Low calorie savory snacks?

Cafe Society
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Do you like deviled eggs? If so, here’s how to go about making them low-fat (or, uh, lower-fat):
Boil 1 and a half dozen eggs (you know how to do this, right? If not, I can provide fool-proof instructions).
Let them cool and peel them.
Cut them in half, and throw away half the yolks.
Put the remaining half of the yolks along with the whites of six of the eggs, in a blender or food processor. Add salt, pepper, brown mustard, low-fat or fat-free mayo, maybe a little sour cream (fat free is fine), seasonings of your choice, and there’s your “filling” for the eggs.
Now stuff the eggs with them. Voila! As long as you use fat-free mayo/sour cream, you now have deviled eggs with half the fat of regular.

Also, try low-fat/fat-free micro popcorn with some Seasoned Salt sprinkled on it, or any of the savory popcorn seasonings they sell right in the popcorn aisle.

Be sure that when you up your sodium intake, you up your fluid intake sufficiently to keep you from retaining fluids.

Oh, one more, given to me be a member of this very community (now, I don’t like savory snacks as much as she does; I’m much more partial to sweets): cottage cheese (fat free or low-fat is good for your needs, mixed liberally with whatever savory seasonings you like. Filling, high-protein, fairly low in calories, and healthy, too.

I agree with this, BUT just about all the cheeses I see in the dairy case these days are available in forms made with 2% milk, which would have about half the fat of regular cheese. Oh, and I see commercials all the time for that Laughing Cow cheese. Have you tried that? It seems like a wedge of that, spread on a few savory crackers, with maybe some celery and carrot sticks, would be a good snack or even “light” meal.

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A little bit of cheese is fine. Strong flavored cheeses are best because you can eat less of them for a lot of flavor.

Try the Ploughman’s Lunch - dark bread, very sharp cheddar, and Branston pickle with a small salad.

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I like string cheese, I get the 80 calorie Monterey Jack string cheese from Trader Joe’s. I also like the low fat Laughing Cow cheese wedges (35 calories each). One of my favorite snacks is to smear low fat Garlic Laughing Cow cheese on 2 Wasa crackers. It’s a pretty substantial snack for about 120 calories.

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Yes, I like deviled eggs. The guy does all the cooking. Maybe I’ll suggest over the weekend that he devil us up some eggs to munch on. I’ve never tried Laughing Cow. I kind of avoided it because the logo annoyed me, but maybe I’ll stop being silly and just buy the damn cheese.

Last night, a friend of mine introduced me to Ritz toasted chips, which were pretty delicious and addicting. I’m not sure how low cal or healthy these are, but the box advertised itself as containing some percentage less fat (40%?) than regular chips. Well of course it does. Boxes aren’t very fattening.

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We make it all the time. Fresh salsa for dinner, canned salsa for storage when the tomatoes come in.

Chop up a tomato or few. Get 'em from the garden or the farmer’s market, not the grocery store, if at all possible.

Thoroughly salt & black pepper the tomatoes to pull some juice. Squeeze some lime juice over it, not a lot. Sprinkle on a little white pepper if you’ve got it.

Chop up an onion or so. Mince a bunch of garlic. Mince some jalapeno. Chop a bunch of cilantro (unless you’re one o’ those soap-tasting weirdos). Throw in some other herbs if they sound good.

Mix it all up and let it sit for a half-hour or so, if you can keep yer paws out that long.

Munch.

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Yeah, I’ve had some “low-fat” chips that made me think I’d be happier eating the box!
Having said that, though, the ‘trick’ to chips, pretzels, etc., even if they’re low-fat or fat-free, is portion control! If you sit down in front of the TV or computer with a bag/box of them, chances are, they’ll all be gone before you know it.

So, buy a box of them if you liked them. Figure out how much is a “reasonable” serving for you. Buy a box of those little snack-size zip top bags. Put one serving of chips/crackers/whatever in each bag. Automatic portion control without paying the fortune they over-charge for those “100 calorie” packs!

Also, if you’re looking to lose weight (which seems to be your goal here), make sure you get some protein with your snack. A Laughing Cow cheese wedge; a low-fat string cheese; a deviled egg; a cup of low-fat cottage cheese with savory herbs mixed in. Whatever. An all-carb snack may seem satisfying at the time, but will spike your blood sugar quickly, leading to a quick crash, leading to cravings. Adding a little protein (and yes, even fat) will help satisfy you for much longer.

