Burning The Scale

Healthy Snacking.

by tericosenz on March 10th, 2008

As I have to wipe the Cheeto dust off my fingers to type this post, I realize that this does not really fit my post title of Healthy Snacking. LOL. In all honesty, my 16 year old was just putting away a bag of Cheetos when two dropped on the counter and somehow (mysteriously) they made their way to my hand and mouth - darn, they are good!!! So, it is not as bad as you think.

I did just come back from the grocery store, though, and as healthy snacks were on my mind, I picked up a lot of great looking treats. Tasting them might be tougher though, as I am so picky. And I hate reduced fat or calorie anything - blah - but I feel like I am doing so good with the exercise and making more sensible food choices all around (minus the Cheetos), that I need to give this a real go of it.

First off, I picked up a bunch of fruits and veggies. Apples, oranges, grapes, carrots, celery, and green peppers. I am not that big of a fruit person, but I am going to try and at least incorporate one piece of fruit into my day, along with my morning glass of orange juice. The vegetables are great - I love them raw. But the hardest part is washing them and chopping them all up. But I am going do that all at once and just store them in the fridge.

For snacky snacks, I invested (they are quite expensive) in some of those 100 calorie snack size packs. Nabisco is pretty smart, as the 100 Calorie Packs are the perfect portion and size that I should use for snacking. If only my belly tells me I am full after just one pack, I’ll be good to go. So, I picked up the Lorna Doone Cookie Crisps - this is one that I am afraid to try, Mini Cinnamon Teddy Grahams - which I am sure to love as I think they are just a bit smaller than the regular version, Cheese Nips - worried about these in the crispy chip version, and I also could not pass up the Oreo and Chips Ahoy packs either.

Lastly, I picked up a bag of unpopped popcorn. I am a HUGE popcorn person, movie theatre popcorn, bagged popcorn, microwave popcorn - you name it, I love it. But the healthiest version is just plain old popcorn. So I picked up a bag and need to have hubby go deep down into the basement and dig out my hot air popcorn popper that has not seen the light of day in years. I did look at some special popcorn salt and flavorings, but I am really going to try to just add a dash of salt to a bowl and see how I like it. Well, I know I will like it. It is just a matter of adjusting my taste to a more bland version of my favorite snack food.

I wish I had enough willpower to cut out snacking all together, as I know the pounds would come off much quicker. But who am I kidding, or most of us for that matter. We all get the munchies and should be able to satisfy our cravings, as long as we do it wisely, right?

I would love to get more healthy snack ideas, so if you have one (or more!) to share, please do so in the comments.

photos via stock.xchng.com

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POSTED IN: Calories, Eating Habits, Nutrition, Teri