Healthy snacks for perfect skin can be as helpful as all those creams and lotions that you buy to fight acne and aging. You can use a pricey anti-aging and wrinkle creams, but there’s no point in using them if you consume too much sugar and processed foods. Eating healthier foods has plenty of amazing benefits for your body, including your skin, nails, hair, and waistline. It’s time to throw away those cookies and potato chips and munch on one of these healthy snacks for perfect skin instead.
1. Low-fat yogurt with strawberries and blueberries
Strawberries and blueberries are rich in powerful antioxidants that help keep your skin looking younger longer. Low-fat yogurt with strawberries and blueberries is a sweet snack that fights premature aging and it’s one of my favorite snacks to munch on when I’m a little hungry. I personally don’t like blueberries by themselves, so I usually mix them with my favorite strawberries, which are also good for skin because of their high content of vitamin C. In fact, strawberries are higher in vitamin C than oranges. Use them as a topping for your low-fat yogurt and enjoy healthy skin. I choose low-fat yogurt since it’s packed with calcium and protein that help keep skin firm. It’s also rich in vitamin A that helps keep your skin cells healthy.
2. Mango, papaya and kiwi fruit salad
Fruit salad is perhaps the most popular healthy snack most of us opt for. But it’s important to know what you put in your fruit salad. Sometimes I choose tropical fruits, which are wonderful sources of vitamin C that helps your body produce the collagen that in turn keeps your skin firm and elastic. Orange and yellow fruits like papayas and mangoes are also an excellent source of beta-carotene. These fruits are great substitutes for those fruit-flavored candies that contain plenty of processed sugar. If you are suffering from breakouts it can be because of processed sugar. Mango, papaya and kiwi fruit salad is naturally sweet and it’s one of the healthiest snacks for perfect skin.
More: 10 Foods to Eat Every Day for Perfect Skin
3. Tuna salad on whole wheat toast
Do you want something that will fill you up? Tuna salad on whole wheat toast is one of the best snacks for perfect skin. You can create your own tuna salad, but make sure you add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil instead of the mayo. Slather your salad on whole wheat toast and voila, your healthy snack is ready! A tuna salad on whole wheat toast is packed with the mineral selenium, which preserves elastin that keeps your skin smooth. The olive oil is high in antioxidants that combat free radicals. Plus, the healthy fat will help keep your skin lubricated and soft as well as reduce any inflammation.
More: 7 Healthy and Delicious Bedtime Snacks
4. Oatmeal with walnuts and apples
Please don’t think that oatmeal is the perfect food only for breakfast. A bowl of hot, tasty oats is a satisfying, healthy snack that will help curb your mid-afternoon carb cravings. Since oatmeal keeps blood sugar levels stable, it can help prevent fine lines and wrinkles. Add walnuts and apples to your oatmeal and you’ll have even healthier snack. Walnuts are rich in fatty acids that protect cell membranes and keep your skin soft and plump, and they’re also high in copper that increases the production of collagen. Apples are rich in pectin that also promotes the production of collagen. I also like to add a little honey and cinnamon to my oatmeal.
More: 15 Worst Foods to Eat before Bedtime
5. Carrots with tomato paste dip
I don’t know about you but I absolutely like the awesome taste of plain tomato paste. I’m also a big fan of carrots and I’m happy that I can enjoy carrots with tomato paste dip and have a perfect skin (I actually have a perfect skin now, though I suffered from severe acne all over my face.) The thing is that the tomato paste contains the lycopene that protects your skin from the age spots and wrinkles caused by UV damage, however, it doesn’t mean that you can stop using your sunscreen. Carrots are packed with beta-carotene that helps lower sun sensitivity. In case you hate plain tomato paste, try blending it with hummus or crushed garlic that contains allicin, which has wonderful antibacterial properties.
More: 10 Tips for a Flawless Skin
6. Roasted turkey with avocado slices on whole wheat bread
A fold-over sandwich makes perfect snack for those days when you feel a huge hunger. As I mentioned above, a whole wheat bread has plenty of amazing benefits and it will keep you feeling full longer. This will prevent you from eating another snack that is not healthy for your skin. Remember your bread must be 100% whole wheat. Turkey is also rich in selenium, and some avocado slices are a wonderful creamy replacement for your mayo. This healthy snack contains monounsaturated fats that help prevent fine lines and wrinkles.
More: 11 Healthy Snacks to Trick Your Sweet Tooth
7. Trail mix with raisins, almonds, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts and dark chocolate chips
Trail mix is a fabulous snack for a great energy boost. For perfect skin, you need to add certain ingredients to your mix. The raisins are rich in phenols that help prevent cell damage, almonds contain moisturizing vitamin E, the pumpkin seeds are high in zinc that is vital for skin renewal, Brazil nuts are an excellent source of selenium, and dark chocolate chips are high in flavonols, which are powerful antioxidants. These foods are all great for your skin. Just make sure you add chocolate chips that are 70% cacao.
Although some of these healthy snacks take some time to make, the fabulous glow that you will get from eating them will be really worth it. Also, you don’t necessarily have to munch on the exact snacks on this list; you can incorporate the ingredients in them into your daily diet. So, ladies, do any of these healthy snacks for perfect skin sound great to you? What do you eat for healthy skin? Share your secrets with us.
