Days 9 & 10: Eat healthier snacks
PIN IT!
It’s time for a little bit of down and dirty honesty here friends and fans. I’m not the world’s healthiest snacker. GASP! AH! This future nutritionist and crazed health nut has a serious salt and sweet tooth, and when I’m in need of a snack, the first thing I grab is some candy, a salty bag of chips or chocolate, not a carrot or Kashi bar.
I’m ashamed. I really am. Even though the rest of my meals are very healthy, for some reason, when that mid afternoon hunger hits me and I’m needing something quick, the healthy options just don’t seem to present themselves. So to avoid these diet pitfalls [there are 160 calories and 30 grams of sugar in 5 Laffy Taffy’s!] and eat healthier all around, my mini-lution for days 9 and 10 was to eat healthier snacks.
This bowl is a sneaky little devil!
Luckily, along with the thousands of unhealthy options that are prevalent in my office, there are just as many healthy ones. Along with the jar of candy, my office offers bowls of fruit and Nature Valley granola bars, all of which are high in fiber, calcium, potassium, vitamin C & D and others. Stocking up on foods high in fiber keep you fuller longer, which is important when you are not planning to eat again until dinner.
Avoiding the sugar temptation of the candy bowl was not easy [it sits right by my cubicle!], but I manged to do it. To keep my eye from wandering too far, I kept my desk stocked with Nature Valley bars, almonds and light babybel cheeses, which kept my hunger at bay and my blood sugar at a healthy level.
If you aren’t a fan of almonds or granola bars but want a healthier snack, you are still in luck! Snacks are so versatile and flexible that you can mix and match any combination and still stay under 200 calories. Check out a sneak peek, which is courtesy of Lady’s Home Journal for snack ideas all under 100 calories! Mix it up and create your own perfect, healthy snack for when that 3pm hunger rumbles!
| Category | Food | Serving Size | Calories |
| Bread, Cereal, Pasta, Rice, and Snack Foods | |||
| Breads | Bagel, plain | 1/2 medium (1 oz.) | 75 |
| Bread, white | 1 slice | 80 | |
| Bread, wheat | 1 slice | 80 | |
| Bread, light | 1 slice | 40 | |
| Breadsticks, soft | 1/2 (1 oz.) | 75 | |
| Cornbread | 1/2 piece (1 oz.) | 95 | |
| English muffin | 1/2 medium | 68 | |
| Melba toast | 4 | 80 | |
| Muffin, blueberry | 1/2 (1 oz.) | 80 | |
| Muffin, bran | 1/2 (1 oz.) | 80 | |
| Muffin, corn | 1/2 (1 oz.) | 88 | |
| Popovers | 1/2 (1 oz.) | 65 | |
| Cereals, cooked | Grits, cooked | 1/2 cup | 70 |
| Oatmeal, cooked | 1/2 cup | 75 | |
| Cereals, ready to eat | Granola, low-fat | 1/4 cup | 95 |
| Oat cereal, toasted | 1/2 cup | 55 | |
| Puffed rice | 1 cup | 50 | |
| Raisin Bran | 1/4 cup | 50 | |
| Crackers | Animal crackers, plain | 6 | 85 |
| Animal crackers, iced | 3 | 75 | |
| Graham crackers | 1 sheet | 55 | |
| Matzoh | 1/2 sheet | 55 | |
| Oyster crackers | 23 | 60 | |
| Saltines | 5 | 60 | |
| Snack Foods | Snack cracker, butter | 5 | 80 |
| Popcorn, air popped | 3 cups | 90 | |
| Popcorn, microwave | 1.5 cups | 55 | |
| Popcorn, microwave light | 3 cups | 60 | |
| Popcorn, oil popped | 1 cup | 55 | |
| Popcorn, caramel | 1/2 cup | 75 | |
| Popcorn, cheese | 1 cup | 64 | |
| Potato chips, baked | 5 | 60 | |
| Potato chips, regular | 10 | 75 | |
| Pretzels, twists | 4 large | 55 | |
| Pretzels, twists | 8 small | 55 | |
| Tortilla chips, baked | 10 bite size | 55 | |
| Tortilla chips, regular | 6 rounds | 75 |
For the full list, including fruist, veggies, proteins and milk, click here.
Claire
Tags:better eating, eating healthy, healthy snacks, recipe ideas, snack eating, weight loss
