Friday, January 4, 2013

Better Snacks . . . .

So I have to be honest . . . . . my eating habits over the holidays were not stellar.  I may have eaten more than my fair share of chocolate.  I may have eaten Christmas cookies for breakfast . . . . more than once.  I may have knocked back quite a few cocktails.  Fruit?  I can’t recall having any.  Vegetables?  Yes, there were some, but the chocolate far outweighed the healthy stuff.

So now that the holidays are over and the New Year is here, I’m getting my eating habits back on track.  (It’s not a resolution though - I’m saving that topic for anther post.) I’m keeping our fruit bowl well stocked.  I’m cooking an extra serving of vegetables with every dinner.  And at the grocery store this week, I took a look again for some better snacking choices.  I found these!!

snacks
The Somersaults are for when I’m craving something salty and crunchy.  They are crispy little disks made primarily of seeds.  (They are nut free - but if you are gluten free, please note that they do contain wheat.)  For the Pacific Sea Salt flavor, one serving of 14 pieces has only 14 carbs and 150 calories.  Perhaps more importantly, they are all natural, a good source of protein, fiber and vitamin E, and are lower in fat than other healthy nuts like almonds.  I love them and am happy to reach for them instead of chips.

How about when a sweet craving hits?  Well, I found these plush puffs marshmallows.  I won’t lie, they are expensive (the price at my local store is higher than what’s on the website).  But they really do the trick when I want something sweet.  (And on the up-side, Pete doesn’t like them so they last longer!  ;) )  These marshmallows are gluten free, low in fat, and free of high fructose corn syrup.  A serving of 5 of the chocolate marshmallows has only 80 calories and 18 carbs, but I find I’m happy to eat just two at a time.

I’ll admit, I’ll probably never be the healthiest eater around.  But to me, the important thing is making small changes toward healthier foods, and the Somersaults and plush puffs are definitely healthier than regular chips and chocolate.  And in my book, that’s a step in the right direction.

Do you have any healthy snack recommendations that I could add to my snack cabinet?

14 comments:

  1. I love seeweed snacks from trader joes and nuts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Stacy, I'm gonna have to hit up Trader Joe's soon!! Happy New Year!

      Delete
  2. I'm always look for low-(but preferably no)carb snacks. I usually munch on almonds or cheese, but someone recommended pickles and olives as snacks so I've added them to my options.

    Nothing hits the spot like chocolate though!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Atkins Brand snack bars taste like candy bars to me:
    Caramel Nut Chew Bar - 17g
    Peanut Butter Fudge Crisp Bar - 14g
    Peanut Caramel Cluster Bar - 13g

    ReplyDelete
  4. Somersaults are a big problem--I could eat them forever and they are so high in calories. Also: did you know they come in a chocolate flavor?

    I agree with you that they are delicious, but I am never buying them again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't know they come in chocolate!! Yum. I do like them because they are only 1 carb per nugget - easy carb counting FTW. And I'm okay with a 1 serving 150 calorie snack per day . . . . . but yeah, if I ate the whole bag that would be a problem. :)

      Delete
  5. I like the Mary's Gone Crackers.... uhm.. crackers.
    They have regular ones but also gluten free ones that I buy from costco for way cheaper than store prices.
    They're super crunchy and great with just about anything (I like them with hummus)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ella loves Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend. ~ 2 tbsp of it = 12 carbs and I let her dip apples in it for a yummy night-time snack. Lots of fat & some protein to slow down the hit of the apple :) - we also love So Delicious Chocolate Coconut Milk. 9 Carbs for 6.5 fl oz - I have no clue how they make it taste so yummy. Delicious cold or warmed up for lazy hot chocolate. I also make a lot of baked goods using almond flour & coconut sugar so my girls think they're having a treat when really they're having a pretty healthy little snack. I have a couple of recipes posted on my blog if you ever want to get your bake on.

    ReplyDelete
  7. These snacks look dee-lish!! Thank you for recommending them! Coming from a person who considers herself not the greatest eater (but not the worst compared to some!) I wish I had some uber-cool snack ideas to share, sadly, mine are boring...either a handful of almonds or walnuts, organic dried mixed berry fruit snack (Archer's Farms, the Target brand, those snack bags have only have 6g carbs per single serve bag!) I'll keep my eyes peeled for cool, healthy snacks and get back to you!:)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for sharing, Karen. For what it's worth I'm struggling with my eating too. What else is new? But these snacks (and those left in the comments) look good!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm hungry:). Haha! Sugar free jello..2 small boxes with 1 (15oz can) of fruit mixed in. Like orange jello with mandarin oranges or lime jello with diced pears. Usually I eyeball about 10 carbs worth of the fruit for my d-kid's serving..and a swirl of canned whipped cream makes it fancy for only about a carb more. The whole family enjoys this.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love me some kale chips! Just toss kale in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and bake in the oven. Super tasty, and you're getting a serving of vegetables in too!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment!