I’m a snacker. If there are no healthy snacks around, I eat really unhealthy snacks. So I’ve come up with some strategies to help me circumvent candy bars and horrible fat filled chips. Not all of these are necessarily the lowest calorie treats you can find, but they’re easy to throw together and not the worst thing in the house you can grab.
- Almonds & Dark Chocolate. This is my current fave. Both are good for you in moderation. I throw a handful of unroasted almonds and a handful of Girardelli dark chocolate bits into a bowl and snack away.
- Popcorn. We love popcorn here, but I don’t care for microwave popcorn. I have a whirley pop and pop a huge tub of popcorn a few times a week that I drizzle with a tad of butter and salt. I dont like plain popcorn, but i can control the oil and salt on my own. A special treat for movie night is kettle corn, just toss 1/4 cup of sugar in with the kernels right before they start to pop. When i need a snack, I scoop a couple cups into a bowl and i’m ready. If i’m looking for sweet & bulk, i mix the popcorn into the almonds and chocolate in #1.
- Fruit. I have a really cool apple peeler and slicer, makes it easy to core and slice an apple fast. I usually leave the peel on if eating it raw, lots of nutrients in the peel, so keep it. I also eat a lot of oranges. Slice and eat, much faster and easier than peeling and segmenting. Grapes are sweet and if you eat them cold or frozen they can stop your craving for something crunchy. They’re also great frozen in a glass of water for a different flavor.
- Pudding Pops. I buy pudding cups, stick Popsicle sticks from the craft store in the top, and freeze. This is way cheaper than buying actual pudding pops, and works well. ($1 for 4 cups – and you can get fat free or sugar free)
- Veggies – celery and peanut butter is a great snack. Celery is easy and fast to clean, also. You can clean a whole bunch of celery in a few minutes and plunk a spoonful of peanut butter on a plate pretty quickly. I also love Sliced hothouse cucumbers and ranch or italian dressing. I usually make my own Olive Garden dressing, or buy Kens Lite Northern Italian dressing.
- Pretzels. Generally these are baked instead of fried, so they’re lower in fat. They do have carbs and calories, so moderation is key. If you’re craving something salty, pretzels are a pretty good choice in the grand scheme of what’s available.
- Cheese and ham. I usually have smoked ham in the fridge. Generally sliced thin from the deli if I can get it. I like to cube cheese and cut squares of deli meat and toss them on a plate. Then wrap the ham around the cheese and nom nom nom. This is higher in fat, so moderation is key.
- Olives and pickles. Dill pickles are one of my favorite foods. I like them cold and crunchy. I also like olives. Sometimes I just throw some pickles and olives in a bowl for a quick snack.
