Monday, January 24, 2011

adventures in 200-calorie snack land

I thought I knew what hunger was after running 12 miles. But good grief, growing a baby is much worse. If I don't eat every two hours, it's like the hunger monster is eating me alive. And I CANNOT FUNCTION.

Last week we went to sign the lease on our new apartment, meaning I wouldn't get to eat dinner until 7 p.m. Unacceptable to the ravenous baby. So we had to go get some of these:
This baby is going to come out Mexican. Luckily I've resisted my incessant need for tacos because they are 170 calories of pure garbage. (Plus, I stopped eating Taco Bell in college when someone on the news found a cockroach in their meat). Though I can tell you writing about them and posting this picture did nothing for my self control nor my ban of Taco Bell.

However, I have found healthy solutions that might give this little babe a chance.

Diced peaches in cups

No cholesterol or fat, barely any sodium and 80 calories. Plus counts as a fruit. Downside: every single time I pull the plastic wrapper off, it squirts juice on my keyboard and can be blamed for my stubborn space bar. The IT department LOVES me.

Dark chocolate almond milk
Lots of calcium (more than regular milk), Vitamin E and B12. Only 120 calories and 3 grams of fat. Totally thick enough to count as a snack.

Whole Fruit sorbet

Better than ice cream (except basically no calcium). No fat or cholesterol and basically no other nutritional value. Lesser of two evils though. Even better if you add chocolate chips, further degrading its nutritional contribution.

Hummus


Usually I eat this with carrots or Melba Toast. It's got a little protein and makes my blood sugar return to human levels.

I also have found apples, yogurt, half a peanut butter sandwich, applesauce, spinach salad, a poached egg and cereal hold me over til meal time. I can't wait until fruit is actually in season.

Ravenous baby or not, what are your in-between-meals snacks? Seriously, I need ideas.

9 comments:

  1. I am the queen of healthy snacks!

    I love a healthy version of the following:

    1) Waldorf Chicken Salad and crackers or cucumber slices

    2) Celery, PB, and raisins

    3) Cottage cheese

    4) Kashi bars

    5) Luna bars

    6) Chips and salsa

    7) Hard boiled eggs

    8) Skinny Cow ice cream novelties (yum!)

    9) Whole grain english muffin (just half), pizza sauce, cheese, veggies... bake! Healthy mini pizza :)

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  2. I'm usually not the one to ask for healthy snacks since I'm a confirmed chocoholic. However, I am also diabetic so I have a few snacks that I love that give that healthy blood sugar boost :)

    Apple slices and cheese.

    Pepperjack and a sweet apple like a Fiji or Gala is yummy.

    Chedder or colby-jack with a tart apple like a Granny Smith is a good contrast.

    Also, apples can be paired with peanut butter.

    If you like Asian food, the salad wraps at most places are relatively healthy...provided you don't drown the thing in sauce.

    Congrats on the mini-me :)

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  3. Yumm that sorbet looks really good!!! Honestly, I really don't snack much. I am lucky if I eat 2 meals in a day, and hardly ever snack. I know thats bad for my metabolism! When I do snack, I like apples with cheese (I'm allergic to nuts). I also really like bananas and strawberries.

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  4. I tend to eat a lot of pretzels dipped in peanut butter or Graham cracker peanut butter sandwiches.

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  5. I love eating yogurt with some gronola sprinkled on top. :) Air popped popcorn is also another good option.

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  6. Oh, and I get my daughter those fruit cups for her lunch sometimes. You can get them packed in water instead of juice to reduce the sugar content.

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  7. I love tacos!
    I am trying to be a healtheri snacker also. Try yogurt covered raisins/peanuts, pretzels with mustard, cheese and crackers, apple sauce cups, crasins, granola bars, baby carrots or other veggies with some ranch dip.

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  8. half an avocado with a little salt and pepper on its own or on toast is so. damn. good.

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  9. Greek yogurt and veggies!

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