Have a Knack for snack

The summer season calls for lazy days, where we don’t know when the night starts and the day ends. It’s too hot to step out so we prefer to switch on the fan or air conditioner and obviously modern man’s best friend, The Television. We tend to choose fried, white sugar, white flour filled, processed food or order junk food like pizzas, burgers, French fries as accompaniments during these intense TV sessions. We don’t realise that when you sit for long hours and when you add junk and processed food to your daily routine the harmful effect this combination has on your body. So I snack smart.

Fruits: Chop up a few of your favourite fruits before you get down to binge-watching your favourite TV show or movie series. Make sure that they are seasonal fruits and are grown in the local area. My go to choice in the summer would be the king of fruits, a mango. Simply chop and eat a mango or two, not only will it fill you right up but it also tastes simply divine! Other summer fruits could be watermelon, musk melon, grapes, black jamun, ice apple, lychees the list goes on. We are blessed to have such a vast variety of fruits in the summer so make sure to include them. Satisfying your sweet cravings too.

Whole-grain bread sticks with salsa: How often do we crave Mexican food, especially nachos with cheese and salsa? This tangy sweet gooey and crunchy dish is everyone’s favourite but the excess processed cheese we include with this meal tends to high caloric. Even the fried nacho chips when unhealthy fats in the body had in excess increases. Opt for a bigger bowl of salsa and wholegrain bread sticks. You could roast these breadsticks so they become slightly crunchy too. The vegetables in the salsa will satiate you while the whole grains in the bread will keep you full for longer.

Popcorn: Be it at a theatre or at your house but a movie without a tub of popcorn is incomplete. The market is filled with different flavored popcorns ranging from plain, salty, cheesy, caramel to even whacky flavours like pani-puri! However most of these have added sugars and the flavours are not natural. Opt for a kettle corn over a microwave made one as it is a more natural way of making popcorn. Once cooked, pour a small amount of salted butter over it, mix well and enjoy!

Peanuts: Probably my favourite nut to snack on as a small quantity keeps me full for a longer time. I love making a peanut bhel with lots of onion, tomato, coriander, lemon and salt.

Veggie sticks with dips : Veggie sticks can be had with yoghurt dips, humus or one can have veggie sticks with a veggie dip, like cucumber sticks with beetroot dip ( see the recipe below).