Try Bare Fruit. The crispy and crunchy apple chips and chewy pears hit the spot. And every serving counts toward the “5 to 9 a day” of fruits and vegetable servings recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (In fact, dried fruit is the CDC’s fruit of the month for January.)

Even if your idea of a good time is not sinking your teeth into an apple or a pear, you may enjoy the fruit in its chip form. There are three options for apple chips: sweet Fuji apple chips, plain or with cinnamon, and tart Granny Smith apple chips. In addition to the pear slices, there are sweet but higher-calorie mango strips and dried cherries.

Bare Fruit products are gluten free and have no added sugar. Kids love ’em too. They’re certified USDA organic and kosher.

• Read the full review of Bare Fruit and revisit your 2010 snacking strategy.
• Find more of our favorite low-calorie, healthy snacks.

Sweet, low-calorie apple chips are as satisfying
as sugary snacks. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

Wasa crispbread, at 20 calories a slice, is
another way to cut bread calories. Photo by
Melody Lan | THE NIBBLE.

• We switched to Pepperidge Farm thin-sliced bread, for half the calories of a regular slice.
• We couldn’t give up our beloved bagels, so we switched to bagel chips—fresh bagels cut into wafer-thin slices by the seller. We keep them in the freezer and thaw or toast our daily allocation.
• If your local bagel store or deli counter doesn’t sell bagel chips, tell them to get with the [diet] program!

Both options give you all of the flavor and satisfaction of the bread with a big savings of calories and carbs.

See six additional ideas in our Diet Bread Tricks article.

Then unwrap the new, raw cacao gourmet chocolate bars from Organic Nectars. These new handmade chocolate bars—the first to be sweetened with organic palm nectar—are free of cane sugar, dairy, gluten, trans fats and cholesterol as are all Organic Nectars products.* In addition to being organic, the true benefit here is the palm nectar, which has a glycemic index of just 35—almost half that of sugar (which is 65 on the G.I. Index). That makes Organic Nectars a better-for-you chocolate bar.

*Note that plain chocolate bars are typically free of gluten, trans fats and cholesterol, and generally, only milk chocolate has dairy; but if you are concerned about dairy, read the label to see if any has been included or if the product was made on a machine that also makes milk chocolate.

In addition to being organic, the major benefit here is the palm nectar, which has a glycemic index of just 35—almost half that of sugar (which is 65 on the G.I. Index). That makes Organic Nectars a better-for-you chocolate bar. The chocolate is also available in one-pound blocks for baking.

Take a bite out of these organic, vegan and
kosher chocolate bars, which come in six varieties.

• THE PRIZE: One winner will receive six chocolate bars in each of the following flavors: 54% chocolate, 70% chocolate, 85% chocolate, coconut milk chocolate, golden white chocolate and raspberry bittersweet chocolate.

• To Enter This Gourmet Giveaway: Go to the box at the bottom of our NutriNibbles Section and enter your email address for the prize drawing.
• Find out more about Organic Nectars at OrganicNectars.com.
• Read our review of Organic Nectars vegan ice cream and dessert sauces.

Why buy bottled dressing when it’s so easy
to make? Photo by Andi Pantz | IST.

This recipe takes two minutes, has layers of flavor and can be made in the blender or with a whisk. Combine:

– ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
– 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
– 2 teaspoons minced garlic
– 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

You can turn this into a Caesar dressing by adding:

– 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
– 1½ teaspoons of minced anchovy fillets
– 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce.

Find more dressing recipes, plus our favorite oils and vinegars.

Check out our Olive Oil Glossary and Types Of Vinegar.

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) and Divvies invite you to enter your recipe(s) in the annual FAANtastic Divvies Cookie Contest, which “celebrates those who work to make the lives of those with food allergies more delicious.”

• You can enter as many cookie recipes as you like. The deadline for submission is February 15, 2010.
• Recipes cannot contain peanuts, tree nuts, milk or eggs, nor can any ingredients have been exposed to peanuts, tree nuts, milk or eggs.

The Grand Prize winner will receive a trip for two a Great Wolf Lodge Resort in the U.S., and have their cookie join the Divvies line.

• Learn more about the cookie contest.
• Read our review of Divvies allergy-free cookies and cupcakes—a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week.

• Looking for gluten-free foods? See our reviews.

Will your cookie join the Divvies line?
Photo by Michael Steele | THE NIBBLE.