Low Calorie Snacks
The best snacks are ones that include healthy nutrient dense foods. Unprocessed whole foods make incredible snacks to fuel your body throughout the day and provide the energy you need to perform at optimal levels. There are so many quick and healthy snacks to choose from. You just need to make smart snack choices.
You should never grab another bag of potato chips, box of cookies or candy bars every again. These types of foods are all empty calories and lead to fat gain and out of control insulin levels which make you feel tired and sluggish. Your body needs clean fuel, so give it nutrient dense foods all day long.
Try these ideas to keep your snacking at 100 calories and under:
- 1/2 cup of sugar-free gelatin (any flavor), and two Tablespoons of low-fat Cool Whip.
- 15 chocolate-covered raisins.
- Stir 2 teaspoons of Hershey’s chocolate syrup into a cup of coffee for Café Mocha.
- Tea – Russian style: Stir in 2 teaspoons of strawberry jam.
- 1/4 cup of fat-free Ranch dressing and 1 cup of mixed fresh veggies such as jicama, red bell pepper, celery, carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes.
- 6 saltine crackers and 2 teaspoons of peanut butter.
- 1/2 cup of fat free ice cream.
- A luscious parfait: 1/2 c. of low-fat pudding layered into a parfait glass alternating with two crumbled vanilla wafers and a dollop of Cool Whip gracing the top.
- A wonderfully filling half sandwich made of 1 slice reduced-calorie bread, a thin layer of mustard, 2 teaspoons of apple sauce and 1 slice of deli-style thin-sliced turkey. Add lettuce and viola!
- Try another sandwich idea: 1 slice of reduced-calorie bread, 1/2 Tablespoon of peanut butter and 1 Tablespoon of fat-free raspberry vinaigrette dressing.
- Over a small baked potato, spoon 1/2 cup of salsa and 2 Tablespoons of non-fat sour cream.
- I really like this one: one rice cake thinly spread with fat-free sour cream and sprinkled with 1 Tablespoon of crumbled blue cheese.
- Place a marshmallow on top of a graham cracker and microwave until gooey. Drizzle with a teaspoon of Hershey’s chocolate syrup.
- Cut half an apple into slices and spread with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter.
- 1/2 cup of applesauce and 1 piece of toast cut into four sticks for dunking.
- Freeze 1/2 cup of orange juice and eat with a spoon. Nice little sorbet!
- 2 graham cracker squares each spread with 1 teaspoon of peanut butter.
- An 8 oz. low-fat yogurt or a small container of low-fat pudding.
- 1 slice of reduced calorie bread spread with 1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese mixed with 2 Tablespoons of applesauce and sprinkled with cinnamon. Especially good warmed in the microwave.
- A cup of coffee and small biscotti.
Experiment with flavors and you’ll be amazed with the number of 100 calorie snacks you can come up with. Some are very ordinary but it’s the ordinary things that can make you feel deprived when you think you can’t have them. Although eating healthy and maintaining a sensible limit on calories and fat is important, you don’t have to suffer on a healthy eating plan.
To find out how many calories you should eat per day, read How Many Calories Do I Need, How Many Calories Should I Eat, and Daily Calorie Intake. To see the number of calories in every day food items, visit the Food Calorie Chart.
