Diet Saving Foods!!! For the Hungrys and the Munchys!!!
 

Ah the 2 Big Diet Obstacles: Munchys :devil: and Hungrys :devil: !

I thought that it might help to put up a big list of foods that really save your diets! My main problem- and everyone elses ;) - is 1) The Snacking Urge and 2) The Hungerr!!

So if everyone can add to a big list of what things really help them, I'm sure we can all learn something.




POPCORN:

My little miracle worker is popcorn- 94% fat free. It's low in sodium and only 240 calories per bag which is a HUGE BAG! I force myself to never pick up more than 1 piece of popcorn at a time. Munchys come in 2 types: salty and sweet- and guess what! Popcorn does too!! YAY! The lightly salted one keeps me drinking water which makes me more full and I still get the crunch. BEST of all, it actually fills me up! So IF I've been eating popcorn, by the time dinner rolls around, I always end up eating a MUCH smaller dinner, sometimes half my dinner or less which leaves room for the 2nd half later or dessert! Popcorn is my little miracle food! It's saved me soooo many unhealthy munchies and calories!

For the munchy people, a bag lasts for Hours and is crunchy and is either salty or sweet depending on which ones you get and you don't have to kick yourself over calories even if you've been eating it all day long!

For the hungry people, it's very filling! A whole bag of popcorn will definitely take the edge off hunger at the Least! For me, it total fills me up and if I'm craving food more than a snack, I'll put some basil and garlic powder on it and voila- it's like a meal!

ALMONDS:

High in calorie (7 calories each) but eat 10 and all of a sudden you're not hungry for hours. A little miracle nut. Peanuts and cashews etc are not as good- lower protein, higher fat, etc.

SUGAR FREE FRUIT POPS:

15 calories a pop! If you haven't left enough calories in your day for dessert, you definitely have enough room for this! Also since they're cold, you eat them much slower!

WARM WATER FROM THE TAP:

Sounds weird I know but if you're getting hungry and your next meal is a long ways off, chugging a glass of warm water makes you feel like you've just eaten! Sometimes I do this after dinner if I still feel hungry.

SUGAR FREE JELLO CUPS:

Lots of flavors, 10 calories a cup! If I'm really feeling munchy for something sweet, I'll have 3 or 4 of these! It only adds up to 30 or 40 calories and you can eat a few different flavors!

ZERO CALORIE CHOCOLATE SAUCE + CARAMEL SAUCE

WOW a lifesaver! No more chocolate cravings! I agree with the idea that you have to indulge once in a while (sunday is my day for 1 indulgence) or you'll never stick to a diet for long. Well every single indulgence ended up being chocolate until I found these! They're not Perfect but it sure takes the edge off! The chocolate is thick and you can put it in cottage cheese or dip strawberries (50 calories per cup) into it or drizzle it over raspberries (65 calories per cup). The caramel is perfect for apple slices or even to mix with the chocolate!

Yay for Zero Calorie deliciousness!

Hope this helps everyone!

till ur there, where in the grocery store can sugar free jello cups be found? I looked around and could not find them but I'd love to get some! Also, where can you find zero calorie chocolate sauce? Your ideas are great!! :)

If I'm hungry a big lettuce salad with Walden Farms calorie-free dressing can fill me up with very few calories.

I recently found sugar-free strawberry glaze at the grocery store, it's something like 10 calories per 3 tablespoons, and it tastes like the real thing!! I can have 2 cups of sliced strawberries with this topping and it's like strawberry pie.

Tuna, fat free hot dogs, laughing cow cheese.

My hungries are brought on by protein cravings usually.

I cut up cauliflower and eat it with 2 tbsps of fat free ranch dressing. I believe that's like a 200 calorie snack and it's VERY filling :)

I like hot air popped popcorn, laughing cow wedges or baby carrots. If I crave sweet the sugar free jello is good. I also like mini bagels with ff cream cheese.

string cheese, tuna, canned salmon or chicken, a protein bar if it is all I have. Like Prinny, my hunger is usually triggered by a protein urge, too. If I ignore it or go carby I regret it later. :)

ETA - ooo, I just remembered chocolate dipped cinnamon altoids. They are low cal and satisfy the chocolate crave for me, leave a nice cinnamon taste afterward.