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Har har! We were sitting around on her couch and watching America’s Next Top Model (because we’re losers), and somehow half the chips in the box managed to evaporate.

Not trying to lose anything. It’s just that all the snacks at home are fruit, and I’m sick of fruit. I like salty stuff, but most of the savory snacks that immediately came to mind for me were all processed, high fat, high calorie, barely even food crap. Although, if someone shaved five pounds off me, I wouldn’t balk.

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One of my favorite snacks is to take (decent quality) cherry or grape tomatoes, slice them in half and put them cut side down on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Bake at about 225F for 2-3 hours, or use a food dehydrator. Drying concentrates the tomato flavor in a really lovely way, and salt enhances it. I can eat an entire pint of these in a day …

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I like to broil or grill zucchini, I also like steamed cauliflower. Baked sweet potato fries are good too. You cut them up like steak fries, light coat of oil, sprinkle with seasonings (I use chili powder and a little salt), bake til tender and lightly browned. Mine never get crispy but they are still tasty.

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I dip mini pretzel sticks in a little bit of peanut butter. The act of dipping extends the time I spend eating, so it feels like more. I also eat roasted salted pumpkin seeds in their shells. The act of putting some in my mouth, sucking on them, and then shelling them extends the eating time.

I am rather fond of opening a can of beans, any sort, putting half in a bowl, adding a little chicken base, bacon crumbles, and cheese shreds, and nuking it. The other half can goes in the fridge for tomorrow’s midnight snack. This is salty, but savory, and the beans are good complex carbs.

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Almonds or soy nuts.

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According to the can next to me, cashews are 90 calories/ounce. And according to dubious AOL health articles, they’re a nut with magical fat burning properties to boot.

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I actually eat the Frosted Mini Wheats as a snack. 12 biscuits, which is a pretty good amount and filling, are only 90 calories, of course, they’re a sweet snack, and you don’t have the sweet tooth like I do.

Of course, the only thing I wish is that they would take the Mini Wheats and cover them in some sort of ranch as an actual snack, then I’d be super happy(Wheat Thins serving size just isn’t enough for me plus it’s higher in calories.)

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I love edamame and can eat as much as you can put in front of me. I buy it frozen and still in the pods, bring some salted water to a rolling boil, empty the desired amount into the water and bring back to a boil. Then wait 3 minutes and drain, toss with kosher salt and suck the little beans out of the pods in front of the tv.

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If you like fruit but are getting bored, try eating it savory. Either flavor it with salt, chili and lime, or mix it up with some onions and curry seasoning. Yum!

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How do you feel about Asian seafoody snacks?
I love seasoned roasted seaweed (teriyaki nori, seasoned with teriyaki flavoring, not just the plain roasted stuff used for wrapping sushi). So umami, so good. 10 calories per serving.
Also spicy dried cuttlefish (the calorie info on the package I ate recently was 15 calories per serving, 4 servings per package) and I have been addicted lately to the ridiculously named but amazing-tasting Headless Ching Chang Anchovy With Sesame. These are very crispy-crunchy and coated in a sort of teriyaki-ish sweet-soy glaze with sesame seeds. I’m not sure how many calories these have, but I don’t think it’s many, and they must be high in calcium. the only problem with them is that my boyfriend keeps coming in when I’m eating them and saying, “The ocean called, they’re running out of fish.”

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A couple of things I can think of: One, you can buy Mini Wheats that aren’t frosted, put them in a zip-top baggie with just a sprinkle of ranch dressing mix, shake it up good, and there you go. Or you could check the nutrition info on Triscuits, which are much closer, food-wise, to Mini Wheats than Wheat Thins are. Triscuits are also much higher in fiber than Wheat Thins, which would make a calorically-similar serving much more filling.

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peppercini’s.

Much better are rye crackers. Good whole grain and not like a processed saltine. Good for ya. Plus they are a bit tough to get through so you don’t accidently eat a huge amount while pre occupied. I get the big wheels at Ikea.

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Has anyone tried dried peas? I buy them in bulk at the co-op; they come in 8-oz containers. Here’s some nutrition information. I think they’re delicious — crunchy, salty and full of pea~y nutty goodness.

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I recently discovered bacon wrapped dates. Get pitted dates, wrap 'em in bacon, broil until bacon is done. They are oddly delicious. The dates are a bit sweet, but not sugary-sweet and well, bacon makes everything good.