Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Healthy Snacks Around 100 Calories or Less

Stop spending money on those 100 calorie packs and start making your own healthy snacks!

Buy some snack bags and portion out snacks like fruit, veggies, nuts, dried fruit and whole grain crackers ahead of time.


Plan ahead by keeping a variety of nutritious, ready-to-eat snacks on hand at home, at work or whenever you need something when hunger strikes. When you're prepared, you won't have to buy snacks from vending machines, convenience stores or fast food restaurants.

Snacks can contribute to a healthy diet! Choose a variety of nutrient dense snacks in small portions. Make sure to make snacking a conscious activity though. You can overeat easily while watching TV, surfing the net or doing other activities!

Healthy snack suggestions:

Fruits and vegetables provide a feeling of fullness with little to no fat and very few calories. They provide important vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients.

Nuts and seeds provide protein, so you'll feel fuller longer. They can be high in fat, but the fat is mostly monounsaturated. Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) while increasing HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). Nuts and seeds are high in calories, so watch your portions!

Whole-grains are rich in B vitamins, iron, magnesium, selenium and dietary fiber. Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel: the bran, germ, and endosperm. Look for products made with whole wheat flour, brown rice, wild rice, whole oats, whole rye, whole grain cornmeal, buckwheat, bulgur, graham flour, triticale, sorghum, amaranth, millet, quinoa,

Low-fat dairy products are good sources of calcium and protein. They are also rich in many other vitamins and minerals. Dairy products can be high in fat, so choose low-fat products.

Protein rich snacks like beans, soy and hard-boiled eggs will fill you up and keep you energized.

*I will update the snacks often! I'm just starting with a few snacks today.


Vegetables:


1 cup chopped raw broccoli - 31 calories

20 baby carrots (about five calories per baby carrot) - 100 calories

1 large stalk of celery (11"-12" long) - 10 calories

½ cup steamed edamame in shell – 95 calories, 8 g protein, 4 g fat, 4 g fiber

1 cup crisp snap peas - 45 calories

One can Low Sodium V-8 100% Vegetable Juice - 30 calories, 1 g protein, 80 mg sodium

Fruit:


1 small banana (6" to 6-7/8" long) - 90 calories

1 medium banana (7" to 7-7/8" long) - 105 calories

1 cup blueberries - 84 calories

1/2 medium cantaloupe - 100 calories

1 cup raw sweet cherries - 97 calories

1 cup raw sour cherries - 78 calories

1 cup grapes - 104 calories

1/2 medium pink or red grapefruit (3-3/4" dia) - 52 calories

1/2 medium white grapefruit (3-3/4" dia) - 40 calories

2 medium kiwi fruit without skin - 92 calories

1 cup mango chunks - 107 calories

1 small orange - 70 calories

50 raisins - 78 calories

1 cup raspberries - 64 calories

2 cups strawberries - 100 calories

1 cup watermelon - 46 calories

Earth Kidz Organic Applesauce Cups - 50 calories

Nuts (raw and unsalted):



25 pistachios (4 calories each) - 100 calories

8 walnut halves (14 calories per walnut half) - 112 calories

10 cashew nuts (9 calories each) - 90 calories

15 almonds (7 calories each) - 105 calories

16 dry, roasted peanuts without salt (6 calories each) - 96 calories

Crunchy Whole Grain Snacks:



6 Reduced-Fat Triscuits – 98 calories, 2 g fat, 3 g fiber

3 cups air-popped popcorn (no oil) - 93 calories

13 Guiltless Gourmet Spicy Black Bean Tortilla Chips with 2 Tbsp. Salsa - 88 calories, 1.3 g fat

1 Wasa Hearty Rye Crispbread - 45 calories, 1 g protein, 2 g fiber, 0 grams fat

Low Fat Dairy:



1 stick mozzarella String Cheese - 80 calories

1 stick Frigo® Light String Cheese - 60 calories

4 oz low fat cottage cheese - 90 calories

1 cup nonfat milk - 80-90 calories depending on brand

1 cup Fage Total 0% Greek Yogurt - 120 calories, 20 g protein, 0 g fat

Protein-rich snacks:


1 large hard-boiled egg- 78 calories, 6 g protein, 5 g fat, 212 mg. cholesterol

1 large hard-boiled egg-white - 16 calories, 3.6 g protein, 0 g fat, 0 mg, cholesterol

1 Tbsp. MaraNatha® Organic Almond Butter - 95 calories, 3.5 g protein, 8 g fat

1 Tbsp. SunButter® Natural Sunflower Butter - 100 calories, 3.5 g protein, 8 g fat

Now you can mix everything up! Put some almond butter on whole grain crackers or make your own trail mix with raisins and nuts!


*Used the USDA National Nutrient Database

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The ultimate in 100 calorie packs. Great treats!

Country Mouse, City Mouse said...

Hi, I am your newest follower through the Follow Me Club!

Stacie said...

Hi from MBC!!

Great blog

Stacie said...

Had to stop back by.

Thanks for the kind compliment on my daughter. =)
We think she is pretty darn beautiful too.

Helene said...

Wow, you are a wealth of nutrition information!!! You listed some pretty good ideas...thank you for sharing that! I love hard-boiled eggs, yet I always forget that they are such an awesome, healthy snack!!

Thank you for stopping by my blog!

Unknown said...

This is really great. I have always had a hard time preparing anything let alone something that is good for me. Now I do believe I got a good start just by reading your page. Thanks

AudreyO said...

I love your ideas. I'm a fruit lover. I like cooked veggies, but I'm not fond of raw veggies. I also love cheese.

Anonymous said...

These are great and I love making my own! Check out this site that lets you build your own 100 calorie recipes, pretty cool. www.100caloriebags.com