick recipes for a salsa.

Prepare snacks in advance When you have some time chop up carrots, celery sticks, cucumber portions and other vegetables, place them in a sealed container in the fridge so as soon as you feel like snacking you can reach for the healthier option

Keep snacks with you To save yourself getting caught out needing a snack when you are out keep snacks with you in your bag. Again the easiest and quickest are fruit and vegetables.

Swap food When shopping always think of a healthier alternative to what you pick up. Instead of potato chips go for low fat crackers or rice cakes. If you want biscuits chose one that contains fruit alternatively make your own (see recipes to follow)

Buying packed or ready made food and snacks usually means it will be less healthy than making your own. I will now provide a few easy recipes to make that are both tasty and good for you

OAT BISCUITS Melt in Microwave - 1 dessert spoon golden syrup1 dessert spoon cold water4oz margarine Stir in 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda(It will become frothy)Now add - 1 cup oats1cup SR flour 3/4 cup sugar

Mix together dried and melted ingredients.Roll into balls the size of a teaspoon.Put onto a greased tray and squash balls. Cook 125 degrees 10 - 15 minutes, until light golden brown.

QUICK SMOOTHY RECIPE You will need

2 x bananas

1 tablespoon of honey

2 cups of milk

1 x tablespoon of yoghurt

Method Peel the bananas, break them up into pieces and place them in a large bowl

Take a fork and mash the banana so that it changes from lumpy to soft squidgy and creamy.

Add the honey and yoghurt, mix well with a fork until it's all creamy

Place the milk into the bowl and whisk the mixture with your fork until everything is mixed and pour into glasses.

MUSTARD AND LEMON CHICKEN 4 skinless chicken breasts halved

1.5 tablespoons of Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons of margarine

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

½ teaspoon of tarragon

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken in a shallow oven proof dish

In a saucepan, melt the margarine, add the mustard, lemon juice, and tarragon. Stir well and pour over chicken.

Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until cooked

There are simply heaps of quick, easy, fun and surprisingly nutritious recipes for all the family to enjoy.

About The Author
Vicki Churchill is the owner of http://www.simplecookery.com, a site that specializes in Recipes and cooking tips to save you time in the kitchen.

Spinach May Be Worth It After All

Is the negative calorie diet an easy way to lose weight or just a scam? Find out how eating an overload of fruits and vegetables while eliminating grains can affect your body. According to some scientists, the sacrifice might just be worth it.

You may have always turned your nose up at spinach but once you find out the more you eat the more calories you will burn you may look at it a little more fondly.

Spinach, along with strawberries, broccoli and green cabbage, is on a list of about 100 fruits, vegetables and fish that are considered negative calorie foods. In theory, negative calorie food means that your body will burn more calories digesting them than it will eating them.

Certain foods in particular are more desirable because they are believed to be harder to digest and thus, burn even more calories. For example, if you ate a cup of fresh strawberries that contains 45 calories it may take 75 calories for your body to digest them. In effect this would be the equivalent of burning off 30 calories by walking, lifting weights or engaging in other forms of exercise.

This has not been scientifically proven yet but many people already adhere to the negative calorie diet in order to achieve weight loss. Supporters of this diet also believe that the types of food it requires a person to eat will speed up metabolism, which also aids in the burning of calories.

With all the fruits and vegetables the diet calls for, its hard to believe that it could be anything but healthy. But it has raised speculation. Heres why. The original Negative Calorie Diet claims that following their plan can cause weight loss of up to 14 pounds in 7 days. If this is true, then you are losing seven times the amount of weight it is considered healthy to lose in one week.

Youll also be guided away from eating grains, which are important for the unique vitamins and minerals they provide. It is a strong debate because youll actually be taking in large amounts of other vitamins that can have good effects on your metabolism and your overall health.

Eating the types of food that negative calorie diets encourage will, in most individuals, induce weight loss because they are simply lower calorie foods than most grains, proteins and dairies carry. This is true especially if you were to eat more calories everyday than recommended for your body and then go to eating rational portions of fruits and vegetables.

There are some negative calorie diets that claim you can eat as much as you want and still expect to lose weight. This is most likely false. Even if these foods really do create a negative calorie effect, you must exercise to get rid of excess energy storage.

They also dont take into account that the body burns off carbohydrates before it burns calories. Some of the foods on the list are low in calories but high in carbs.

Thats why we suggest a nice compromise. Instead of adhering to a strict negative calorie diet, try eating these foods as often as possible and without adding any extras to them like butter or salad dressing that will quickly make them fattening. Whether the theory is true or not, you will benefit from decreased appetite through eating foods high in water mass, increased metabolism and a diet rich in vitamins. Combine this with regular exercise and youre participating in a lifestyle that is proven to cause weight loss.

About the Author Karen Gates offers free information on hundreds of different weight loss methods. She also provides honest and unbiased dieting and weight loss product reviews. Go to Best Weight Loss Program also found at http://www.bestweightprograms.com.