Must-have snacks for Chinese New Year: Eat them like a nutritionist without getting fat

The Lunar New Year is coming soon. Have you already bought some snacks for the New Year and are ready to enjoy them during the New Year holiday? However, it should be noted that it is easiest to be distracted by playing cards, watching TV, and chatting when eating snacks during the Chinese New Year, and unknowingly finish the whole bag of dried meat and melon seeds. So how should you eat and choose snacks to be healthy and not gain weight?

Fat-Gaining Snack 1/Jerky

The slices of fragrant, juicy and chewy meat jerky are the perfect companion to watching TV during the Chinese New Year and holidays. In addition to the original sliced ​​meat jerky, there are also spicy, garlic, and honey flavors. They also come in strips and paper shapes... giving people who love meat jerky more options. But if you have choice paralysis like me and can't give up any of them, the end result is that you eat them all and then regret it when you weigh yourself!

A palm-sized piece of jerky contains about 150 calories, and eating two pieces exceeds the calories in a bowl of rice. In addition to calories, the sodium content of jerky is also not to be underestimated. A palm-sized piece contains about 640 mg of sodium, and eating four pieces exceeds the recommended daily sodium intake. Spicy jerky, in particular, has a higher sodium content, so don't eat too much.

★If you really want to eat it, try to choose products with relatively low sodium content. The average sodium content of commercially available jerky is ranked as follows: Paper jerky < Original flaky jerky < Original strip jerky < Spicy jerky

Fattening snack 2: Nuts

Nuts are a popular snack during the Chinese New Year. There must be a bucket of them on the table at home, and people can just grab a handful and put them in their mouths while watching TV. Nuts are rich in dietary fiber, vitamins, various antioxidants and minerals. Although they are small in size, they are high in fat and calories!

★The recommended daily amount of nuts for a healthy adult is about the size of a white plastic spoon used for soup at a roadside stall, which contains approximately 45 calories, equivalent to 30 shelled melon seeds, 10 shelled pistachios, 5 almonds or cashews, 2 walnuts, and 10 peanut kernels. Try to choose original flavor to avoid taking in extra sodium and calories.

Fat-Making Snacks 3: Traditional Snacks

Before the Chinese New Year, shopping malls and New Year shopping streets will display a variety of bulk traditional snacks, such as raw candies covered with icing sugar, fried sesame cakes, jujube crisps and kali kali that are covered with powdered sugar or nut powder, or a whole bar of maltose-based jujube and walnut cakes. These traditional snacks make adults and children unable to stop eating them. Although these snacks are not high in calories if you only eat one or two, the saturated fatty acids, sodium and refined sugars contained in them are hidden health landmines that we cannot ignore!

★At this time, you can choose snacks with lower calories, such as original seaweed and konjac to replace some high-calorie snacks. If you want to be healthier, you can choose fresh fruits to satisfy your cravings while supplementing dietary fiber and vitamins. However, you still need to pay attention to the portion size. It is recommended to consume 2 to 4 servings per day. One serving can be 2 dates, 1 fist-sized apple or orange.

In addition, a large number of traditional snacks sold in markets and stores are mostly in bulk, so when purchasing, you should pay special attention to whether the store environment is hygienic, whether individual packaging is intact and whether there is any damage. When you take them home and store them, don't forget to put them in a dry and cool place to avoid spoilage.

Anti-obesity helper/Nutrition label

I have been emphasizing before that in addition to calories, we should also pay attention to the sodium content, refined sugar, and fat content. However, it is always easy to be distracted when eating snacks during the Chinese New Year. When you come to your senses, you find that the whole bag of sesame rice cakes and inch-long jujube cakes is empty. Therefore, if you want to avoid eating too much, the best way is to plan the amount you want to eat at one time in advance. But how do I know how much to eat at one time so as not to exceed the limit? At this time, "nutrition labeling" is a very important helper!

• Before calculating, make sure to check how many servings the entire package contains, then multiply the value of "per serving" by the "number of servings in the package"

• Try to keep the calories of each snack below 250 calories.

• In addition to calories, the lower the trans fat, sugar, and sodium content, the better