Healthy Snacking

Everything you have read in the last few years says you should eat small meals and snacks.  Eat every three hours they say.  I did this and lost 70 pounds in nine months.  It keeps my blood sugar even, makes my metabolism work for me all day long and gives me great energy.  The problem is coming up with healthy snacks.  For me,  snacks need to be between 100-150 calories.  They say (who are they,  you say, well almost everyone you read on the internet or books) you need a little carb, protein and fat with each snack to make them metabolise better in your system.  Which means your snack will burn more calories instead of turning in to fat. 

So I am going to list some of my favorites and then some I have read about from others:

My top ten:

1. 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt with a cup of frozen berries (the berries defrost and give off all this yummy juice in the plain yogurt
2. carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, ham with some lite Italian dressing and lots of fresh ground pepper  (I chop it all up and let it marinate  (my kids love this, if you make a lot it will last for several days)
3. 1/2 apple, slice of turkey or ham
4. cantaloupe and a couple slices of prosciutto (yummy)
5. wasa bread (which is a cracker) with light cream cheese and a slice of turkey
6.  six almonds and an apple (I do not eat this often because I always want more than six almonds)
7.  light popcorn
8. 1/2 cup light ice cream (you have to measure it!)
9. black bean salsa and baked chips (recipe will be on the blog next week)
10. strawberry Fit n Lit yogurt smoothie with frozen strawberries and 1/2 banana (make it really thick and it is like ice cream)

You may notice I do not have a lot of crackers or breads on here.  The reason,  breads are my weakness, and I do not always have great self control and would just prefer not to temp myself.  When I do eat low fat crackers, rice cakes or chips I count them out.  I try to save my starchy carbs for my meals (whole grain bread, rice, pasta, corn, potatoes). 

My thoughts on 100 calorie snack packs.   I really try to eat whole foods (as close to how they came out of the ground as possible)  I really try to keep the processed food down because of the ingredients and they are costly.  Recently, I have been having a problem wanting something sweet at night so my (never has been on a diet) husband suggested I get the 100 calorie sweet packs.  I gave him my “they are not very healthy” argument and he mentioned neither were the snacks I was wanting to eat.  So I bought chocolate covered pretzels and the little cookie with the chocolate strips.  I hate when he is right about stuff he knows nothing about!!!!!!  They hit the spot at 8:30 p.m. when I want something sweet. I only bring one upstairs so I am not tempted to eat more than one bag.  There is no protein, they are processed but they are 100 calories of lick smacking goodness that keep me out of the cabinets and ice cream.

Other people like: 

• low fat cottage cheese (it is a no go for me, but it  is high in protein) with fruit
• dark chocolate, the darker the better.    Mayo Clinic  say 1/2 ounce a day, which is the size of a chocolate kiss, is all you need for blood pressure reduction.   If you only eat 1/2 ounce of chocolate you call me and tell me how you do it! 
• celery and peanut butter (1 tablespoon)
• Laughing Cow light cheese and pretzels
• light cheese and crackers  (I have to measure everything and they put the extra back up before I start eating because I will keep getting a little more–just not worth the risk for me most of the time.)
• raisins and other dried fruit (be careful, measure, very high in calories)
• canned fruit or applesauce in single-serving containers

Not all of my snacks are carbs/protein/fat proportioned.  I do the best I can.  Measure your portions when bring crackers home.  Use the little snack bags and to go containers and get several snacks ready at one time so you have no excuse when you run out the door. 

Please give us some of your favorite snacks.