Since I"m trying to get back on track and will be going to the grocery store Thursday, I thought I would ask you gals what you buy to snack on.

what do you eat when you get a craving for sweet stuff, or salty,etc?
I've done a few of the 100 calorie packs before. Any other suggestions?

I think I need all the help I can get, and snacking always was my biggest hurdle.

Low fat yogurt with a little Kashi cereal sprinkled on for crunch is good

I also love all sorts of fruits or sliced raw veggies dipped in a plain yogurt dip.

For a sweet crunchy treat I eat low fat popcorn sprinkled with cinnamon and Splenda and a spray of butter flavored oil.

The Kashi and Fiber One bars are excellent snack choices as well.

I try to stick with things that are nutritious and have fiber.

As far as fruit goes, is there a certain amount you have to limit to? I know fruit has lots of sugar. I know it's natural sugar, but I was never sure on that. I loooove fruit. Strawberries, bananas, apples, raspberries, etc etc. Are there certain ones that are better for you than others?

Heather
There are a few things I have for snacks. Depending on what I have for the day can depend on which snack I choose. I love green olives lol. I have those for snacks 4 or 5 are only 2 grams of fat. Weight watchers fudge bars are wonderful and only 1 gram of fat. I eat a banana everyday, doc says every woman should have one unless a medical problems stops them.

-a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese on a Ak Mak cracker (or Ryvita or other whole grain flatbread/cracker)

-An apple with 1 tblsp peanut butter

-low fat popcorn

I love apples and fiber one bars as snacks. I don't really limit myself on fruits that much... I don't overdo it on fruits or anything, but I've always rationalized it by saying that fruit is going to be a better choice than crackers or most other snacky foods. Sure it has sugars, but it also has plenty of healthy nutrients & fiber to fill you up.

Oh but I do limit the number of dried fruits I eat. They don't fill you up very much, so you can end up eating way more calories than if you just had the regular fruit.

When I have that salty craving, I will turn to the 100 calorie popcorn bags...they satisfy the itch without too much damage. Sweets - well, I've really learned to use fruit as my daily way to satisfy my sweet tooth craving. When I have that chocolate urge, I'll have some fat free jello pudidng, a fudgsicle, etc...and I do regularly treat myself to the individually sized Dove dark chocolates. One has only 40 calories, and it hits the chocolate craving.

My new favorite fruit snack is frozen grapes!!!

Since I'm trying to cut back on sweet I've been trying these things:

- String Cheese (Light)
- Peanutbutter on Celery or 1 slice whole grain bread
- Almonds 1/2 oz
- Sugar free popsicles
- Lattes (Non-fat w/ less then tablespoon of syrup)
- Frozen Cherries
- Kashi Bars (The glycemic balanced kind)

If I am feeling snack-ish as I call it... I will eat anything without a corn product in it.

1. Allergy
2. Corn is just really bad for you if you are trying to lose weight.

Try some soda crackers and fruit...
A slice of cheese and apple sliced up.
Frozen grapes are good... Crunch with sweet!

Oh and try drinking a glass of water and letting it sit for 10 min first. You won't want or need as much to snack on.

I snack on trail mix from Walmart, for a big bag its $5 and it has cashews, m&m's, peanuts, almonds, and raisins. I love all of that stuff so it works for me.

Also, I stick to strawberries with Cool Whip Free or Apples with PB

I love baking some high protien, high fiber muffins to snack on during the day.

Obviously fresh fruits and veggies are a good idea!

Trail mix and granola bars are good idea too... just watch out for the calorie content. I like to make my own granola bars so that I can add extra protien and fiber into them.

Popcorn. There's tons of stuff that you can add ontop of it depending on what kind of mood you're in. If you want something sweet, then you could have kettle corn. You can add cheese powder, or, bbq flavoring onto it if you're wanting something that tastes like chips.

If you don't want to spend the money to buy 100 cal packs, you can always make your own! Just measure out 100 calories of any snack, and put them in ziploc bags. I like to put the ziploc bags back in the original container afterwards, that way I still have all of the nutrition information.

Fruit, Fiber One Bars, Yogurt, 60 calorie puddings or fudge pops.

There are lots of corn products that can fit into a healthy plan...popcorn is actually a whole grain! I use the 100-cal popcorn bags, as well as small yellow corn tortillas...I also use small amounts of corn in soups or on salads. There is nothing about corn that makes it a "bad" food for weight loss or any other time, IMO, unless you are trying to keep carbs at very low levels.

My favorite snacks:

Fine wafer crackers (40cal for 6) and a laughing cow wedge
Protein shake made from a powdered mix with almond milk
100 cal popcorn bags
a 50 cal wholewheat/lowcarb tortilla with a tablespoon of peanut butter
Cut up veggies with dip (my favorites - ff sour cream with chili powder, cumin, salt, and cayenne, or homemade yogurt/cucumber/garlic dip)
Cucumber slices spread with a laughing cow wedge and topped with folded turkey breast slices.

I'm big on apples or reduced fat string cheese for snacks. They both fill me up and seem like "real" foods.

I don't worry at all about getting too much fruit. I'm working under the "nobody ever got fat eating too many apples" theory.

I'd love to have the Fibre One bars for snacks but find that I can only eat them in groups of six. They call to me from the pantry.