Low Calorie Snack Ideas
Okay, so continuing with this calorie reduction plan I have been on, I initially found it difficult to find snacks that I could eat that are low calorie. What is also difficult is the fact that I have to buy gluten free, milk free, and oat free. So this makes it even more of a challenge for me. But here are a few snacks that are relatively low calorie.
- Quaker Rice Cakes—I really like Quaker’s rice cakes. They have a variety of flavors (such as apple cinnamon, caramel corn, plain salted, chocolate, and more). The larger rice cakes are only 30-50 calories each (depending on the flavor). They also have rice cake “minis” that are about the size of potato chips. These are only 6-9 calories each. So you can grab a bag of the minis or a few of the bigger rice cakes for some low calorie snacking during movies and TV time. If you are interested in these, check them out next time. They only cost $2-3 for a bag. They have so many flavors (like ranch, chocolate, cheddar, etc.).
- Cucumbers/Pickles–Cucumbers/Pickles have almost zero calories. A whole cucumber has like 5 calories or something. Almost nothing. These are great for snacking, salads, and so forth.
- Veggies & Dip–Baby carrots, broccoli, green bell peppers, mini tomatoes, and so forth are great veggies for snacking. Almost a cup of mini carrots is only like 35 calories or so. These are really good. I usually eat them plain, but you could add a vinegarette or other type of dressing for a low calorie healthy snack.
- Fruit–Fruit is also a great snack. Apples, bananas, mangos, pineapple, watermelon, cantelope, peaches, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, etc. These are all relatively low calorie (about 40-80 calories for a cup). Not only are they low calorie, but they contain fiber, sugars, vitamins, and more.
- Veggie Chips–I’ve been buying these “Snyder Veggie Chips” at the store and they are pretty good. They are low fat, low calorie (like 130 calories for 20 chips I think) and are made healthier than regular chips. They taste pretty good too.
- Popcorn–When I say popcorn, I mean the raw kind you buy and pop yourself. Most of the bagged kind have preservatives, butter, and flavorings that drive up the calories. Buy the raw kind, and cook it. I recommend that you get an “air popper” so you don’t have to use olive oil or other oils to cook it on the stove top. An air popper will allow you to cook popcorn without the added calories. Then you can sprinkle some flavoring, spice, or even sugar to add some flavor when it is done. 3 tbsp of uncooked popcorn is around 130 calories. You would be surprised at how much popcorn 3 tbsp actually makes! The fiber will make you feel full too.
- Beef Jerkey–Believe it or not, beef jerkey is pretty low calorie. I bought a small bag of Walmart’s “Great Value” brand, and if memory serves me right– it was only about 80 calories per service (total of 3 servings in the bag). Watch out for the sodium and preservatives though. Other beef or meat snacks are pretty low calorie too, but you have to watch the sodium, the preservatives, etc.
- Snack bars or Granola bars–Breakfast bars or granola bars are a good snack that are fairly low calories. Most of these range from 80 calories for a bar. These often taste really good too, and contain some small amounts of fiber, protein, etc.
- Popcycles/Fudgecycles–Some popcycles and fudgecycles are as low as 40 calories each. And since summer is arriving here in the U.S., it is the perfect time to start snacking on them. So if you like a cool treat, check it out.
- Fruit Smoothies/Shakes–This is something my wife and I have been eating this week. We have been making real fruit smoothies, peanut butter milkshakes (dairy free), and more. I will share the recipes and pics in a few more posts. These are delicious. The calories are a little higher for sure (especially the peanut butter one), but it is a great way to get in your daily recommended fruit servings, and it is healthy!
- Jello–If you have a sweet tooth, Jello is a sweet snack that is relatively low calorie. Many Jello snacks are as low as 10 calories.
- Oatmeal/rice–For 1/2 cup of uncooked oatmeal or rice, it is only about 150 calories or so. When you cook it, it will expand to fill a whole bowl. The fiber, protein, and carbs will fill you up for a while. You can add fruit, sugar, honey, and other goodies too. So for around 180 calories this is a snack that can serve as a breakfast or meal.
- Nuts/Almonds–You can eat a nice handful of peanuts, almonds, or other nuts for around 100 calories. These can be a great way to snack and get some protein.
- Dried Fruit–Check out the dried fruit section of the store too. I eat snacks like prunes, raisins, craisins (dried cranberries), and more. Just make sure it doesn’t have too many calories, sugar, or sodium added.
- Be Creative–In addition to these snack foods, don’t hesitate to get creative making your own snacks. Also, keep in mind that you don’t always need ingredients like oils, milk, etc. For example, when I was making pancakes, I didn’t add milk. Water works just as fine (in oatmeal too). Start reading labels and see which snacks you enjoy that are low calorie.
So those are some of the very low calorie snacks I have eaten (or my wife has eaten) since altering my diet. These have helped tamed any cravings I had between meals, without adding excessive calories to my diet plan. In my next post, I am going to discuss 1 other thing I was doing wrong with my diet (in addition to eating too many calories). I was really shocked when I found out about it. I am writing this next post right now, so stay tuned!
Next Post: Excess Sodium In My Diet
This was yet another post in my recent series of posts how my cholinergic urticaria went from being very severe to tremendously better (basically gone now). If you have not yet read my previous posts, then I strongly urge you to read them first so you can know exactly how this has progressed:
- My brief history of hives
- What is visceral fat?
- and My Hypothesis of visceral fat making cholinergic urticaria worse
- How to lose visceral fat
- Use Diet to eliminate visceral fat
- High Calorie Foods to Watch
- My Joyce Chen Steamer Review (My secret cookware weapon to reduce calories)