By: Dr. Shazia Erum (Dietician and nutritionist)

Even if you eat three meals a day, you may still feel hungry. So what do you do? The simple answer would be healthy snacks. But this is easier said than done.

It is important to pay attention to what you eat. Stuffing yourself with a large order of fries may give you a temporary boost, but a snack high in fat and calories will slow you down in the long run.

To keep energy levels up and avoiding weight gain steer clear of foods with lots of simple carbohydrates (sugars) like candy bars and soda. Look for foods that contain complex carbohydrates like whole grain breads and cereals and combine them with protein and calcium rich snacks.

The general trend these days is to go for foods that are convenient, filling, taste good and if anything help in weight loss. Examples of such foods include soups, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein. At the same time there is a growing desire for simplicity and wholesome foods. Here are few healthy snacking options from various food groups.

Milk And Dairy Products

Go for low fat milk, cheese and plain yogurt. Peanut butter or low fat yogurt or cheese and a soy milk shake are good choices to balance your nutrient intake. Avoid chocolate milk, ice cream, sugary syrup based milk shakes and artificially flavored yogurt.

Bread And Cereals

Popcorn, crackers, plain toast, pretzels, multigrain bread and corn chips are all healthy choices. Avoid cakes, pies, sugar laden cookies and desserts. Oatmeal topped with raisins is a great option in colder weather. Pre-packaged packets make them potable and easy, all you need is hot water. High fiber dry cereal mixed with dried fruit is also a convenient, potable snacks option. Choose cereals that are low in sugar and high in fiber.

Fruits And Nuts

Opt for fresh fruits, nuts, peanut butter, walnuts, almonds and unsweetened and diluted juices. Nuts and seeds are convenient and offer fiber, minerals, vitamin E and healthy fats. A complete no are syrup packed canned fruit and nuts, jams,jellies and preserved and sweetened fruit drinks.

Vegetables

A healthy, low calorie and anti oxidant rich food. Baked potatoes, steamed carrots, beans, celery sticks, baby corns and peppers are ideal low calorie snacking option. There are reduced fat chips and chips made with canola oil. But chips are still the type of snack that people tend to overeat. You are better off eating a real potato. However, avoid fried potatoes chips or candied and glazed sweet potatoes.

Meat, Fish And Eggs

A healthy choice would be boiled egg salad, roasted or grilled chicken and baked fish. Some other options are protein biscuits, sugar less soft drinks and black tea and coffee. Say no to added sugar drinks, candies, sugar syrups and carbonates sugary sodas. Similarly, high salty snacks should be taken in moderation as well as sticky, sugary snacks which are particularly bad for dental health.

Healthy Snacking is a post from: Neel's Corner

Ingredients Of sauced Trifle

• 2 packet red jelly
• 2 cups fruit cocktail
• Fresh whipped cream as required
• 2 Fresh bananas, cut in circles
• 1 Sponge cake
• Cherries for garnishing

Method Of sauced Fruit Trifle

• Cut the cake into slices and arrange them in serving dish.
• Now put cocktail fruit and bananas over the cake.
• Heat the water and pour jelly packets in in, when jelly is dissolved then pour it over fruits and cake.
• Now refrigerate it till it is set and firm.Take it out from the dish. Garnish it with whipped cream, cake chunks and cherries( optional).
• Serve chilled.

Sauced Fruit Trifle (by chef Rahat): Recipe is a post from: Neel's Corner

There is no such thing as a single super food which contains every nutrient you will need, so only by eating a varied diet will you get all you need to stay healthy. There are 5 main food groups and ideally you should eat a good balance of each of them each day.

Fruit and Vegetables

Fresh fruit and vegetables, frozen, chilled, canned and dried fruit and juices all count here. You should try to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. The size of portion can vary depending on what you are eating, but a good rule is that a portion will generally weigh about 100 grams.