Boiled eggs.....the whites are 17 calories so you can eat a ton and it is low calorie!
Soy Nuts---lots of protein and less fat than other nuts.

All great Idea's! Here are some things I do. A rice cake is only 35 calories and I spread laughing cow cheese on it which is another 35 calories. 70 Calories total. I also dip mini carrots in hummus. The hummus is about 70 calories for 3 tablespoons.

Originally Posted by Kim K:
till ur there, where in the grocery store can sugar free jello cups be found? I looked around and could not find them but I'd love to get some! Also, where can you find zero calorie chocolate sauce? Your ideas are great!! :)

You should be able to find them in the refrigerated section near the pudding and cheese. That's where it is in my supermarket at least. I get them in 12 packs and they just came out with new flavors!! =)

Originally Posted by Kim K:
till ur there, where in the grocery store can sugar free jello cups be found? I looked around and could not find them but I'd love to get some! Also, where can you find zero calorie chocolate sauce? Your ideas are great!! :)

Oh sorry- I forgot about the chocolate sauce. I just came across it in my supermarket in a weird place so I don't know really where you'd find it. In my supermarket I found it right above the berry section near the rest of their zero calorie products. If you really can't find it, you can always try getting it online but I know that's a pain. Might be worth it though. =)

Great suggestions, all! I'm going to add a bunch of them to my grocery shopping list!!

till ur there, thank you! I didn't think to look in the refrigerated section for the jello! As for the chocolate sauce, I now know where to start looking! :)

For the chocolate sauce look near the pharmacy section, sounds strange I know, but I find that type of stuff near the diabetic foods, which are over by the pharmacy section.

Cebsme, great idea!! Thanks!!! :)

popcorn has saved me more times than I can remember :)

Originally Posted by kelly315:
popcorn has saved me more times than I can remember :)

Ditto that!!

I'm also a protein-craver when it comes to munchies & hungries! I'll often grab a hard boiled egg or some string cheese or a small dish of cottage cheese with salsa (I know it sounds odd -- it was a pregnancy craving I still enjoy 3+ years laters!).

Originally Posted by Kim K:
till ur there, thank you! I didn't think to look in the refrigerated section for the jello! As for the chocolate sauce, I now know where to start looking! :)

No problem! Good luck! It's a Life saver!!! =)

Roll up iceburg or other lettuce into little cigar shaped tubes and dip them into salsa. They're crunchy and it's kinda like eating salsa and chips minus the calories! Salsa only has 5 calories per tablespoon so you can double dip all you like and probably eat a Hundred if you really wanted to and still only have 150 calories! No one wants to eat a hundred though. =) Also you know they say spicy foods speed up the metabolism and it'll keep you drinking water which will make you feel full!

Popcorn is definitely there for me! Almonds are another big thing too.

- Laughing cow wedges and wheat thins
- Flatout wraps (or mini pitas), pizza sauce & fat-free mozzarella
- Apple nutrigrain bar with 1/2 cup fat free vanilla ice cream (apple pie!)
- Luna & Kashi bars
- FiberOne bars
- Veggies & dip
- Yogurt
- Jello & fat free pudding!

I love my sugar free stuff~jello & pudding I have found 5 calorie jello at walmart. and the pudding vanilla is 60 calories and chocolate is 70 calories.
Other things Are:
Yogurt~Danon(60 calories)
Rice crispie treats(90 calories)
Tyson ~crispy chicken strips~100 calories for a huge strip!Add that with some salad mixture and you have a great little extra meal.
100 calorie packs of cookies or snacks (cost a little bit more but are prepacked but are great calorie savers and great when your having the munchies.

I buy all the above stuff at My local walmart shopping center.

The key is to look for sugar free or items that have the calories marked On the front of the pack where you can plainy see they are low in calories and find your mix of stuff that will help when you have food cravings.

