Once upon a time, I used to stock up on chocolate bars every week in the supermarket. I’d grab a week’s worth of 50 gram bars; typically whatever was on sale or available at a bulk discount (as long as it wasn’t Nestle). I’d then take one to work each day to snack on.
At one point I realised this wasn’t the healthiest, and switched to those mini versions. You know, the snack-sized little Picnic bar-lets and so on.
Then I tried meusli bars. At first the choc-chip ones, to wean myself off the chocolate.
Perhaps it’s a little like getting yourself off an addiction. One step at a time. Oh who am I kidding, chocolate IS an addiction.
Then I moved onto muesli bars with yoghurt, then to those that have more things like apricots and nuts. But while they’re healthier than chocolate, they’re not that much healthier, and they’re often quite expensive. In fact a Choice study showed in some cases a Mars Bar had less fat.
As the Choice article says: “A piece of real fruit is a much healthier snack.” And in fact now I’ve moved onto fruit. Typically with my lunch (which is usually a sandwich or roll) the snacks I’ll pack will be an apple, a banana (at last, affordable again) and a small box of sultanas (how could I resist the cheerful sultana faces on the packet?). I still need to graze on food throughout the day, but it might as well be a little healthier, as well as cheaper.
And chocolate? Keep it for special occasions. All part of the battle to stop my belly getting any bigger.
Hmm. I’m peckish.
5 replies on “Snacking”
As a side issue, I work in a city office where almost everyone brings their lunch in to work. People re-heat left-overs, toast sandwiches, make soup, etc.
Have you noticed a similar trend in your clients’ workplaces?
Further to buying fruit for snacks. I’ve been going to the markets at the end of the day and getting the discounted fruit… on Sunday I got a bag of sugar bananas for $1! about 5 of them were still okay for worksnacks, the other 5 or so I’ve mushed up and made banana bread with (I’d normally mush them up and freeze them but am moving in 3 weeks so no more stocking the freezer). Also got a bag of 12 nashi pears for $1. Have been able to eat 7 of them before they started to go soft.
Ha! That explains your non fear of the ‘pudding cake’ I brought to the malloys bbq.
A chocolate fiend hey.
What about dark chocolate. That stuff is awesome and lasts me FOREVER. 72% whitmans I’m on at the moment.
Good stuff!
You are a very good boy. Chocolate is what Elmo calls a ‘sometimes food’…. crazy furry red guy may be onto something…
Check & compare the sugar content on muesli bars – chocolate vs apricot with yoghurt. I was once in the shops with a friend who chose the choc-chip flavour off the shelf and, upon hearing my barbed comment about them being less healthy, promptly showed me the side of the pack and the table of sugar content, fat content etc. Now, I can’t remember exactly the differences, but I remember that I was put back in my box about my comment.
Let’s just hope that the fruit option is remembered as the healthier snack choice when a chocolate bar becomes cheaper because our farmers have to pay so much to water their crops…