Snack variety?

[Catrin]

I am tweaking my diet to include less processed foods - not that I actually eat much of those anyway and I am trying to expand my snack options

Typically my snacks are something like yogurt and fruit, cottage cheese and fruit, peanut butter + small banana, half of an energy bar and nuts and raisins.

I need a mix of carbs and protein and I need about 200 calories per snack. As I work harder though, I tend to resist eating snacks (which is backwards, but there you are). If I can get more creative and stay within my budget it might be easier to force myself to eat. I am falling back into my old patterns and my body needs more fuel than that.

So do you get creative at snack time? Anything different than what I mentioned above?

[Becky]

I buy raw almonds in bulk at a warehouse club. For some reason, I don't have the urge to eat the entire bag when they're unroasted and unsalted.

Fresh fruit and yogurt often show up at snack time. Veggies are another option, but they don't appear as often as they should!

I'm interested to see what others suggest.

[Irulan]

Greek yoghurt
Hard boiled egg
Apple or other fruit w/ low fat cheese slices and some turkey slices (this is the most satisfying)

[indysteel]

Hummus with any number of veggies (my favorite is red pepper) or on a half a whole wheat pita.

It doesn't really need to be "snack" food to constitute a snack either. Make a quinoa salad of some sort using your favorite veggies and then eat a small amount of it for a snack, reserving the rest of it for lunch and dinner.

[Crankin]

I seem to be able to control myself with the TJs mix of nuts, dried fruit, and chocolate. I also eat a slice of Ezekial bread with hummus, or an apple with soy nut butter. Sometimes I am just craving carbs, so the Ezekial bread works.

[Catrin]

I love roasted salted nuts of any variety, but I need to learn to eat the blander raw versions

I like the idea of making salads and so forth to bring as a snack - that would certainly mix it up. I do enjoy quinoa and also balela (a middle-eastern bean salad). fruit, low-fat cheese, and turkey would be excellent for those days when I start by being tortured...errrr attend group training class at 6am.

I also need to get back to making my own hummus from scratch - it is easy and that way I know what is in it. Thanks for all the good ideas to help jump-start my brain. My diet is so strict that I tend to fall into a dietary rut - but it doesn't have to be that way

Crankin - I have that same craving, especially in hot weather. Salt and carbs, and sadly Trader Joe's has this wonderful multi-grain baked tortilla chip that fills that need quite nicely. I need to stop that!

[Owlie]

I just toast almonds in the oven, but not at this time of year! Almonds are "sweet" nuts to me, so they don't need salt.

I like pita chips and/or veggies (bell pepper (my favorite is yellow), raw broccoli, daikon or red radish, slightly steamed carrots) and hummus. Fruit? Cheese? Bacon? (I'm only half-kidding; one of my favorite snacks is microwaveable bacon (Wellshire, I think), and some fruit--cherries or melon in summer, apple if not.)

[PamNY]

It doesn't really need to be "snack" food to constitute a snack either. Make a quinoa salad of some sort using your favorite veggies and then eat a small amount of it for a snack, reserving the rest of it for lunch and dinner.

This works well for me. I'm going to make a squash casserole which will end up being mostly my snack.

[indysteel]

This works well for me. I'm going to make a squash casserole which will end up being mostly my snack.

Yum. Would you mind sharing the recipe?

[Catrin]

The squash casserole sounds yummy, if you wouldn't mind sharing or posting a link to the recipe it would be appreciated.

Thanks to all for jump starting my brain, I have better ideas now. I just get caught in these dietary ruts which I suppose is easier for a single person to do. Combine that with the heat and it is easy to fall back into my old habits of not eating enough.

I've a Cuisinart food processor that I've not really learned how to use, I need to change that and start experimenting

[Susan]

I cooked a big pot of soup last weekend (just regular bone broth), put it in the fridge and heated a cup of it every day for a small afternoon snack. It's cheap, quick and healthy, I think I will cook another pot tomorrow

[ClockworkOrange]

This works well for me. I'm going to make a squash casserole which will end up being mostly my snack.

Yes, another one in the queue for the recipe for your yummy sounding casserole.

[Melalvai]

I like:
pecans & dried apricots
olives (the good kind--pricey!) and smoked cheese. Or tomato juice. Homemade bread is a great companion too, but of course that has more carbs.
Frog eyes (spread cream cheese on deli ham, wrap it around a pickle, slice it. Of course each ingredient is processed, but other than the ham it's all good.)

Higher carb but complex carbs, and homemade so less processed. These do require more effort. I salt everything liberally.

Homemade chips-- corn tortillas cut into quarters and deep fried. Excellent with an avocado cut up then sprinkled with lime juice and salt.

Bread sticks (a bread machine helps. Use some wheat flour to corn flour to offset the white flour.)

Cheese crackers (from the More with Less cookbook).

[Crankin]

I eat the ham slices wrapped around cream cheese, too, but without the pickle, for breakfast or snacks. Sometimes I chop up walnuts and put them inside. I buy Boar's Head low salt ham, which has no preservatives.