Healthy eating on the Go

Suppose you want a snack that is more on the savory side—something with a bit of crunch, but not detrimental to any healthy eating plan you are trying to “become one with.” Something tasty to munch on that will tide you over until your next meal, or if you are more of a “grazer” something to be your next small meal. And if it had a few extra health benefits—even better.
Here are a few suggestions—Snacktrition, a part of Mellace Family Brands, based in California, is a line of about five inspired treats each packed neatly in a re-useable container. Just the names will make you long for a taste—Sea Salt Cashews with Fiber, Sea Salt Almonds with Calcium, Salt & Pepper Cashews with Fiber, Smoked Almonds with Calcium and Fruit & Nut Mix with Fiber and Calcium. What’s especially appealing is these treats are portable and can help you stick to your eating plan. It is also appealing that a portion of each sale promises to “Help Those Who Would Otherwise be Forgotten!” through the company’s Mama Cares Foundation.
Another savory snack comes in a bigger box but you can easily pack the contents into smaller snack-size bags or containers. La Jolla-based Kashi offers several varieties of TLC crackers—the cheddar cheese taste as good—or better- than Cheez-Its and are better for you. Not a big fan of cheese? Try their Fire-Roasted Vegetable, Homey Sesame, Natural Ranch, or Original 7-Grain. They also offer several varieties of “Party Crackers” that we haven’t yet tried, but they look promising.
Another way to thwart an attack of machine munchies is to pack a few snack-size bags of plain almonds or walnuts in your bag or briefcase. Coupled with a bottle of water or juice, or a piece of fresh fruit, and you just built yourself a little fortress against sidetracks to healthy eating.

Snack Bars, healthy or not so?

When you want a snack to take with you when you know you’re going to have a busy day, you want to put something in your purse or briefcase that isn’t going to get crushed and get crumbs everywhere. But you still want a little something that will placate the hunger or the urge to stuff something you’ll regret later in your mouth—like almost anything from a food cart inside or outside—and vending machines? Those wheat crackers only look healthy because they are lined between cookies and candy bars. (Why are the mints and chewing gum always on the bottom tier, anyway?)
There are a lot of choices for portable noshing out there. Some are tastier than others. Some are healthier than others. Do all the unhealthy snack bars all taste better than the good-for-you kinds? Or is it possible to find healthier snack bars that taste pretty much like they couldn’t be good for you. But they are.
We’ll be taking a look at several brands, including:
Nature Valley Granola Bars, Kashi bars, Kudos, SoyJoy, and others.
Until then, be careful what kind of pick-me-up you pack. A pick-me-up shouldn’t plump you up.

Soy—a (very) brief overview

Let's not even mention the website that proclaims “Soy is making kids gay….” Here are a few sentences about the influence of soy:

According to The Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/soy/NS_patient-soy “Soy was introduced to Europe in the 1700s and to the United States in the 1800s. Large-scale soybean cultivation began in the United States during World War II. Currently, Midwestern U.S. farmers produce about half of the world's supply of soybeans.”

And the Mayo Clinic goes on to state:

“Soy and components of soy called "isoflavones" have been studied for many health conditions. Isoflavones (such as genistein) are believed to have estrogen-like effects in the body, and as a result, they are sometimes called "phytoestrogens." In laboratory studies, it is not clear if isoflavones stimulate or block the effects of estrogen or both (acting as "mixed receptor agonists/antagonists"). "

The Mayo Clinic also proclaims that, based on scientific evidence, "Soy products, such as tofu, are high in protein and are an acceptable source of dietary protein. "

AND

High cholesterol--

"Numerous human studies report that adding soy protein to the diet can moderately decrease blood levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein ("bad" cholesterol). Small reductions in triglycerides may also occur, while high-density lipoprotein ("good" cholesterol) does not seem to be significantly altered. Some scientists have proposed that specific components of soybean, such as the isoflavones genistein and daidzein, may be responsible for the cholesterol-lowering properties of soy. However, this has not been clearly demonstrated in research and remains controversial. It is not known if products containing isolated soy isoflavones have the same effects as regular dietary intake of soy protein. Dietary soy protein has not been proven to affect long-term cardiovascular outcomes, such as heart attack or stroke. "

Since soy is good for many of us, why not enjoy it in a variety of forms?

SoyJoy-- portable protein

With all the snack bars calling themselves healthy, it is often hard to pick one that will live up to its promises. SoyJoy delivers what it promises.

So it's not a candy bar hiding out as a heathly treat, like some other chocolate covered bars that come to mind. No mistaking that this is healthy--and good for you. The taste is understated and might take some time to appreciate but a few of the flavors are easy on the palate --Mango Coconut and Chocolate Peanut Butter--for example. But the others will do just fine if you are hungry and have packed them in your bag as a portable, heathy and non-messy snack-- Raisin Almond, Apple, Strawberry and also Berry.

There may be many healthy snack bars out there but these are just the right size, have a sturdy yet easy-to-open wrapper, won't fall apart in your bag or briefcase, pack a respectable dose of nutrition and go great with a hot or cool beverage. If you have grown-up snack expectations, give SoyJoy a try.

http://www.soyjoy.com/