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Hungry & Dieting? 10 Filling, Healthy Snacks for You & the Kids

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Spring Into New Eating Habits

Did you know that you can lose weight by eating more often? Studies show that frequent snacking between meals can actually boost metabolism and ward off hunger, preventing binge eating and encouraging weight loss attempts. Among others, famous fitness expert Jorge Cruise suggests eating every 3 hours. Try these 10 delicious snacks that actually fill you up instead of leaving you wanting more. Tired of giving your kids "goldfish" crackers? Try these instead.

Great Ideas for You & the Kids

It's that time of year again - glimmers of spring, birds chirping in the morning and snow patches disappearing. Thoughts of swimsuits dancing in our heads creates, for many of us, a panic to get back in shape!

Most diets work, if you work them. But for busy moms or full-time working folks, it's especially hard to stick to something like South Beach (one of my favorites) because there is too much preparation involved and we just don't have the time. Additionally, when your kids are eating mac-n-cheese and goldfish crackers - it's easy to slide down that slippery slope to high carbs and big fats.

So how do you stick to your good-eating lifestyle when all the convenience foods are packed with additives and stuff that packs on the pounds? Simple. Keep the right things in the house and the wrong things out. Try these, for starters.
  1. String cheese, 2 whole-grain crackers + 1 can V8 juice
    Make sure your read the ingredient labels on your crackers. Many brands are getting away with putting 'whole grain' on the packaging even if only a small percentage of the item is. Newsflash: anything enriched is not truly whole-grain and has added carbohydrates (the kind you don't want). 2 brands I like: Wasa, Ak-Mak.
  2. Hard-boiled or Stuffed Deviled Eggs.
    Who doesn't love deviled eggs? And if you make the right recipe, it will really fill you up and not be overloaded with fats or sugars. For my favorite recipe: see this article: 2 Sought-After Recipes Timely for Easter
  3. Tuna Salad in Lettuce Rolls
    I make a big bowl of this (like 6 packages tuna or more) in the beginning of the week so it's all ready for snacking. If you don't like tuna, you can do it with chicken. My husband and kids eat out of it too. Here's what I do: use the tuna in OIL rather than water. Has a lot more flavor, and you can use a lot less mayo because the tuna is flavored already and moist from the oil. It's packaged in the envelopes now with sunflower oil, which is good for you, and you don't have to drain it. Add finely chopped celery (so the kids will eat it), a little mayo and just a little black pepper. Sometimes I add a tiny minced garlic or shallot too. Spread on whole-wheat crackers, or roll up in a large leaf of lettuce.
  4. Celery Sticks & Peanut Butter
    Of course you can make these at home, with natural peanut butter. But even those ready-paks in the produce section with regular peanut butter is a decent snack; and while there's more sugar, you are getting good veggie fiber and protein at the same time; thus feeling satisfied.
  5. Activia Yogurt - Regular
    I recommend the blueberry yogurt, high in antioxidants. Be careful of sugar-free or fat-free products. There is Splenda in a lot of them, and that's not natural sugar. Marketers claim it to be derived from natural sugars, and maybe it is. But remember what happened with aspartame? When it first came out, it was the wonder sweetener - also having claimed to be "derived" from sugar. Now it's speculated to be linked to toxicity and even cancers. I'm not willing to allow my kids to ingest it. I say back to basics.
  6. Ham stuffed with Whipped Cream Cheese & ½ cup Applesauce
    Preferably the meat should be additive (nitrate) free. Also get the unsweetened applesauce - Mott's makes a great selection of them in different flavors, individually packed that are "no added sugar". This is a good combo for kids because the applesauce offsets the potential for too much protein and cheese "plugging them up" if you will.
  7. Vegetables with Hummus
    Hummus is a great snack because it satisfies our dipping desires. It's nice and hearty, too. You can make your own very easily, but store-bought hummus is just fine and comes in variety of flavors. I like Tribe and Cedar Farms brands best, I find Athenos to be on the dry side and not as flavorful. As for what to dip in it, the vegetable possibilities are endless. For the kids to get a starchy snack, you can always find whole-wheat pita for them to dip. Great fiber combo.
  8. California Sushi Rolls
    A common misconception: "sushi = raw fish". While the crabmeat in typical store-bought sushi rolls is imitation and has some additives, it is COOKED & the snack as a whole is pretty healthy and filling. You are still better off with this delicious treat instead of a snickers bar! A little bit of every food group and even the fat part is healthy (avocado). Some stores now even carry sushi made with brown rice (a better choice).
  9. Nuts & Seeds
    Peanuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, macadamias, almonds, walnuts, pretty much anything. While some are higher in fats, they are better fats - and all are high in protein.
  10. Turkey Rolls with Salsa & Cheese
    Just a few slices of deli turkey rolled up with some pico de gallo or chunky salsa and mozzarella or reduced-fat cheese again is filling, tasty, low-fat and balanced. You can add a sliver of avocado for some creamyness, too. mmmm

GET RID OF YOUR CONVENIENCE SNACKS

For the most part, convenience snacks = unhealthy. Get in new habits of keeping these things in the house, all the time. And if you're eating them - feed them to the kids! The change will take some getting used to - but if nothing else is available and they're truly hungry - they'll eat it too, and enjoy it. Soon they'll be asking for it!

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by

claudiacat

35+ year old WAHM of two beautiful boys, wife of a devoted dad & a cool, musically-inclined French guy, daughter of a late jazz musician & museum cura... more »

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