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Simple, Healthy Snacks

Peanut or Almond butter and apple wedges; A kid favorite "ants on a log" celery with peanut or almond butter and raisins ( the ants ) ; Yogurt with berries and/or bananas; Hummus with pita bread or veggies;  What are your go to snacks?  Christine

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WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR SNACKS WHEN YOU ARE ON A DIET?

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@JeanineJ918704 Hope you got my response to your PM ( private message ) about snacks and dieting.  I can abbreviate it here. Think of eating plan ( long-term ) over a diet ( short-term ).  I always say load up on a good assortment of veggies any way you can.  They are low calorie and great fiber source to fill you up.  My example from last nights dinner:  Toasted 100% whole wheat bagels ( you can scoop out centers if you want ) then topped with a simple low-salt marinara sauce, sauteed red and orange peppers, broccoli, cherry tomatoes and light sprinkle of mozzerella cheese.  One minute in microwave to melt cheese.  Yum and filling.  Good luck reaching all your nutrition and health goals. You can do this!   ---  Christine

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@JeanineJ918704  You inspired my "Eating Plan Rhyming" Thank you!   ---  Christine

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WHAT KINDS OF SNACKS DO YOU RECOMMEND WHEN ON A DIET

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I've been making/eating "veggie packs" for decades now. I make about a weeks worth at a time so they are easy to grab and go. Just fill a sandwich size bag with an assortment of your favorite veggies. I use baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, celery sticks, radishes and whatever other fresh veggies look good when I'm shopping.

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@NancyH75065  Awesome idea.  I'm impressed with how long you have maintained this healthy habit.  You are a super hero of snacks! Cape on the way. 😄

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I'm a big snack person @Rhymesometimes. I like to eat nuts, and recently discovered cashews with skins...I didn't even know they had skins! Similar to pistachios with the thin, crispy outer wrapping. I also love berries, especially blueberries and blackberries. Lastly, dried fruit with no added sugar is another favorite snack. Right now, I've been eating the dried mango from Costco. It's so good!

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Interesting snacks, very tasty but very high in sugar. I would change up the dried fruit, especially the mango.

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@AARPRachelA All of that sounds like good ingredients to put onto a big pile of greens for a salad. Add some feta or goat cheese, and that's some good eatin'. I love nuts for a snack too.  My husband and I like to make little trail mix packs with nuts and dry fruit when we travel.  Hope to do that again by the fall.    ---  Christine

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Trusted Social Butterfly

Indians make a confection, Kaju Katli, from cashew meal and sugar.  It is essentially marzipan but cashews replace almonds and instead of being flavored with bitter almond extract, it is flavored with rose and/or kewra water.  This is some I made and bought:

 

IndianMarzipan.jpg

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@aruzinsky Your homemade ones look perfect.  The store bought look like ones that didn't pass quality control. 😃 Enjoy the holiday weekend.   ---  Christine

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The healthiest snacks I eat are salted nuts.  I prefer pistachios in shells because they taste better than shelled kernels; I don't know why.  I also eat peanuts.  I prefer Spanish peanuts because those were the kind that, as a child, I got from vending machines, similar to gum ball machines, in the Chicago subway.  I would put in a penny, turn a knob, and a handful of Spanish peanuts came out of a chute.  In retrospect, I now realize that it was unsanitary.

 

A less healthy snack that I eat are fried pork rinds.  They are better than other crunchy snacks, e.g., potato chips, nachos, etc., because they contain no carbohydrates and don't raise my blood glucose. If you are diabetic and crave crunchy, there is no better choice.

 

I prefer plain kefir to yogurt but I drink kefir.  The price of kefir has recently risen a lot.

 

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Probably eating all of those unsanitary Spanish peanuts are what enabled you to live so long. It gave your immune system a chance to grow strong. Living in a sterile environment doesn't encourage your immune system.

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@aruzinsky  Isn't it funny how a strong memory in childhood can affect our adult eating habits? I agree about the peanuts coming out of the chute, yes unsanitary.  But we didn't think about things like that back then. My husband didn't like the "bulk" purchases that you have to scoop out.  Covid changed that. 

 

I think the xylitol ( natural sweetener ) I mentioned is a safe substitute for diabetics, but I would check with your doctor before using.  I like to roast garbanzo beans ( chick peas ) by coating them with olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and garlic powder, cumin, chili powder or any spices of your choice.  Then you can have that salty crunchy mouth feel and taste.  If you coat the chick peas and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, they can bake up browned and crispy.  450 degrees for 15 minutes, then stir them and continue baking 5-10 minutes more until desired effect.   

 

Thank you for contribution @aruzinsky .

 

I like kefir, but yes expensive.  Usually stick with plain yogurt.  Favored always has added sugar.   ---  Christine

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Actually, strawberry yogurt sweetened with sucralose is available but, stores are usually sold out and, in its place, strawberry-banana yogurt remains.

 

I tried salted roasted chick peas as a child and didn't like them.  Did you know that the liquid in canned chick peas can be used as a substitute for egg whites in baking?  The liquid can be beaten and used to leaven cakes.

 

Like I said before, sugar (sucrose) is not as bad as its reputation.  Starch is worse. Fructose has a glycemic index of 19 and is much cheaper than xylitol but it raises blood triglycerides.  I baked a cake with fructose.  The outside was too caramelized and bitter but the interior was okay.  One advantage was that the uncovered cake didn't dry out because fructose absorbs moisture from the air.

 

I have some xylitol laying around somewhere.  Maybe, I will try making marzipan with it.  That's another acquired taste from childhood.  We used marzipan figurines as Christmas tree ornaments and I picked and ate them off the tree.

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@aruzinsky  100% grass-fed plain organic yogurt with organic frozen fruit from Costco; add some walnuts, and call me for lunch!    ---  Christine

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Because of the COVID-19 lockdown, I noticed I was snacking more than I should and my body showed it. I'm now getting away from snacking.  

Wanjiru Warama
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@WanjirusBits I know what you mean,  That's why I don't have junk food in the house, and stock up on easy to put together health  snacks.  Christine

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