I need suggestions for savoury snack foods that don’t involve sticks of carrot. I need snacks, but rather than having a sweet tooth, I have a salt tooth. I can take or leave chocolate (in fact, I believe I still have some leftover easter chocolate in the cupboard), but if you were to put an open bag of pretzels in front of me, they’d be gone in five minutes. Honest to god, I’d be happy with a salt lick.
Obviously, this is no good. I’d rather not replace the salt with sugar and/or fat. But I’m rather at a loss as to what I could eat. Help?
I there with you. Salty snacks are the bane of my existence, I can’t resist them.
I second the celery and nut butter, that one works really well for me. I also recommend pre made salads (as opposed to chopping vegetables every time you get hungry). I just got done making a cucumber/red onion/youghurt salad that will last me a few days. I also have coleslaw, and another favorite is a greek slaw with cabbage, tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese. All healthy and low carb.
I’m addicted to chips and salsa as a snack, but chips are so bad for you, between the grease, the salt, and the carbs. Any suggestions for a good crunchy dippable food for salsa? I’m hoping someone has a better option than celery or carrot sticks.
I’m addicted to good ol’ roasted salted peanuts–but they have to be the ones from The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg (I get 'em at one of my local yuppie-hell supermarkets).
I’m also going to try the “Crab House Nuts” from the Blue Crab Bay Co., but haven’t gotten around to ordering them yet. (Peanuts plus crab seasoning–how could it not be great?)
Melt that Easter milk chocolate in the microwave and drizzle it over popcorn for a salty and sweet snack.
Seriously though when I saw the thread title I thought of the Chex Mix snack:
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup pretzels
1 cup garlic-flavor bite-size bagel chips or regular-size bagel chips, broken into 1-inch pieces
3 cups Corn Chex® cereal
3 cups Rice Chex® cereal
3 cups Wheat Chex® cereal
6 tablespoons margarine or butter*
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Heat oven to 250. Melt margarine in large roasting pan in oven. Stir in seasonings. Gradually stir in remaining ingredients until evenly coated. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container. 12 cups snack.
*Do not use spread or tub products
Microwave Directions: Melt margarine in large microwavable bowl uncovered on High. Stir in seasonings. Gradually stir in remaining ingredients until evenly coated. Microwave uncovered on High 5 to 6 minutes, thoroughly stirring every 2 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.
Important: Because microwaves cook differently, time is approximate.
1 serving(1/2 cup): 130 calories(70 calories from fat); 8 g fat(1.5g saturated); 0 mg cholesterol; 340 mg sodium; 14 g carbohydrate(1 g fiber); 2g protein.
Here’s another savory snack recipe that goes over well for movie or game nights:
8 c Popped popcorn
2 c Chedder cheese fish crackers
2 c Whole almonds
2 c Thin pretzel sticks
1/3 c Margarine or butter, melted
1/4 c Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/2 tsp Garlic salt
1/4 tsp Onion powder
Heat oven to 325. Mix popcorn, crackers, almonds and
pretzels in a large bowl. Mix remaining ingredients.
Pour over popcorn mix. Toss to evenly coat. Spread in
ungreased 13x9" pan. Bake 15 minutes; stir. Bake 15
minutes longer. Remove from oven; cool. Store in
airtight container. Makes 12 cups snack.
Have you tried spiced pecans?
Oh my, I hear ya, Francesca. I can take or leave sweets, and usually leave 'em, but don’t ever get between me and a bowl of pretzels, olives, anything crunchy and salty. If you haven’t made it before, Abby’s Chex mix really is great. If you don’t have Chex cereals there, most unsweetened breakfast cereals will work as long as they have a little decent crunch to 'em.
Here’s my all time favorite, fairly guiltless savory dip thing: a much lower fat version of hummus. I love it with pita chips and garlic bagel chips but it actually makes cuke slices, celery sticks, etc. almost tasty. Don’t be put off by the length of ingredients. It tosses together in about 5 min. (The recipe is Martha Rose Shulman’s, btw, who has some great cookbooks out; Provencal Light is wonderful.) HUMMUS, Low(er) fat
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 can (@10 oz.) chick peas/garbanzos, rinsed and drained
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 to 1 tsp. kosher salt, or more to taste
2 Tbsp. good olive oil
3-4 Tbsp. low fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or juice of l large lemon
2-4 Tbsp. tahini
Spin garlic cloves in food processor until finely chopped; scrape down bowl. Toss in chick peas, cumin and salt; spin until finely chopped. Scrape down bowl again. Mix together the lemon juice, olive oil and yogurt. With motor running on processor, pour the liquid slowly through the feed tube. Scrape down sides a bit, then add the tahini. Spin a few seconds until everything is creamy and smooth. Store, covered, in fridge until serving.
(The garlic taste does intensify a bit w/ aging but mine never lasts that long. It makes about 2 cups. Be sure to store it refrigerated because of the yogurt, though.)
be sure to use fresh lemons, as they make all the difference. I’ve been known to add a dusting of cayenne, which isn’t remotely traditional but damned tasty. When in doubt, just swipe up globs on your finger.
A cheap snack is popcorn. But instead of the ordinary plain salt and butter, buy some of those seasoning packets, like for tacos, or fajitas, or any spicy blend. Use in place of plain salt. Butter may or may not be used as well.
When I melt the butter for popcorn I often swirl in a few jolts of hot sauce, and toss this mix with the popcorn.
I have no idea about relative carbs but sliced jimaca is wonderful. I love it sliced with just a spritz of fresh lime juice (lemon will work), then a dusting of good chili powder and kosher salt. It’s crunchy, delicious and altogether satisfying.
Do check out the carbs though, if you’re limiting them. I read about baking shredded cheese to make crunchable scoops, but talk about grease bombs.
Rice cakes with Marmite, Fran, are nirvana.
Not alone is this snack filling and salty, but full to the brim of all those lovely Vitamin B complex wotsits
If you are an anti-Marmiteer, I may have to consider never speaking to you again!!
(Nah, only joking!)
Other ideas
Ryvita with picallili sounds odd, but I think it’s very nice, especially if you get the Ryvita with all the seeds in it.
A jar of pickled onions and gherkins and cauliflower is pretty good too and has the added advantage of being zippo points on WW.
Not too good on kissing points, though.
If you like beetroot, and don’t mind your kitchen looking like you’ve just hosted the Reading Chainsaw Massacre, you could cook up a big pan of them, skin them, let them go cold and eat them. They are very nice with sour cream and smoked mackerel and capers. Or you could just do what I do and slice them up an eat them on their own. Most delicious.
Small cubes of tofu, salted and spiced, fried in olive oil. Leave them on a cloth, or tissue paper to drain most of the oil. Make lots of them. They’re very good hot *or * cold.
asparagus rolled in ham.
gherkins rolled in salami
artichoke hearts with a dip of yoghurt, olive oil and spices.
thick yoghurt with grated cucumber, salt, garlic, tiny bit of chili pepper and cumin. [that’s Raita in Indian, Tsaisiki [sp?] in Greece]
Have you ever tried edamame? As I understand it, they frequently serve edamame in bars in Japan as a snack. You can buy edamame parboiled in the freezer section of the grocery store, and then just boil them in lightly salted water for a few minutes. Since it’s soybeans, it’s a very nutritious snack (and much tastier than that sounds.) It’s good served either hot or cold.
