Healthy Snacks

Ideas for Healthy Snacks

Not only are these snacks healthy, most of them make great grab-and-go snacks for the whole family. Here are some ideas for healthy snacks:

• Apples with low fat (or non fat) string cheese.

• Carrot sticks and celery sticks (refrigerate in a container with water and they'll stay crisp).

• Celery with a peanut butter and raisins.

• Nonfat plain or vanilla yogurt sprinkled with low fat granola or crunchy cereal.

• Grapes, try freezing them, like little popsicle bites.

• Raw unsalted almonds (you'll get used to them raw -- they're so good and for some reason you won't eat as many as you would if they were salted).

• Bananas (yep, the perfect snack).

• 1/2 whole wheat bagel with almond butter and sliced bananas.

• Non-fat cottage cheese with blueberries or strawberries.

• Chilled orange wedges.

• Rice cake topped with peanut butter and a no-added-sugar, all-fruit spread.

• Top 1/2 of a whole wheat English muffin with thinly sliced tomatoes. Spray the top of the tomatoes with a little olive oil non-stick cooking spray, sprinkle with low-fat Parmesan cheese, fresh or powdered garlic, and basil. Pop in the toaster oven for a few minutes and voila -- you've got a great bruschetta snack.

• Broccoli stalks! Don't throw away the stalks after you've sliced off the heads. Peel the outer layer from the stalks with a small sharp knife and you'll get to the heart of the stalk. You'll realize what you've been missing at first bite!

• Be sure your bread products (English muffins, bagels, sliced bread, etc) are made from whole grains, not just "whole wheat".

Healthy Snacks for Losing Weight

First, learn what foods/snacks are your downfall and BAN them entirely from your home! These are the unhealthy choices that you cannot keep from eating tons or all of, if in the house. Don't torture yourself by knowing they are there.

Next, you will find that most of us crave a certain textures and taste. I know my downfall is salty and crunchy snacks, so I created a list of alternative healthy snacks that I keep posted in my cabinet for various temptations I get. Feel free to print it out, add YOUR favorites alternative healthy snacks in the appropriate heading and post it so you can check it out before snacking on the worse choice possible!

Have these food items on hand for when cravings hit! Remember that the less processed (more natural) a food is, the better it is for your health.

Are you in the mood for:

Something Sweet and Soft? Fruit, yogurt, banana, prunes, grapes with a square of DARK CHOCOLATE (only dark) or how about eating a gummy vitamin instead?

Something Sweet and Crunchy? Apple or apple slices with peanut butter or even better, sprinkled cinnamon (which stabilizes blood sugar and may lower cholesterol), cereal with nuts, celery, granola in yogurt, carrots, TUMS (it's a calcium supplement!) or another type of chewable vitamin! I never seem to remember to EAT my vitamins and this is a great way to start!

Something Salty? Nuts, pretzels, lite popcorn, veggies with hummus, a slice or two of fake bacon (soy)

Something Warm? Baked (I microwave it) apple sprinkled with cinnamon, chai tea, cocoa, slightly melted string cheese on cuke or tomato slice, granola or favorite cereal with WARM milk

Something Cold? Watermelon, FROZEN grapes (try them, surprisingly good-yum!) breakfast drink with COLD milk, sorbet, Italian ice, ice water with a slice of lemon or cucumber in it. I personally love ice cold milk and freeze some milk ice cubes to add to a glass occasionally.

Reward yourself with NON FOOD related items to encourage your health; nice sneakers, fancy jogging clothes. Buy locally for the health of your community too. Co-ops are great! And finally, make KALE a part of your diet!

I hope one of these hints are new to you and that it helps you all stay vital and healthy!

By Donna

A Bowl of Fruit for Healthy Snacks

Keep a bowl of fruit on your table within easy reach for the children. Fruit is so much better for them to snack on that sugary candies, cakes, and cookies.

By Robin

Healthy Ice Cream Cone Snacks

You know when your kids come home from school they are starved, as if they had not had any food all day. This never ceases to amaze me. But this is nice for working moms who do not always get home at the same time the kids do or for moms who are home and can also have a snack while listening to the kid about their day at school.

What is really nice about these snacks is that you use plain ice cream cones so there really is no mess to clean up. They look good, are delicious, and have fruit, which is not always easy to get them to eat. And you control what you want to put in them.

To make it less messy, you can always use a pastry bag or sandwich bag with a end cut off to put these into the cup's without making a mess. Make sure the hole is big enough for the fruit to get through.

Orange Pudding Cones

Ingredients:

• 1 (3.5 oz.) pkg. vanilla pudding mix
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup frozen OJ concentrate, thawed and undiluted
• ice cream cones

Directions:

Empty dry pudding mix into a medium saucepan. Stir in milk. Place over low heat; stir constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in undiluted OJ. Chill. Spoon into ice cream cones. Now if you want to, you can add marshmallows or anything else that your kids would like. Store in your refrigerator. Makes 6 servings.

Ambrosia Filling

Ingredients:

• 1 (2 oz.) pkg. whipped topping mix
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup maraschino cherry syrup (saved from the maraschino cherries for in this recipe)
• 1/4 cup chilled orange sections, cut into thirds (or drained mandarin oranges)
• additional fruit, optional
• 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, cut smaller if desired
• ice cream cones

Directions:

In small mixing bowl, blend together whipped topping mix, milk, and cherry syrup. Beat at high speed on mixer 5 minutes or until stiff. Fold in remaining ingredients. Chill. Spoon into cones and keep chilled. Add a cherry on top.

If you want, add what the kid's like, making sure the fruit you have washed is dry. You can add nuts or coconut and sprinkles on the top for that "boy that look's good" look.

Note: I also would dry the cherries on a paper towel so they do not cause the whipping cream to become runny.

I hope these are some help for you I think they are great and it gives them fruit which they need and something not filling like a lot of other things are. Enjoy!

By Darlene from Fairview, PA

Kid's Individual Packs for Snack

I recently was given a bag filled with the plastic baby food containers. The containers are the type that have a clear plastic snap on lid and are typically sold in a twin pack.

The containers are perfect for making individual servings of snacks for kids. I use them for making jello cups, pudding cups, snack packs of trail mix or any other healthy snack the kids may enjoy. The kids love them! I keep a ready supply of healthy snacks available that they are able to enjoy.

The little packs are perfect for outings also. By using these containers, I am able to put together a supply snacks for far less than the cost of buying the prepackaged snack packs at the store. They also encourage healthy snacking in that I am in control of what they eat. I know how much (if any) sugar is in their snacks.

By Prairie Mom from Oklahoma

Fiber Snacks

If you're like me, nightly nibbles are hard to resist when watching evening TV. To eliminate the negative feelings I was having about all the fat in most snack foods, I have started snacking on whole grain cereals. With granola, flakes, squares, and "O's", you still get the variety. You end up "sneaking" more than enough fiber into your diet. In the long run, it ends up cheaper than regular snack food. As most of us know, you do not have to buy name brands every time.

By Marie from West Dundee, IL