Favorite Healthy Snacks

[paiger81]

Hey everybody!
Just wanted to see what y'all snack on during the day, so I can maybe try some out in the coming weeks!!

My current faves include:
Apple slices w/ Reduced Fat Peanut Butter
Apple Cinnamon Rice Cakes
Snap Peas w/hummus

[pisces2473]

Celery and hummus!
Almonds and dried fruit
Cheese and fruit (or veggies)

[biodork]

I dont know if this should really count but I like those 100 calorie snacks packs :p

Most fruits I love, and veggies mainly celery and baby carrots. I need to eat something with the celery like a little peanut butter or something because I get sick of it really quick.

Oh and those one serving applesauce things. I love those! That reminds me i need to pick some up!

[pisces2473]

Elyse, try hummus on celery. :D

[paiger81]

I completely think the 100 cal packs are healthy :bigger: It's better than eating 4-5 regular OREOS, you know? THough I do miss the creamy center :cry:

[biodork]

I do love hummus! Usually I have some wheat pita with it. But the celery is a good idea!

Yeah I figure I need something sweet, and the snack packs are a very good alternative!

[Kitty]

I try not to snack, so if I do it is usually really healthy:

Baby carrots
Sugar-free fudgsicles
Sugar-free jello cups
Blueberries
Pears
Popcorn (I pop it myself and spray on this fake butter stuff that tastes pretty good)

[paiger81]

You really should try to snack, it helps to keep your metabolism up throughout the day, so you have energy.

I have a snack between breakfast & lunch, and between lunch & dinner. Usually my snacks are 100 calories or lower.

[coll214]

I generally go for:

Granola bars
Baby carrots
Dried fruit
those 100-calorie snack packs (as i'm eating one now :) )
Mandarin oranges in those little snack packs
Strawberries, grapes, watermelon mixed together for a fruit cup

[Kitty]

You really should try to snack, it helps to keep your metabolism up throughout the day, so you have energy.

I have a snack between breakfast & lunch, and between lunch & dinner. Usually my snacks are 100 calories or lower.

I usually break up my lunch into portions and eat it throughout the day. I do the same thing with my dinner.

A lot of times for lunch I bring a sandwhich, carrots, fruit, turkey jerky and possibly some other little item. I eat the sandwhich at noon, but kind of spread out the rest of the stuff.

[paiger81]

Cool.

For me it seems like all I'm doing is snacking. The pill my doc gave me for my vitamin deficiency makes me not hungry. Then whenever I AM hungry, I start to eat, but get full very quickly. It seems somewhat pointless to make a meal that I'm not going to eat.

[biodork]

If I have time, I like cooking some fresh artichoke or just eating asparagus from the can with red wine vinegar. Yum!

[Tayl405]

What a great thread!

These are my usuals:

--all natural, no sugar added applesauce
--lowfat granola bars
--carrots and salsa or hummus
--nonfat yogurt
--fruit
--nonfat pudding (sometimes with light whipped cream)
--Smartpop popcorn with a little parm. cheese

This is one of my favorites and can be eaten as a snack or meal:

Whole grain english muffin with marinara sauce, nonfat mozz. cheese, a slice of tomato, basil, and pepper, broiled for a few minutes.

[biodork]

--all natural, no sugar added applesauce


Is that just from apples, or does have a sugar substitute? I can't have anything that's "sugar-free" with sugar substitutes, it makes me sick.

[Tayl405]

It shouldn't have sugar substitutes. Unless they're lying! :) It's Motts.

[Kitty]

Cool.

For me it seems like all I'm doing is snacking. The pill my doc gave me for my vitamin deficiency makes me not hungry. Then whenever I AM hungry, I start to eat, but get full very quickly. It seems somewhat pointless to make a meal that I'm not going to eat.

I'm kind of the same way. I get full super fast. Sometimes I eat like 4 bites of something and I'm full. Sometimes its annoying..especially if you go out to eat.

[paiger81]

My dad made a HUGE batch of fried fish this weekend, I had 3 pieces, and 5-6 french fries. I think I hurt his feelings.

We also went out to a Mexican food place. That worked for me cause I could order a la cart. I had 1 cheese enchillada.

My problem is that my family are big eaters, they already told me this weekend that they thought I was overdoing the whole workout thing.

[Kitty]

I think I've posted about this before, but I know whatcha mean.

My family eats a lot too! My dad used to give me shit for being overweight, and then when I got thin he gave me shit for not eating all the food he made. Very annoying.

