Everyone is always telling you snack on grapes instead of cupcakes; it’ll sate your sweet tooth, and won’t set you back 500 calories. Fruit substituions are a great idea, except I don’t have a sweet tooth. Ladies I know tell me how lucky I am not to be damned to an eternity of chocolate cravings, and that it’s easy to stay trim when you don’t have to fight the temptation of cake or ice cream. I suppose this may help, but I would eat the shit out of a plate of bacon if you put it in front of me, and I purposely do not keep chips in my house because they would be my undoing.
Any suggestions for savory snacking besides cheese? Because I’m way ahead of you when it comes to cheese.
Pretzels are quite low in fat, and only a little over 100 calories/oz. You can get flavored ones which are only a few points more.
I would eat baked Doritos in preference to the “regular” ones because I think they taste better and are less likely to lacerate your gums.
“Light” microwave popcorn’s quite good. Very high in fiber. If you’re really serious, get an air-popper. Spray the popped corn with “buttery spray” and sprinkle it with Cajun seasoning. Yum!
I actually don’t eat popcorn at all because I get annoyed at how it gets stuck in my teeth. I will, however, be more than glad to help myself to some baked Doritos. Dill pickles are key, and hard boiled eggs are extra key. Boil, salt, pepper, consume.
These are all good ideas. Sometimes I’m sitting around and want to eat, but am not hungry enough for a full on meal, and the only snacks I have are oranges and grapes. Then when I’m at the grocery store, I say to myself, “Self, you need snacks at home, but you probably should stay away from the mini corndogs.” I asked the guy last night for some suggestions, and he said cheese. I said, “I eat cheese all the time. I mean something else.” Then he said, “I don’t know. A burrito?” Yeesh…
I recently discovered hummus. Especially garlic hummus. With whole-wheat pita bread or veggies, it’s good and good for you! It’s very satisfying, IMO.
It’s fairly easy to make or you can buy it at the store. The container I have on my desk at the moment is 400 calories if you ate the entire 8 oz. I can eat up some hummus, but not that much.
Baba ganoush is basically the same thing but made with eggplant instead of chickpeas. I haven’t had a chance to make it yet, but I hope to give it a try soon.
I’m looking for yummy, healthy, easy snacks to improve my diet at work. I need to eat less, more often. This thread looks like it may help!
Roasted veggie chips: sweet potatoes, zucchini, carrots, parsnips, peppers, squash. Slice thin, mist with olive oil or cooking spray if you like, sprinkle with salt or your favorite seasoning, bake till crisp. If you want particulars, they’re all over the Internet. You can roast garbanzo beans too; haven’t done this yet, but I’m dying to try it.
Chop up a head of cauliflower and toss it with spices of your choice. I like curry powder and garlic. You don’t need oil; it’ll stick just fine on its own. Roast the cauliflower chunks at about 400°F for about 30 minutes, or until it’s tender and a little blackened.
Cut up carrots or zucchini into sticks and dip them in fat-free salsa.
I also hear there’s this thing called Bacon Salt that’s quite popular . . .
You used to be able to buy hull-less popcorn (I lived on it during the orthodontia years). Dunno if it’s still available, or available in low-fat/healthy versions . . .
Baby carrots go well with a chunk of cheddar, and get some healthy crunch in with the savory treat. Also celery with a reduced-fat blue cheese dip. You can make your own by stirring some blue cheese crumbles into plain nonfat yogurt.
Celery sticks
Zucchini sticks
V8 juice
Those little rice cake miniatures, which come in flavors like cheese or ranch
Judicious amounts of dry-roasted almonds or other nuts (like a small handful)
Cherry tomatoes
Raita (plain yogurt into which you have stirred shredded carrots, cumin, salt, and garlic) - yum!
Little cooked shrimps from the fish counter dressed with a scant drizzle of cocktail sauce
Pop-top mini cans of tuna in spring water
Hummus, of course! I like zucchini, but by the time I’m done working my magic (that is, deep frying) it is far from low cal. It’s funny that V8 was brought up, because I don’t usually go in for this type of thing. Every time someone recommends a Blood Mary to me in the morning, I ask if I can get the garnish only. But the V8 fusion is tasty. Blue cheese crumbles, like bacon, embeggin most things. Rosenborg blue cheese is key.
Which brings me to edamame. I was at some random chain bar & grill --RockBottom, I think-- and one of the appetizers was edamame. You can’t charge people to eat edamame. That’s like charging for bread.
Is there some kind of salsa that’s not fat-free? Because as far as I know, salsa is chopped-up veggies.
I forgot edamame! A friend who spent years in Taiwan introduced me to this recently. I like the frozen kind that’s already boiled & salted. Just thaw and refrigerate, eat 'em up yum. (It’s free bar food in Taiwan, along with the wasabi peas and peanuts(?) with little fish in them.)
I’m gonna have to try some yogurt dips. I like veggies, but only with dip. I’ve tried making dips with silken tofu to cut down the fat & cals, but it just turns grainy and weird. I’m not a big yogurt fan, but I do like tzadziki, so maybe I’d like other yogurt dips.
I would also suggest olives, and this is coming from a guy who used to pick those horrible things off pizzas. The supermarkets here (Britain) do little tubs of pitted olives with feta, or chilli, or just in a little oil. No more than 200 calories, for a very satisfying snack. The downside is that they can be a little high in salt. They also have canned varieties with delicious stuffings such as lemon and garlic, but they are very high in sodium so I try to resist them. When I use canned or jarred olives at home I try to rinse off as much salt as possible.
Yeah, I dunno. I just started Weight Watchers, and all of their stuff specifies fat-free salsa. Maybe some kinds are made with oil or something. Fortunately not my favorite (Newman’s Own; I blenderize it for easier dipping with carrot and zucchini sticks).
Baked tortilla chips with salsa.
Rice cracker snack mixes. I get the kind with wasabi because although I enjoy it lots, I can’t eat it continuously for that long.
Hormel has a turkey pepperoni that is wonderful eaten straight from the package or nuked for about 45 seconds til it’s crispy. I think 17 pieces is about 70 calories and not high in fat.
But… but… it’s so delicious, and high in calcium! Won’t someone think of bone health?
So anyone try making their own salsa?
Yeah, I’ve never tried making my own, but I watched my friend do it recently, and she pretty much just chopped up a bunch of veggies, squeezed some lime over it, and served.
Nori seaweed, if you like it (not everybody does, or is OK with the idea of eating seaweed). Very low in calories, so it’s OK if you eat the whole package of it.
