Thank you all so much. You have given me several ideas that I can tell my group and some great food choices.
I have two pieces of Dove dark chocolate every day for 84 calories. Like Yoyoma, I'm not willing to give them up. I do think it is about choices and if you can do just one snack that isn't really nutritious and not have that trigger more empty calories then I say fine. But, we know that isn't the case for most people.
I'll pay the expense for a small portion of something, just so I don't have any more around. But that means an actual *single* serving. If it's a bag full of single serving packs, there's no point, at least for me.
I'm with Julie. I love those little Oreo 100-calorie packs, but I don't need 6. Not necessarily because I will chow down the rest of them, but because I just am looking for one little treat. I'm not going to buy a box and throw out 5. That's just ridiculous. Being in marketing, I know that they will never make them available in single servings. Their target audience is people who will buy 6.
For 100 calories, I eat:
air popped popcorn
steamed veggies
roasted brussel sprouts (man, I love Fall!)
sauteed mushrooms (yeah, I'm weird.)
plain yogurt with a some berries tossed in
I've never used any snack packs because they never appealed to me. 100 calories can give me a small but filling snack.
1) Almost any piece/serving of fruit is 100 calories or less
2) Carrots, celery, bell pepper strips or other dippable veggies with a couple tablespoons of hummus
3) A piece of whole grain bread with a little hummus on top
4) 1/2 cup plain unsweetened yogurt (I use soy) with frozen berries on top
I don't like them. They are still loaded with things I don't need, which make me want more of it. I think if I was desperate for cookies or needed just a few crackers for a recipe, then I might buy them, but otherwise to me it's just more than portion control, it's the domino effect of trying to eat just one.
Try this book called 100 Calorie Snack Cookbook. They are pretty basic recipes, but if I'm thinking cooookies, then I look in here and see nori and cottage cheese, or baked grapefruit and honey, and instantly my train of thought changes.
Last edited by Jennifer 3FC; 09-28-2009 at 01:53 PM.
I loathe them. They
1. Are expensive
2. Are often LESS nutritious than the original
3. Are usually highly processed with questionable ingredients
4. Trigger binges and over-eating in me. They are RARELY balanced (40/30/30)
6. Encourage me to eat empty calories instead of nutritionally rich foods
Sign my name to this - for me. But, I don't want to say they can't work for other people. Everyone's gotta figure out their own plan for long term success, and I could see how a little 100 pack of Oreos might work for a different person. I'd rather have 100 calories of premium dark chocolate!
I could also say I have 2 categories of 'snacks'. I have light snack that is quick.
I also have snacks that are a bit higher than 100 calories but still my snacks. Like today my snack was beans with diced butternut squash and zucchini. I'll have smaller portions of my meals as a snack basically.
I like them. Call my crazy, but I need a sweet taste at the end of a meal and those little packs give me just that. I hope to get off of them, but they work for me now. I also like the 100cal ice cream (which I think is really fro yo) from eating right (safeway). The kids ones are great, although I think it's a little sick for kids to be concerned with calories!
I am for it - when I first read this title of this thread, I thought "hm those snack packs aren't a good choice at all". It's just the same junk food but in a smaller pack so you don't over binge. Much healthier, natural food option out there for 100 cals!
I see nothing wrong with them as long as you don't eat them all the time. I need comfort in foods I once ate and if a small package of processed unhealthy cookies fit into my calories for the day when fruit wont do it then why not? Its not like I eat them everyday maybe twice a week when I need a little sugar fix.
For my mother, the 100 calorie packs were useful. She didn't buy many because they are expensive - and the expense encouraged her to try to eat them sparingly.
Very few of them appeal to me, so I've only bought them a couple times (and wasn't impressed with the few I've tried. I'm trying to eliminate or limit most grains (still eating a little bit of brown rice) and other high-carb foods, so most of the snack packs don't fit into that (except the jerky, and I make my own).
Once I did find "Gerber" brand snack crackers individually packaged in 60 calorie bags (cheese flavor, and vegetable flavor) in a dollar store. Yes, they're "baby" snacks, but so what? There were 6 packs in the $1 package, and as an added plus, they were far less salty than most crackers.
Mostly my "100 calorie snacks" are fruits or veggies with a bit of light sour cream based dip.
A few of them are okay. The keebler cookie ones were something I ate a lot when I first started dieting. Most of them are just a waste of money. One serving of doritos is 140 cal and probably WAY less expensive than buying them in 100 cal packs.
I've found that 5 hershey kisses totally satisfy my chocolate craving when it gets out of control, and its only 125 cals.
I just complied a LONG list of snacks that are all under 200 calories and most are under a 100 calories. I have things from all the food groups and even some sweet and crunchy snacks that aren't totally devoid of nutrition.
I don't want to tell the members of the group to never have 100 calorie snack packs because if it works for them then great, but I want to show them all the other choices that will be good for their body while satisfying their cravings or need for a snack.
Thank you all for your input on this thread. I really appreciate it.
I think if I was desperate for cookies or needed just a few crackers for a recipe, then I might buy them, but otherwise to me it's just more than portion control, it's the domino effect of trying to eat just one. 