[paiger81]

We apparently have the same dad :lol:

The other point of concern is that 3 of my cousins(all sisters) are recovering anorexics. So, they see me getting skinny, and the way some of them talk, it seems like they WANT me to be anorexic too. It's probably why I'm so careful about NOT overdoing it. My weight loss has been relatively slow and steady.

[Kitty]

I think in general people don't think that eating disorders are that damaging or harmful unless the person is a stick with a rib cage that protrudes 10 miles.

[pisces2473]

The other point of concern is that 3 of my cousins(all sisters) are recovering anorexics.
What went on in THEIR house???

[paiger81]

IMO? My aunt is a VERY controlling woman. Even when it was noticeable that my cousins had this problem, my aunt would always say "I think they look good".

[ugarachel82]

Favorite snacks include:

1) Apple slices with peanut butter (Gala apples are yummiest with this)
2) Nonfat yogurt (Dannon light and fit seems to have the best flavor, I think)
3) Honey Maid Graham Crackers (Depending on my mood, honey flavor or chocolate when I need a chocolate fix without the saturated fat)
4) Anything with Hummus (celery works, cucumbers, baby carrots, tortillas, pita, or plain rice cakes work with this too)

[Kitty]

Another good snack is low-sugar instant oatmeal from quaker. I think one pack only has 130 calories or something. You can also add some raisins or fruit to spice it up.

[ugarachel82]

I forgot to mention that dried apricots are really good, if you're into that sort of thing!

[paiger81]

I've been trying to find a good, healthy trail mix. Everything I find has like 250 calories in 2 TBSP's!!! WTF?

[pisces2473]

I make my own....

[ugarachel82]

I've been trying to find a good, healthy trail mix. Everything I find has like 250 calories in 2 TBSP's!!! WTF?

I so know what you mean! I think its because the nature of trail mix is nuts, which, while very healthy, are still very caloric. Making your own is probably the best way to go.

[cornflakegirl]

i snack a lot. i can't make it to meals w/o eating in between. i bring lots of food with me to work. in snacks, i look for something that is going to fill me up & that is, for the most part, healthy. i usually bring the following:

bananas, apples or toast with almond butter or pb
smoothies - juice, flax oil, banana & frozen berries or soymilk, flax oil, banana, pb & honey
fresh fruit or veggie juice (i just cleaned the cobwebs off my juicer)
carrots & hummus
soy yogurt with granola & fruit
tamari roasted almonds
dried fruit (but only a little, otherwise i'll spend the evening shitting)
blue chips & salsa
pretzels

[mishl982]

Ok favorite snacks (hard to think when I'm scarfing down junk food before the fitness challenge starts)

- oranges
- bananas
- carrot sticks or cucumbers in ranch
- string cheese
- grapes

I'm definitely going to look into some of the things you all put down :)

[wordsmith]

Popcorn is my favorite snack ever. Popped on the stove, though, not microwave.

I also love baby carrots, and most raw veggies. But fruit and sweet snacks don't do it for me.

[Kitty]

I would caution against trail mix unless it is done in serious moderation - or you make it yourself and can skew the ingredients (more dried fruits and less nuts). Eating nuts can be healthy, but in moderation. Trail mix is usually yummy, and its easy to eat more than one serving. I read you should really only eat a couple oz. of nuts at a time (few times a week).

[winneythepooh7]

These are all really great ideas.

I've been bringing small snacks to work and skipping lunch then making some kind of healthy/healthier dinner.

I bring with me:
Fresh fruit
granola bars (got the huge 35-pack at BJ's)
those little boxes of raisins, apricots, and dried cranberries (also available in bulk from BJ's)
String cheese
Bagel with peanut butter and jelly for breakfast

[bostongirl]

Aside from all the other things already mentioned, I've always like to mix plain no (or low) fat yogurt with wheat germ. Sounds wierd, I know, but I've liked it since I was a kid and wheat germ is REALLY good for you :)

-Margaret

[mishl982]

Ooh another favorite for me is making my own chex mix. I can limit what I put in it and the only really unhealthy part is the butter.

[pisces2473]

I would caution against trail mix unless it is done in serious moderation - or you make it yourself and can skew the ingredients (more dried fruits and less nuts). Eating nuts can be healthy, but in moderation. Trail mix is usually yummy, and its easy to eat more than one serving. I read you should really only eat a couple oz. of nuts at a time (few times a week).
See, in my case, I have to watch the sugars, so I need more nuts, less fruit. I get the roasted, unsalted nuts. It's all what YOU need.

