Healthy Snacks, Tips, and Tricks...

 Stock Your Kitchen Right

       Grains

• Low-fat, whole-grain crackers
• Rice Cakes
• Whole-wheat pita bread
• Baked tortilla chips

       Vegetables   

• Raw vegetables
• Salads
• Potatoes and sweet potatoes
• Vegetable soups  

         
        Fruits

• Fresh fruit
• Dried fruit

        Heart-Healthy Protein:

• Nuts and nut butter
• Bean dip, such as hummus
• Bean soup
• Bean salad
• Baked tofu
• Canned tuna or salmon
• White chicken or turkey, skinless
  

      Heart-Healthy Dairy:

• Nonfat yogurt 
• Fortified soy milk and skim milk 
• Smoothies made with skim or soy

www.foodandhealth.com


Easy Snack Ideas

"For healthy snack ideas, think out with the bag- that is out with foods that are sold as snacks in all those cute packages and bags."   Here are some quick snack ideas I have collected from various websites;

• Rabbit bag- Put a few raw veggies and fruits together in a zip lock bag.  Use orange wedges and apple slices, raw cauliflower and raw carrots.  The orange gives everything a nice flavor and helps keep the apple slices from turning brown.   www.foodandhealth.com
• Smoothie- Blend skim milk, fruit, and wheat germ!  www.foodandhealth.com
• Cereal parfait- Place non-fat yogurt, fruit, and whole grain cereal in a plastic cup or container to-go! www.foodandhealth.com
• Quookies-    If you are making cookies anyway, try these chocolate chip cookies with quinoa  flour.  They are a great treat to take on the run and each cookie contains 3.5 grams of protein.

                  Quinoa cookies

• 1/2 Cup Whole wheat flour
• 1/2 Cup Quinoa flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I like mini)

Mix dry ingredients. Set aside. Mix wet ingredients, and combine.  Scoop out 1 TBLS size balls and put on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Makes 16 cookies (1 TBL each)
http://www.superhealthykids.com/healthy-kids-recipes/quookies.php

•  Almond Maple Popcorn    www.superhealthykids.com

• 1/3 cup *popcorn Kernels
• 2 TBL Butter
• 1 TBL Maple syrup
• 3 TBL Almond Butter
• Chopped almond pieces (optional)

We pop our popcorn in the microwave with a brown paper lunch bag for 2 minutes.  Then on the stove top, melt remaining ingredients together.  Pour sauce over popcorn.  Top with extra almond Pieces.  This sauce never really set's up. It's kind of a gooey, messy thing to eat, but still delicious!


Make up a bunch of these snacks when you have a moment.  Take a few when you are running out the door to a soccer game, piano lesson, or a meeting :) This way you can stabilize your blood sugar levels, keep your hunger satisfied to prevent overeating, and you can resist any non-nutrient dense foods that might present themselves at a concession stand, a meeting, or any social gatherings. 

 Another tip when shopping for snacks and meal ingredients...try to shop from the outer isles as much as possible.  If you notice, the inner isles contain processed foods such as chips, high-sodium canned-goods, and other high fat foods,  Fresh produce, dairy, and whole wheat products are generally on the outer edges/isles.