My 5 Favorite Healthy Snacks

Who says you have to cut out snacks to lose weight? In fact, you shouldn't. Yes, you read that right. I'm telling you, if you want to lose weight, start snacking.

The key is to make wise choices. (You don’t want to munch on donuts and other junk food -- duh.)

Here's why snacking is good: Having a bite to eat between breakfast, lunch and dinner will help your metabolism operate more efficiently.

Munching on the right things keeps your blood sugar from dipping too low and making your body more prone to store fat.

Here are my favorite healthy goodies to nibble on.

1. Yogurt with strawberries: I always choose a yogurt that is low in fat and sugar. I cut up fresh strawberries into slices and mix together with the yogurt.


2. Cashews: I love these! And because I love these, I have to be careful about how many I eat. Keep in mind that a serving is 1 ounce which isn’t a lot. A shot glass full of cashews is a little more than a serving. Five whole cashews is plenty. Nuts are filling and are a source of healthy fat.

3. PB&J: When I make mine, I use natural peanut butter, low calorie whole-wheat bread and low sugar strawberry preserves. Often times, 1/2 of a sandwich is plenty. I like having these because they provide a healthy fat and whole grains.

4. Protein shake: I tend to keep mine simple by using light soy milk and a scoop of whey protein. If you want to give it some flare, get a blender and throw in a few pieces of frozen fruit to make a smoothie. Having a shake is a good way to make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet.

5. Cucumber slices: I mix together vinegar, a small drop of olive oil and a dash of Italian spices and toss over cucumber slices. These are refreshing and very low in calories which make for a great snack late at night.

Tiffiany Moore is a certified personal trainer and NANBF figure competitor. Read more at www.trainertiff.com. Questions or comments? E-mail trainertiff@hotmail.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/trainertiff.