Juice also counts as a portion, but however much you drink in a day it will only count as one portion. This is because juice does not contain as much fiber as solid fruit.

Bread, Potatoes and Cereals (including pasta, noodles and rice)

Starchy foods like these should make up half of your plate. Your body’s main source of energy and the high fiber keeps you regular in the bowel department. An average serving of potatoes also contain a healthy dollop of vitamin C and unless you have smothered them in butter, absolutely no fat.

Lean Meat, Fish, Poultry, Eggs, Nuts, Beans and Pulses

All of these provide a good source of protein, which helps your body rebuild itself. If you are vegetarian then you will not go for meat and fish but eating soya also does this and there are smaller amounts in grains and dairy products.

Milk and Dairy Products

These are a rich source of calcium, which strengthens your teeth and bones and help your muscles and nerves function properly. The best products health wise will be those classified as having lower fat. A pint of milk a day is enough to ensure you are getting the recommended daily intake of calcium.

Foods Containing Fat and Sugar

Fat is a great energy source, but fatty food don’t contain very many nutrients. Just one gram of fat contains about nine calories so unless you take a lot of exercise having eaten a lot of fatty food, your body will retain the fat and you will put on weight. But don’t avoid eating fat altogether, your body needs energy and in smaller doses fat is an important part of healthy eating.

Food You Need For Healthy Eating is a post from: Neel's Corner

Ingredients

• 1 large watermelon
• 1 cantaloupe, halved and seeded
• 1 honeydew melon, halved and seeded
• 15 ounce can oranges, drained
• 20 ounce  can pineapple chunks, drained
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, halved
• 2 cups seedless grapes
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon zest, grated

Method

• With a large , sharp knife, remove the top 1/4 section of the watermelon.
• With a melon baller, scoop flesh from inside of watermelon, removing as many seeds as possible. Leave 1/2 inch of flesh inside the shell of the watermelon.
• Scoop cantaloupe and honeydew in the same manner, removing as much flesh as possible, and discarding the rinds. Refrigerate fruits separately until ready to assemble.
• In a small pan over medium heat, bring water and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and continue stirring till sugar has completely dissolved. Add lemon zest and set aside to cool.
• To serve, place watermelon balls, cantaloupe, honeydew, oranges, pineapple, strawberries and grapes in a mixing bowl. Pour syrup over the top and toss thoroughly.
• Transfer mixture to watermelon basket, and serve.

Watermelon Fruit Basket is a post from: Neel's Corner

Ingredients

• Citrus fruits or strawberries, sliced
• Rose petals
• Mint leaves
• Cherries

Method

• Put small chunks of fruit or mint leaves into a try, fill with water and freeze.
• Serve the ice cubes directly in drinks, or put them out in a glass bowl or ice bucket with tongs. It will look very beautiful and your drinks will look more attractive then ever. Enjoy )))

Tip: You can make ice cubes with any of fruits of your choice, and you can also make ice cubes with fruit pulps. Colorful fruits look more attractive like strawberries, grapes, oranges etc.

Rainbow Ice Cubes is a post from: Neel's Corner

I think that after a formal dinner sweet dish is must. So try this one, its time efficient and tasty too.

Ingredients

• ½ liter milk
• 1 tin fruit cocktail
• Sugar according to taste
• 1 cup cream whipped
• ½ ts vanilla essence
• 4 tbs custard

Method

• Boil milk, add sugar and mix it well. Now add vanilla essence.
• Add custard powder in 1 cup cold milk and mix it well. Add this custard mixture in boiled milk, stir continually to avoid lumps.
• Add whipped cream in this custard and mix it well.
• Now take a transparent glass dish and first put the layer of fruit cocktail in dish, then custard, fruits, custard and finally on top cover it with fruits.
• Decorate it with whipped cream.

Tip: You can use any flavor of custard and serve it chilled.

Fruit Custard (by chef Zakir):Recipe is a post from: Neel's Corner