How to Make Your Own 100 Calorie Snack Packs

The newest craze in diet and weight loss is the 100 calorie snack. These snack packs are a great aid in calorie and portion control. Nonetheless, as with many emerging products, 100 calorie snacks are quite pricey.

To save on cost one can quite easily make their own 100 calorie snack packs. Buy your favorite treats in bulk or large quantities for potentially even more savings. Additionally, making your own packs ensures that you get the treats that you most enjoy.

Following are instructions for making your own snack packs.

1. Begin by purchasing individual reclosable snack storage bags or small reusable containers.
2. Select your favorite snacks. These should be treats that range from 10 to 30 calories each.
3. Divide snacks into 100 calorie portions (i.e. according to the USDA, raisins are about 1.5 calories each, thus you can put about 60 raisins in a container to create a 100 calorie snack pack).

Snack packs work great for the office, movies or for a convenient snack when traveling. Some treats to consider include:

1. Ginger Snaps (about 4-5 cookies per pack)
2. Jelly Beans (about 25 small jelly beans per pack)
3. Orange Slices (2 small oranges peeled and separated)
4. Cheez-It Reduced Fat White Cheddar Crackers (about 20 per pack)
5. Cherries (about 25 per pack)
6. Almonds (about 10-15 per pack)
7. Roasted peanuts (about 20 per pack)
8. Healthy cereals such as Cheerios (measure out a cup and pour into the bag)
9. Cheese or White Cheddar Popcorn (about 2 cups per pack)
10. Vanilla wafers (around 6-7 cookies per pack)
11. Mini-marshmallows (great for satisfying a sweet tooth, each pack should hold about 40-45 marshmallows)
12. Semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 30 chips)
13. Baked chips (around 10-15 chips per pack)
14. Dippin' Dots ice cream treats (a little over a 1/4 cup per snack pack)

Other tasty snack pack possibilities include graham crackers, strawberries, animal crackers, baby carrots, pumpkin/sunflower seeds, grapes/berries or sugar-free hard candies. Also, consider dividing your favorite snacks into bites. For example, cut a glazed donut into10 pieces and divide the slices into 2 bags ensuring that you only eat 100 calories per sitting. This can also be done with a candy bar or a frozen treat like an ice cream sandwich. Combine different snacks for more variety such as chocolate chips with raisins, popcorn and nuts or a fruit mix (oranges, strawberries and melons make a delicious combination).

For ease and convenience, make several packs at one time. Store in the refrigerator or cupboard (depending upon contents). If temptation is an issue, keep only a few packs in easy reach. Store others in the back of the refrigerator or in higher cupboards making them more difficult to get to.