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Four days into the new year, we can’t stop nibbling on the empty calories.
So we put this list together, as a reminder that good-for-you snacks taste good, too.
These are some of our grab-and-go favorites. For the sake of brevity, we’ve left off the most obvious—fresh and dried fruits, crudités, hard-boiled eggs, hummus, lowfat/nonfat plain yogurt, pepitas, pickles, popcorn, sugar-free Jell-O and pudding, tuna pouches, etc.—to present other ideas.
For total convenience, they’re all grab-and-go.
Enjoy them with a low-calorie beverage: flavored water or seltzer, hot or iced coffee or tea, bone broth, etc.
SAVORY SNACKS
Edamame warm or dried: Edamame are green soybeans. They have a powerhouse mix of protein, slow-digesting carbs and nutrients like folate, iron, magnesium and vitamin K. If you have a microwave at hand, heat frozen edamame. The ones in the shell are better for snacking: They take longer to eat.
Jerky: While this meat treat does have some sugar, it is packed with protein. Our favorite brand is Krave, which has tender meat and nine delectable flavors. If you want a shot of caffeine with your jerky, we’re fans of Perky Jerky, with several flavors each in beef and turkey jerky.
Leafy green chips: Look for them at health food stores, or make your own. You can buy snack packs from companies like Rhythm Superfoods (which has five flavors of kale ships, plus beet chips). Here’s a recipe for microwave kale chips. We also like to make cabbage chips). You can also make chips from collards and any leafy green tops you may throw away, like beet tops and broccoli leaves.
Nut butter packets: individual servings in almond, hazelnut and peanut butter from Justin’s. You can simply squeeze the treat from the packet, or get the Snack Pack dipping package with pretzel sticks.
Other Vegetable chips: You can find carrot chips, green beans and mixed veggie chips in plastic containers at many retailers. Seek, and ye shall find.
Pistachios in the shell: Nuts are a nutritious snack, but it’s too easy to wolf down more than the recommended one-ounce portion. Pistachios are the best, because it takes time to remove them from the shell. Plus, pistachios have only 3 calories apiece, about half the calories of most snack nuts (example: for 100 calories you get 30 pistachios or 14 almonds). For a full ounce (the recommended portion):
*Almonds: 20-24 almonds have about 160 calories and 6 grams of protein.
*Cashews: 16 to 18 cashews have about 160 calories and 5 grams of protein.
*Peanuts: 28 peanuts have about 170 calories and 7 grams of protein.
*Pistachios: 40 to 45 pistachios have about 160 calories and 6 grams of protein.
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[1] Edamame, steamed warm or dried, are packed with nutrition (photo courtesy Sensible Foods). [2] Pistachios are the best nut for snacking if you want the shell to slow you down (photo courtesy Wonderful Pistachios). [3] Load up on snack packs of olives—black, green, plain, flavored (photo courtesy Gaea).
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