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Snacking or eating /drinking something light between the 3 big meals is something that is as important as drinking 12 glasses of water everyday. If you don’t snack, chances are you’re going to be so hungry by the time the next major meal time happens, that you will just pick up everything mindlessly onto your plate and stuff yourself with calories you’d rather be better off avoiding. But during work hours or times when there’s a lot of stress, one may crave something sweet or need something salty to help us snap out of the workday lull. Right,  but if you’re smart about how you snack you’ll feel, and maybe even look, better. And who doesn’t want that? Ok, but what about taste?

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As boring as “healthy snacks” might sound, you’d be surprised at just how yummy they are, all the new things you’ll get to sample, and how easy they are to tote around on the go. (Seriously, they fit in your laptop bag, purse, workout bag or backpack just as easily as the prepackaged items!.)So, let’s toss the excuses aside and run through some of the healthy, nutritious items that you should be adding to the top of your grocery list.

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‍Starters : Crunchy Munchies that you can’t lay your hands off

‍Apples and pearsCarrot and cucumber finger sticksBell pepper slicesCucumber circles (Sounds fancy, eh?)BananasOrangesRoasted chanaChana zor garam Roasted chickpeas Jhal Mudi Toasted MakhanaLightly roasted Murmura (puffed rice) in mustard oil and curry leaves, zeera and rye seeds, salt and toasted peanuts. Nuts and seeds (Hit those good fats!)

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‍Second Course : Rethink your drink.Ditch your high-sugar go-to and try

‍Plain water (Not glam enough? Try fruit/herb infused water, cow milk, Chaach, Coconut, water, Kokum, Sharbat, Cucumber, Juice, and Shikanji to tackle the heat during summers. Warm milk with kesar during winters.

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‍More Satiety Snacks : Guaranteed to fill you right up

‍‍Paneer pakoda (1 square)(120 calories)

Vegetable Poha (1 snack plate) (140 calories)

Vegetable idli (1) (80 calories)

Dhokla (1 piece) (80 calories)

Whole-grain toast with peanut or almond butter (130 calories)

Carrots with hummus (1tbsp )(100 calories)  

Yogurt (An awesome pairing with amaranth muesli (150 calories)

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Snacks to curb your sweet tooth

Whole Fruit Raisins, dates and figs, Fresh fruit salad (Use your imagination and get creative when choosing fruits). You can choose to make a hung curd dip with garlic or any other natural herbs or fruits to go with your crunchy snacks. Homemade coriander pudina chutney or coconut - peanut chutney are great options as well! Remember no processed sauces and powders should be used.

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At NBL, we’ve just launched the #NBLSmartSnacker Challenge where all you have to do is for any 4 days in a week beginning 13th January to 31st January 2020, you have to click a picture of your smart snackbox or your smart snacking choice and upload it on your Instagram/ Twitter or Facebook stories / posts, tagging @lovneetbatra. You will also have to challenge and tag 4 friends in your post and urge them to join you in the quest! The more times you post tagging @lovneetbatra on Instagram, the better chances you will have at winning a personal face to face  or online diet consultation worth Rs 3000 with none other than award winning celebrity nutritionist, Lovneet Batra!Isn’t that exciting? Get snacking, get smart, get clicking and don’t forget to tag @lovneetbatra!

Goodluck!

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Cheer,

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Lovneet