Great Snacking Ideas

Snacking has caused me no amount of worry, as I am sure it has caused you. I generally find myself snacking between lunch and dinner. And if I have dinner before 6:00 at night (which Oprah advises you to do) I find my head inside of the refrigerator or my eyes straying to the snack cabinet. Thankfully, I have not noticed any extra flesh around my middle or on my thighs, but I do know that if I do snack, I have to get rid of the nasty, sugary high calorie greatness and settle for low calorie, extra energy foods. Below, I have listed nutritional good for you snack ideas to keep that weight down and boost your energy.

Half an apple with peanut butter--Hands down two of the most nutritional snacks out there. Combined? So gosh darn good. Eating a whole apple makes my stomach feel satisfied, but only eating half an apple with a little peanut butter is the best. It is a good kid friendly idea too! Let me tell you what all you get with this snack idea. The pectin in the apple helps lower cholesterol, good source of Vitamin C of course. Peanut Butter gives you SO MUCH energy, it is amazing. The fiber in the butter will help fight cancer-inducing cells, helps control blood sugar, and it is important for the immune system.

Handful of almonds or cashews--I'm sure you have heard all types of nuts are great for snacking but especially almonds. Be careful you don't eat a whole bag though! They are addicting but only a handful will get you through to the next meal. Almonds are extremely low in saturated fats; they also have Vitamin A and E. Good stuff huh?

Small baked potato with ½-cup salsa and very little sour cream--So yummy! Now I know it's going to hard not to substitute the salsa for chives and maybe add a bit more sour cream but DON'T! Even a plain baked potato with maybe some organic/all natural butter would be good. And yes, it does taste good.

A handful of strawberries with ¼-cup cool whip lite--Make sure it is only a ¼ cup but you can add more strawberries if you like.

Half of a red bell pepper with ¼ cup of hummus--Sooooooo good you will die. Ok, maybe not literally. A plain bell pepper tastes so good but added with hummus? Can you say delicious?

Handful of jelly beans--doesn't matter what color, but just a note. The black ones will turn your teeth the same color.

I hope these suggestions will help you on the road to recovery on over snacking. I know I am still on that road, but I am proud to say I'm getting better at it and the pounds are dropping off like magic.