Three Healthy Munchies for a Laid-Back Sunday
By: Bean Jones
No-Fuss Snack. As long as it doesn't come in the form of chips, a potato is one of the healthiest--and simplest--snacks you can munch on. Just don't go crazy on the butter.
I don't know about what goes on in other homes on Sundays--it's always been the designated "lazy day" at our house. I've carried over this Jones family tradition to my own place--a little bit too much I guess.
For the past couple of weeks, I've used Sunday as an excuse to go for greasy fastfood because I'm too lazy to cook. Well, that's obviously not doing me any good, so I figured I'd stock up on healthy snacks that are easy to prepare.
Here are my top three quick-snack fixes:
1. Raisins. Raisins strengthen teeth. Forget their rep as cavity causers. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago isolated raisins' phytonutrients and found compounds that can thwart bacteria growth that leads to tooth decay and gum disease.2. Oysters. Oysters power your lungs. Tire easily on the treadmill? You may be dragging because you're low on zinc, experts at the USDA's Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Centers in North Dakota say. Zinc helps your lungs expel carbon dioxide. "When your body's zinc levels are low, your cardiovascular fitness takes a dive," explains study author Dr. Hank Lukaski. Get fresh oysters to be sure that you get prime zinc and so you can eat them the simplest way possible: raw. Just squeeze lemon juice on them and sprinkle a few grains of salt.
3. Potatoes. Potatoes are good for your heart. This root crop contains kukoamines, chemicals that can lower your blood pressure. Poke the raw potato with a fork, then nuke it on high for five minutes or until tender. Then, you can put a little bit of butter on it.
With these easy treats on my list of options, "shaping up" my Sunday menu doesn't seem so impossible anymore. I guess I was just too lazy to think of them before. Or, perhaps, I just felt lazy because I didn't eat food that would give me energy.
