Eating Better and Staying Healthy: Snacks

Eating healthy and sticking to a calorie count  when it comes to meals has been working for me. But lets face it. Sometimes, a snack is just plain necessary. Snacks can help me get from one meal to the other without feeling hungry or grumpy (not that that ever happens lol), but they are also a great incentive or even a wonderful way to reward myself after getting all my steps in for the day, making it through an especially rough Monday, etc. 

So, since I'm a huge fan of snacks, I thought I'd share some of my favorites. And if you have some you enjoy, I'd love to hear about them! We can all use more snack ideas.
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Vegetables: 
Snow peas, green beans, bell pepper, radishes, jicama, carrots, celery, cucumber, and more I'm certain I'm not including. 

These are all great choices. I like to cut up a bunch at one time and even divide into baggies with the calorie count written on the outside. It makes it easy to grab one when I get hungry or if I'm on my way out of the house. 

Hummus: 
This is a very low-calorie way to add some flavor to raw vegetables. My favorite is roasted red pepper, but there are flavors ranging from plain to spicy. 

Fruit: 
Fresh fruit is a wonderful snack and a good way to get a little sugar if you need it. I'm a big fan of dried fruit as well. We almost always have a bag of dried apples and apricots in the pantry as well as raisins. 

Another favorite of mine is Stretch Island's fruit leather strips. These are SO good and come in handy packages so you can just throw a few in your backpack or purse. It helps having these when you're out of the house and get hungry. 

I've also made my own fruit leather using a dehydrator in the past and it's wonderful. I make a lot of it in the summer and fall, but tend to buy the fruit leather strips in the winter and spring. ​

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Nuts and Seeds:
If you need more calories, nuts are always a great option. Cashews are my personal favorite, but I also like sunflower and pumpkin seeds. There are also almonds, peanuts, etc. There have been times where we've combined nuts and dried fruit to make a great snack mix. 

​Cereal: 
I listed some of my preferences in my breakfast post. But I eat these for snacks, too. Usually 1/2 cup (1/2 of a serving) of cereal, and no milk. 
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Crackers:
This is one of my favorite snacks. I usually try to go with rice or corn crackers because they taste amazing, they're very light with little to no sugar in them (and sugar is my biggest addiction when it comes to food, so finding something without it that I like is great), and you get a LOT of crackers per serving. 

These Good Thins corn crackers are my new obsession. They are so yummy! I could eat these all the time if I let myself. They are super crunchy and perfect for just snacking on, dipping in hummus, or even eating with some meat and cheese as a meal. 

This brand also has other flavors. I've tried the rice and they are good as well. 

Nut-Thins are another amazing brand. Their rice, almond, and pecan crackers are fantastic. 

Pretzels: 
Another go-to that's easy to take with me anywhere.

Candy:
Yes, I did say the word. I personally don't think there's a thing wrong with having a little candy as a treat or snack. Especially if you're wanting something sweet as opposed to actually feeling hungry. The fact is, if you completely cut out those sweet treats, you're going to crave them even more.

I'll be honest, I probably have about 200 calories a day that are an indulgence. Not always candy. Sometimes it'll be 4 oz. of some kind of fruit juice in the morning and then another 100-120 calories worth of candy. 

If I do have candy on hand, I try to limit it to either a specialty candy that I'll want to make last for a while, like a dark chocolate bar. I personally can't eat a lot of dark chocolate at a time, so I'm perfectly content to eat a square of this at a time. 

Or I'll get candy that's wrapped in small pieces. A favorite is Pearson's mint patties. These are 30 calories each, so I can have three of them for less than 100 calories and feel like I had a treat. Or spread them out and have one or two after lunch and dinner. 

How about you? Do you have a healthy snack you like to eat? 

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