Kale chips. I just made about three cups and then INHALED them, and oh my goodness it was satisfying. They are not filling, really, but when you want to mindlessly snack on something crispy and salty and not have to worry much about quantity? Amazing. I figure my indulgence was only 184 calories, which mostly came from the olive oil. Plus you really don't have to feel guilty because olive oil is a pretty healthy oil and kale is awesome for you. These sound and look weird but they are easy and delicious.

my latest munchy snack of choice, Roasted Seaweed.

one big sheet is 10 calories, 0 fat, 0 sodium, 1g Carb (ALL FIBER!), 1g protein, 8% A, 4% C, 2% Iron

[QUOTE=WormwoodDoll;2774073]

- Flatout wraps (or mini pitas), pizza sauce & fat-free mozzarella

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Mmmm, guess what I just ate!!! I sliced up some grape tomatoes to put on top - DELICIOUS!! Thanks for the idea!

Originally Posted by Caro:
Kale chips. I just made about three cups and then INHALED them, and oh my goodness it was satisfying. They are not filling, really, but when you want to mindlessly snack on something crispy and salty and not have to worry much about quantity? Amazing. I figure my indulgence was only 184 calories, which mostly came from the olive oil. Plus you really don't have to feel guilty because olive oil is a pretty healthy oil and kale is awesome for you. These sound and look weird but they are easy and delicious.

What are kale chips, do you have the recipe?

I googled "kale chips recipes" and so many came up I'm not sure which one I want to try lol!

popcorn,veggie soup,sf jello & pudding.Mini pita w/cheese&Tomato sauce.Salsa &15 chips,pickles

As has been pointed out, you can just google kale chips. What I did was preheat the oven to 350, rip up a bunch of kale in big chip sized pieces, then toss it with equal parts olive oil and vinegar (I used white wine vinegar but you could probably experiment). I added a shake of sea salt, made sure everything was oily, then tossed it onto a couple of baking sheets (with wax paper on them) sothat it was pretty much a single layer rather than a pile. I put them in the oven. After about ten minutes they were crispyand I took them out, let them cool a bit, then popped then in a bowl and DEVOURED them.

Rita's Sugar Free Water Ice - 4 of the flavors are only 20 calories for a regular size ice (root beer, pink lemonade, cherry, tangerine).

Cold Stone Creamery - I just discovered their sinless ice cream options. The Like It size of sinless sweet cream is only 140 calories. They also have a Sinless Cake Batter ice cream that is only 190 calories for Like It size. I get a kids size Sinless Sweet Cream which is about half the size of the Like It and its only about 70 calories and is a nice sweet treat.

My other indulgences are a little Dixie cup full of mini-marshmallows (100 calories), string cheese sticks, a 100 calorie pack of almonds, or a 150 calorie Dark Chocolate and Nut granola bar.

Originally Posted by prinny:
my latest munchy snack of choice, Roasted Seaweed.

one big sheet is 10 calories, 0 fat, 0 sodium, 1g Carb (ALL FIBER!), 1g protein, 8% A, 4% C, 2% Iron

Where do you get it? I love seaweed that I get in Japanese soups.

i loooove laughing cow cheese wedges with triscuits with a little red onion...also which has recently helped me with chocolate cravings is dark chocolate plum sweets by sunmaid...their DELICIOUS! when a fitness trainer told me about them i was like eww it sounds icky but she made me try it and omg. its mini plums surrounded in dark chocolate. you cant even taste the plum in it, just the chocolate! and its chocked full of antioxidants! try it you wont be disappointed :)

Originally Posted by nikkibabyyyyxo:
i loooove laughing cow cheese wedges with triscuits with a little red onion...also which has recently helped me with chocolate cravings is dark chocolate plum sweets by sunmaid...their DELICIOUS! when a fitness trainer told me about them i was like eww it sounds icky but she made me try it and omg. its mini plums surrounded in dark chocolate. you cant even taste the plum in it, just the chocolate! and its chocked full of antioxidants! try it you wont be disappointed :)

Where do you find these plum sweets? I looked at Kroger's last night and could not find them. This sounds like something I would really like, since I am addicted to chocolate! :) Thanks!