Just over two years into the pandemic, with several months of quarantine in the body, we have lost some healthy habits and mobility due to working from home.

The worst thing is that we are extremely exhausted, tired, emotionally broken, still. We remain anxious.

There are those who are lucky that when they feel anxiety their throat closes up and they can’t eat, but there are others – perhaps the majority – who have to satisfy it by eating something else delicious.

And of course, anxiety is the daily bread of Chileans, as well as a consequence of the health crisis. This resulted in a considerable increase in weight: 7.5 kilos on average per person. This figure, based on a study carried out by the international consulting firm Ipsos, places us in fifth place in the world table, exceeding the world average (6.1 kilos) and being only below Mexico (8.5 kg), Saudi Arabia (8 kg), Argentina (7.9 kg) and Peru (7.7 kg). The situation is serious.

Yes, we know, if we want to snack on something, there are very healthy options to soothe that anxiety: a piece of fruit, a handful of nuts, a yogurt… but let’s be honest, that’s not what we want at that precise moment when anxiety is winning the battle.

Dana Bortnick, nutritionist at Clinique Indisa understood this perfectly, but the first thing she recommends to her patients is not to self-boycott. “You know each other very well and you know what you can take,” he says. The point to which it refers is the will. If you’re going to have a candy bar on the bedside table and can eat just one square every day, great. However, “if the candy bar won’t last you a single day, the best thing to do is not have it in your house.”

But let’s be honest, at times like this, it’s hard not to be tempted, no matter if it’s something sweet or savory, but mid-morning, before lunch, or mid-after- noon, eat something tasty that doesn’t make you so fat – and if we can eat in the right amount, that’s even better – it’s what we need and want.

For this reason, in Práctico we ask different nutritionists for recommendations of snacks that you can buy in the supermarket or online, or homemade recipes that you can prepare when you have time, to snack on during the day.

Beyond just being guided by the seals – which helps, but doesn’t always mean the food is super healthy – there are other techniques we can keep in mind when shopping:

• No more than 4 or 5 ingredients: María José Acevedo, also a nutritionist, advises to read, as always, the nutritional table of the ingredients of the product and, if it contains more than 5 ingredients, to throw them away.
• No to unknown ingredients: Dana Bortnick delivers as a rule of thumb to know the ingredients. When you don’t have the faintest idea what they are, he explains, it’s because they are, things get complicated and the product you’re about to consume becomes less healthy and less natural.
• Say no to unspeakable ingredients: In addition, the Clinique Indisa expert informs us that if we cannot name an ingredient, such as dimethylpolysiloxane, we immediately discard that food, it means the product is processed or highly processed, which means it is nutritionally unbalanced and often have a high energy density.

Bárbara Castillo, nutritionist at the Universidad de los Andes clinic, advises To mix together. What does it mean? That if I want to eat a piece of dark chocolate in the middle of the morning, I do it but also associate it with a fruit. In other words, my snack or snack should be a piece or two of chocolate with a serving of strawberries, an apple or a pear (or any other low-calorie fruit)

Because? Because on the one hand, she explains, in this way you manage to control the anxiety that was eating you up a little, but at the same time you add something healthy and reduce the portion of this unhealthy thing that you were going to eat.

The other thing that she specifies, and which is very important, is that you shouldn’t set impossible goals from the outset. If we’re going through a very complex time – it’s hard not to be right now – and we’re feeling restless, restless, restless…and we used to eat a piece of chocolate every day , we can’t jump up and down to one piece a week in one go. It’s best to do this little by little, a few pieces every other day for a few weeks, then we postpone it to three times a week, until we can get to once a week.

Next we leave a list of products that we can find on the market which, for those who do not have time to cook healthy things and need to satisfy their anxiety by eating something, can be a good option as a snack. Of course, everything in its proper measure and in the recommended doses. But of course, between eating a packet of cookies with sugar or one of these bars that we offer you, do not hesitate, these alternatives are much better.

Superfood granola bars (box of 10)

Cereal bar without cranberries 6 un. 20g

Cereal bar recipe:

These are indeed a great snack option, say nutritionists. The problem is that you have to measure yourself, it’s a portion, don’t eat the whole package, be careful.

Puripop olive and sea salt (individual)

Puripop Chocolate Popcorn

Family Hummus Chickpea Puffs

Always about 60% cocoa, this is the most important rule when choosing, all our interviewed nutritionists agree, because this way we ensure the full power of its antioxidant properties, but at the same time a low amount of sugar and fat. There are also high cocoa and sugar-free options, but they only need to have a percentage higher than 60%.

Chocolate Bar 62% Cocoa (100g) Manare

Lindt chocolate 72% cocoa

How hard it is to be an ice cream lover and want to eat it healthy. There are thousands of sugar-free or light options on the market, but does that mean they’re healthy and lower in fat? No. Most have a high energy content. If you are an ice cream lover, you have two options:

1. The first is to make them at home and it’s really not complicated at all. Even if you like chocolate, you can use bitter cocoa and sweeten with allulose, stevia or tagatose. The base can be yoghurt or ground banana (the one that already spoils), grind them in the mini-blender, add whatever you want (fruit, cocoa, honey) and put them in the freezer.
2. The second is to buy the healthiest ice cream that can be found. Of course, sometimes you don’t even have time to put a banana in the mini first, let alone in this pandemic. Dana Bortnick recommended Yogen Früz ice cream to us which they sell in cassava format in supermarkets or you can order your own in store via a delivery app. Of course, it must be without caramel extras, nor dulce de leche, nor M&M… without abusing it.

Yogen Fruz, Chocolate-Orange Yogurt And Fruit Ice Cream

The Indisa Clinic nutritionist also shared with us some of the other products she recommends for her patients to get through those times of intense hunger and anxiety, as well as other options for replace, for example, pasta, In addition to two Instagram accounts to follow, get inspired if you feel like it and get good recipes, in the end, cooking is also a good distraction for our heads in this pandemic.

Quinoa soufflé with olives – sea salt

Lightly spiced quinoa soufflé with sea salt

palmipata:

Heart of palm food for pasta lovers: tagliatelle and lasagna. A healthy product, with an exquisite taste and easy to prepare. A low-calorie and excellent quality alternative that seeks to supplement your diet in a simple, rich and healthy way. It produces a feeling of satiety and is low in calories, which makes it ideal for people on a diet or looking to balance their diet, it helps with constipation problems and reduces cholesterol and sugar levels. It also prevents anemia and strengthens the body’s defenses, facilitates digestion, slows down water retention.

Heart of palm lasagna:

A version for pasta lovers is this heart of palm lasagna. A healthy product, with an exquisite taste and easy to prepare. Best of all, only 25 Kcal and 3.2g. of carbohydrates per serving and gluten-free. Simply take them out of the box, prepare your favorite sauce and serve! They do not require cooking!

Heart of palm noodles:

From the same brand, it is another option to replace pasta. They don’t have the length of traditional noodles or others like those made from legumes, but they work perfectly as a gluten-free and extra healthy alternative. One jar serves approximately 2 servings.

Instagram accounts to follow