Healthy Snacking.
March 10, 2008 by Teri Cosenzi
Filed under Women's Health
As I have to wipe the Cheeto dust off my fingers to type this post, I realize that this does not really fit my post title of Healthy Snacking. LOL. In all honesty, my 16 year old was just putting away a bag of Cheetos when two dropped on the counter and somehow (mysteriously) they made their way to my hand and mouth – darn, they are good!!! So, it is not as bad as you think.
I did just come back from the grocery store, though, and as healthy snacks were on my mind, I picked up a lot of great looking treats. Tasting them might be tougher though, as I am so picky. And I hate reduced fat or calorie anything – blah – but I feel like I am doing so good with the exercise and making more sensible food choices all around (minus the Cheetos), that I need to give this a real go of it.
First off, I picked up a bunch of fruits and veggies. Apples, oranges, grapes, carrots, celery, and green peppers. I am not that big of a fruit person, but I am going to try and at least incorporate one piece of fruit into my day, along with my morning glass of orange juice. The vegetables are great – I love them raw. But the hardest part is washing them and chopping them all up. But I am going do that all at once and just store them in the fridge.
For snacky snacks, I invested (they are quite expensive) in some of those 100 calorie snack size packs. Nabisco is pretty smart, as the 100 Calorie Packs are the perfect portion and size that I should use for snacking. If only my belly tells me I am full after just one pack, I’ll be good to go. So, I picked up the Lorna Doone Cookie Crisps – this is one that I am afraid to try, Mini Cinnamon Teddy Grahams – which I am sure to love as I think they are just a bit smaller than the regular version, Cheese Nips – worried about these in the crispy chip version, and I also could not pass up the Oreo and Chips Ahoy packs either.
Lastly, I picked up a bag of unpopped popcorn. I am a HUGE popcorn person, movie theatre popcorn, bagged popcorn, microwave popcorn – you name it, I love it. But the healthiest version is just plain old popcorn. So I picked up a bag and need to have hubby go deep down into the basement and dig out my hot air popcorn popper that has not seen the light of day in years. I did look at some special popcorn salt and flavorings, but I am really going to try to just add a dash of salt to a bowl and see how I like it. Well, I know I will like it. It is just a matter of adjusting my taste to a more bland version of my favorite snack food.
I wish I had enough willpower to cut out snacking all together, as I know the pounds would come off much quicker. But who am I kidding, or most of us for that matter. We all get the munchies and should be able to satisfy our cravings, as long as we do it wisely, right?
I would love to get more healthy snack ideas, so if you have one (or more!) to share, please do so in the comments.
photos via stock.xchng.com
I tend to snack at work. To help me avoid the snack closet I keep a piece of fruit on my desk and almonds in my top drawer. When I start to get hungry I’ll see the fruit and eat that first plus a few almonds. That usually helps curb my hunger and cravings…at least for a little while.
As a busy mom and freelancer, I find that having the Kellogg’s snacks, almonds and cranberries with bottled water in the car and at my desk really stave off hunger and keep me from over-doing (too much). Keeping them in the car lets me snack while running around and doing errands and such all day long.
My husband and I also snack on plain popcorn with a bit of salt added. Sure, it’s best with melted butter (!) but you do get used to eating it with just a little salt.
No need to drag out the old popcorn popper, though- we just pour some kernels into a microwavable bowl, cover lightly (with a plate larger than the bowl) and nuke it. So easy!
I like the 100 Calorie microwaveable popcorn. You really get a lot – bigger than the chip and pretzel 100 calaorie packs, I was surprised at how much we get.