Winney, I get those little boxes of dried fruit too! And I pair them with some cheese sticks for protein.

[biodork]

I brought celery sticks and hummus with me to work today. Go me! hehe

[Kitty]

See, in my case, I have to watch the sugars, so I need more nuts, less fruit. I get the roasted, unsalted nuts. It's all what YOU need.

Winney, I get those little boxes of dried fruit too! And I pair them with some cheese sticks for protein.

Personal diet does matter, but I don't think its healthy for anyone to eat large amounts of nuts - that's all i'm trying to say. Especially since most of us on here are trying to lose/maintain weight.

I totally am an advocate for finding a diet that works for you, though!

[pisces2473]

I totally agree, too many nuts aren't good. I don't eat cups and cups of nuts and like one dried apricot, lol. I try to have a good balance.

[Kitty]

I read some article recently that talked about snacks that people usually associate with being healthy - but infact are not.

I'm trying to find it...

(trail mix wasn't one of them, but it had some interesting information in the article..)

[paiger81]

I know you can have up to 1 oz of nuts a day, but it depends on the nut. Like 30 pistachios has the same nutrients as 15 almonds, and both are considered 1 oz.

[Kitty]

I know you can have up to 1 oz of nuts a day, but it depends on the nut. Like 30 pistachios has the same nutrients as 15 almonds, and both are considered 1 oz.

Yeah, I think I read somewhere that no more than 3 oz. a day a couple days a week. I guess that equals about 1 oz. a day.

One ounce is pretty small though.

I absolutely love almonds.

[pisces2473]

I read some article recently that talked about snacks that people usually associate with being healthy - but infact are not.

I'm trying to find it...

(trail mix wasn't one of them, but it had some interesting information in the article..)
Oh yeah, I've read something like that...

[Kitty]

Do you remember if you read it on MSN?

I remember pretzels and rice cakes being on the list. They had a lot of good info for why those are really bad..but I can't remember it off the top of my head.

I think they also had fat-free cookies on the list.

[mishl982]

Ooh I read something like that too! It might have been MSN or ivillage. I'll try and find it too

[paiger81]

I think it may also depend on yourself. I've read that rice cakes are bad, but my nutritionist put them on my diet cause they help to stabilize blood sugars(have a family history of diabetes, so we are trying to be proactive)

[mishl982]

Snacking: Are You Eating the 10 Worst Snack Foods? (http://diet.ivillage.com/issues/isnacks/0,,n2hp,00.html)

The list includes crackers, pretzels and fat-free cookies.

[pisces2473]

I think it may also depend on yourself. I've read that rice cakes are bad, but my nutritionist put them on my diet cause they help to stabilize blood sugars(have a family history of diabetes, so we are trying to be proactive)
Yeah, that's why I need more nuts than dried fruit in trail mix.

[Kitty]

I eat rice cakes, fat-free cookies, and pretzels. lol.

I think rice cakes are a healthy alternative to bread- like if you eat them with cottage cheese or put some turkey on them or something. If you eat peanut butter, rice cakes taste really good with peanut butter.

[Tayl405]

Mmm...I never thought about putting turkey on my rice cakes! I keep a bag of them in my desk drawer for when I crave something sweet. That's a good idea!

[pisces2473]

Yeah I never thought about using rice cakes like that either...you could use a cool flavor (not a sweet one) for things like turkey!

[Kitty]

That's exactly what I do! I like the white chedder ones with cottage cheese and avacado on them. It may sound weird, but its so yummy.

[pisces2473]

Yeah Kitty! Good call!!!

[Kitty]

Am I the only one that does that? I love eating cream cheese w/ avacado slices or cottage cheese w/ avacado slices.

[pisces2473]

I'm not into avocados, but I like cream/cottage cheeses.

This morning I had plain yogurt with canteloupe in it. I hadn't had plain yogurt in awhile and had forgotten how sour it is. Hehe.

[cornflakegirl]

i just started liking nuts a couple years ago. i do eat a fair amount. nuts, avocados & oils are the ways i get my fats, since i don't eat any animal products.

[pink bunny]

Almonds are great to keep you metablism going.

[ugarachel82]

I'm in a cheese phase right now!

My snacking includes a lot of mozerella string cheese and Kraft singles (2% milk) slices. The ones with skim milk are just gross.


I'm also eating a lot of yogurt. Yoplait makes good stuff...I like their whips line right now, but I'm sure I'll be on something new next week.

Can't say I'm not getting enough calcium. No broken/brittle bones for me later in life!