The holidays are over. Deny it as you will, but if your clothing feels tight, you’ve probably over-indulged.
If you’re like most people, holiday dinners and parties, plus staying in with snacks and a movie, have taken a toll on your torso! Now, it’s time to re-assess. Will 2013 be the year you and your family really make some healthy changes in how you eat?
We mean well. We swear we’re going to change our diet, and then, in a few weeks, we succumb to Super Bowl snacks! No matter how lean and mean you think you’ll get, your body still craves food, and usually at odd hours of the day when you really can’t get to the refrigerator to whip up something healthy.
Enter the snack!
While the word “snack” or “snacking” has gotten a bad name as something that’s probably bad for you and probably, fattening, you can actually save, not sabotage your diet, by not starving. The trick it to find things are are somewhat healthy, instead of wandering over to the candy stand or cookie jar.
Not long ago, The Advice Sisters were introduced to fun snack that is actually not bad for you or your kids. Funky Monkey is a convenient snack food that is natural 100% real (and freeze dried) fruit. It comes in a variety of fun combinations (much more exciting than a single, boring apple or orange) and it’s crunchy and sweet, but it’s also fat free, with no sugar added, and for those who can’t deal with gluten, it’s also gluten free. no preservatives, no coloring, no flavoring, and they are a raw food and non-GMO, Some of the selections are even vegan and 100% organic.
What I find really appealing about Funky Monkey (besides the taste) is that each lightweight, portable 0.42 oz. sealed pack has one complete serving of fruit in it. Toting fruit around is certainly do-able, but it can be heavy, and if you’ve ever had a fruit squished in your tote, you know it can make a nasty mess. To be honest, I’m guessing some of you reading this don’t even really like fresh fruit, even though you should include it in your daily diet.
The single serve packettes of Funky Monkey run 45-50 calories a bag. For those who have to restrict their sodium intake, you’ll be glad that most of the flavors haven’t any sodium at all, and those that do (e.g, the Carnival Mix of pineapple, apple, papaya and banana) run just 2mg of sodium. For full disclosure, there is sugar in all fruit fresh or dried, and there is sugar in Funky Monkey snacks too, with most around 8-9 grams. The variety called Pink Pineapple has 21 grams, however, which I wouldn’t recommend offering to children before bed-time unless you want to chase them around the room! Too much sugar can kill a diet, but a little isn’t going to hurt.
Obesity is on the rise in children, so you can start 2013 out healthier by substituting cookies, candy and other sweets, with a healthy sweet treat they’ll really want to eat. I’m not a dietitian, but I’m thinking that Funky Monkey snacks are one way to get your family to include fruit in their diets and satisfy their cravings for snacks, in a healthy way. The graphics on the packaging are colorful and will appeal to kids as well as adults, and the flash-heavy web site makes for a few moments of fun as well. The combinations of Funky Monkey are kind of unique and amusing, such as Jivealime Pineapple with Lime, and Purple Funk (featuring Banana with Acai). Traditionalists will probably like Applemon Apple with Cinnamon and Bananamon banana with cinnamon.
Funky Monkey isn’t just for kids. If you travel, especially by air, these sealed bags of freeze-dried snacks are the perfect take-along. If you’re driving somewhere, when your stomach rumbles or your kids clamor for fast food, pull out the packettes and enjoy! Funky Monkey might not be the entire answer to eating healthier, but it’s an easy way to make a small change in the right direction.
It’s food for thought!
