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Your health: Get healthy with your snacks

Healthy snack attack

The cupcakes in the office are calling your name. Your stomach is grumbling and you need to fight the dreaded afternoon energy slump. What to do?

Website FabFitFun sat down with certified health counselor Carina Sohaili to get her take on some summer snacks that won't destroy your diet. These treats will keep your metabolism moving and curb cravings so you don't overeat at your next meal.

Ÿ Pumpkin seeds — A great midday munch with high nutritional value. One-quarter of a cup contains 7g of protein, 230 mg of potassium and heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. Not to mention a variety of other minerals such as calcium, zinc and magnesium.

Ÿ Greek yogurt blueberries — Greek yogurt contains probiotics for healthy digestion, calcium and double the amount of protein found in regular yogurt. Blueberries are high in antioxidants that help fight the bad molecules that damage cells in our bodies. Plus, they are also a good source of fiber, vitamin C and manganese.

Ÿ Almonds and apples — Almonds are among the healthiest of all nuts and are packed with vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber. Apples contain both soluble and insoluble fiber and are a great source of vitamin C. Combine them into a snack size of about 10 almonds with a small apple.

Back to the basics

“Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.”

This quote from Hippocrates is the first line in “Practical Paleo,” Victory Belt Publishing, and provides the backbone for the 415-page tome by Diane Sanfilippo, a certified nutrition consultant who specializes in ancestral nutrition — based on diets before processed foods.

Unlike diet books that promise quick weight loss and six-pack abs, The Washington Post says “Practical Paleo” focuses on nourishment.

Sanfilippo, who runs the nutrition blog Balanced Bites and a weekly podcast, believes you can do — and feel — better. The book promotes a “paleo” diet, which shuns grains, legumes, refined sugar, pasteurized dairy and processed “foodlike substances.”

Sanfilippo says such items can cause blood sugar problems, digestive distress and inflammation. Instead, paleo eaters favor vegetables, fruit, animal protein, nuts and healthy fats.

“Practical Paleo” includes more than 120 recipes, with special notes about common food allergens, as well as a variety of customized meal plans.

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