Appetizer
If you snack smart, you can snack often.
Lots of people tend to snack between meals – not necessarily because they are particularly hungry, but because they just like to keep their mouths busy. This can be a problem if you snack on a lot of buttery popcorn and fatty pre-packaged pastries, but it’s fine if you do it the smart way and keep your snacks under 150 calories or so. Here are some foods you can snack on without doing too much damage to your waistline:
Some cereals – Plenty of breakfast cereals should be avoided by dieters, but there are a few popular brands that are not too bad. 3/4 cup of Honey Bunches of Oats, for example, has only 120 calories, no saturated fat, and six grams of sugar. The same amount of Honey Nut Cheerios has just 110 calories and nine grams of sugar.
Fruit salad – It doesn’t get much better than a refreshing fruit salad mixed with some vanilla yogurt and granola.
Low-fat nachos – Regular nachos are pretty high and calories and fat, but if you substitute typical fried chips with baked chips and use low fat pepper jack cheese, it can be a reasonable snack. This is definitely a great alternative the next time you’re craving Mexican food.
Whole grain pretzels – Pretzels can contain a lot of carbs. However, there are whole grain alternatives that taste just as good but are a bit healthier for you
Don’t feel guilty for snacking or feel like you are doing major damage to your diet. In fact, grazing throughout the day keeps your metabolism up, not to mention helps you feel satisfied between meals. As long as you read labels and do everything in moderation, snacking can be a regular part of your diet plan.
