(as heard on Calvary 88.5 FM 1/27/10)
Next time you're tempted to eat a carton of ice cream or a bag of chips, opt for a healthy sweet or salty snack to keep you fuller longer and to help with your waist-line. The perfect snack should contain protein, carbs and fat without busting your calorie bank. Here are some suggestions for those that love to snack salty, sweet and combine the both. (all snacks below are between 100-200 calories)
Salty Snack Attack:
Popcorn (5 cups!!): Air popped or the 100 calorie bags are your best bet here. Popcorn is relatively low in calories and contains whole grains, fiber and protein.
Soy Crisps (19 crisps): This tasty, crunchy chip-like snacks are full of good protein, plus they come in flavors like salt and pepper, cheddar cheese, BBQ and many more. This is a great substitute for chips!
Hummus and whole wheat pita or better yet, veggies! My all time favorite brand of hummus is Sabra…try it…you’ll love it. It’s creamy and comes in tons of temping flavors. Pair this a few slices of whole wheat pita or cut up celery, carrots and bell peppers. 2 tablespoons of hummus (size of golf ball) is a serving.
Reduced fat Triscuits (6) and 2 wedges laughing cow light cheese. Cheese and crackers…umm…yummy!
Low fat yogurt with berries (1/2 cup): Creamy, smooth and super healthy, pop your yogurt in the freezer for 30 minutes to make it a frozen, protein packed treat. The berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries…you choose) are full of vitamins, minerals and fiber.
Kashi Fruit and Grain Bars: Oh man, this is a fine. With all natural ingredients including a healthy stash of protein and fiber, you will feel like you are indulging but wont have the negative-weight gaining-consequences of a candy bar. My favorite flavor is the dark chocolate coconut…my mouth is watering.
Dark Chocolate: The trick here is to have just a small piece and not the whole bar. Limit your serving to about 150 calories worth and the chocolate should be at least 70% cacao so that the sugar stays low and the antioxidants high. Newman’s Own has a fantastic organic dark chocolate bar.
Soy Dream: I know what you’re thinking…soy ice cream? GROSS…oh no, my friends, it is delicious and since I’ve started eating it, I don’t even think about the milk made ice cream anymore. ½ cup serving of soy dream contains lots of protein a bit of fiber and some good fat…sooooy enjoy (sorry…couldn’t resist J )
Fruit: Fruit is delicious, is loaded with fiber and antioxidants to keep you happy and healthy. So learn to like it…it’s nature’s original candy!
You like both sweet and salty??
Kashi Heart to Heart (3/4 cup) cereal and Almonds (15): This awesomely sweet cereal has tons of protein, fiber and whole grain and the almonds provide good fat!
Ants on a log: 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 20 raisins, 2 stalks of celery cut in half. Spread the PB on the celery “logs” and put the ants on the log! (Kids love this one…my all time favorite snack STILL!)
Erin, thanks - this is VERY helpful for the afternoon snacker that I am! I have to tell you that I'm addicted to listening to you every morning on Calvary 88.5! It helps my day get started on the right foot. Question on the snacks -- what about animal crackers? Would those be a good snack or not? I've heard pros and cons to both, and I like them so just wondered what your thoughts were on that. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteoh man, i forgot about ants on a log... one of my old favorites (minus the ants for me tho)... thanks! ~Kara
ReplyDeleteDavid...animal crackers are a better choice calorie-wise then say oreos (9 crackers for 140 calories). BUT they are pretty much void of nutritional value and are made up of mostly refined white flour and sugar...so not the best snack to keep you full for very long. There are, however, some whole grain animal crackers in the snack isle of whole foods...check it out...they will contain fiber and less sugar than the ordinary Nabisco-type cookies.
ReplyDeleteLet me know what you try! :)
Thanks, Erin! I have another question - re: Almonds. I'm sitting here at this very moment with a can of roasted almonds and they are so very good! But I read the label and it says 1 oz serving (about 28 nuts) has 170 calories and 16g of fat. EEK! The can says "smart eating" so I'm trying to understand how 16g of fat is smart. I think you have said almonds are "healthy fat" -- can you expound on that a little? They also have 3g of fiber and 6g of protein, which I know is very good. So let me know. I love almonds and of course I don't want to sit here and eat the entire can in one sitting, but just wanted to understand better about how 16g of fat can be good! Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteAnother great question, David! Somewhat recently, our society moved to a "fat free" is better mind-set when really, unsaturated fats, like the ones found in almonds, are necessary for proper nutrition. Don't be afraid of the 16 grams of fat in almonds...fat doesn't make us fat, an excess of calories do. So sticking to a serving of almonds (28 nuts) is a good idea because they are calorie dense. I will blog sometime next week about fats...thanks for the idea! :)
ReplyDelete