I Heart Kind Bars (and snacking!)

Kind Bars are one of my all time favorite healthy snacks.  So- when I saw that the geniuses behind them had created "mini" versions, I had to share! At only 110 calories, these are perfect, all natural quick snacks to keep in your purse or car for blood sugar crashes/starvation emergencies! They are made with 100% fruit and nuts, no additives. Best of all they're on sale on Amazon! I just bought a 20 pack of minis for $16- at 82 cents a bar- that's a steal.Yay for healthy snacking options!

XO
Chel

2 Simple Snack Ideas

This snack has LITERALLY zero calories.  Ok, 5 tops.  But it's delicious and satisfies a crunchy, spicy craving!
Celery & salsa.  Yep that's it.  Slice up some celery and start dipping!
I bet it would be delish to put one of the Laughing Cow Light cheese wedges (bleu cheese is my personal favorite) in the bottom. Even then it'd be less than 50 calories.

Simple idea  #2. Apple slices with lemon juice and cinnamon  Sounds a little bizarre, but it's tasty and good. Slice up an apple and squeeze a little fresh lemon juice on them and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Low calorie but great for variety when a simple apple sounds boring.


XO
Chel

Snackity Snack Snacks!

I think I would die without snacks.  Maybe not die but be a MUCH crankier person (Chris can attest to this- he jokes that he keeps cheerios in little baggies with him at all times to keep me happy). Seriously though, I've noticed that if I skip snacks I start to feel nauseous and irritable.  And once that feeling hits- if I still don't snack- within an hour I likely have given into a craving and am eating something chocolate or fried in a desperate attempt to raise my blood sugar.

SO- snacking is key for me. And just to clarify- snacking is NOT grazing.  I try to eat around 1400 calories a day and I write everything in my food journal.  So for me, snacking needs to be a planned & timed event not just random "extra" eating through the day. If you are writing this blog/idea off right now because that sounds too hard- stop.  I'm going to share with you my favorite snacking strategies that are SO easy you will be a pro snacker in no time :).
I eat both a Mid Morning Snack (eaten around 10:30-11 between breakfast & lunch) and a late afternoon snack (between 3-4). I also usually end up having a "get home from work snack" (a habit I'm trying to break) By making each snack in the 100-200 calorie range it still leaves me plenty calories left over for meals.
My favorites include:
Non Fat Greek Yogurt- Trader Joes has expanded their line of these to include small portion ones with only 110 calories that come in fun flavors like Pomegranate & Honey.  And they have 14 grams of protein!
Nuts.  These come with a warning. Nuts are a great snack because they will keep you full because they are full of protein & healthy fat- but eating too many will make you bad fat. I buy raw unsalted almonds in little 200 calorie packs because they are good- but not SO good that I can't stop myself from opening a second pack.
Fruit Leather. I had one of these today and it was great! Only 45 calories and it satisfied my sweet tooth plus- had half a serving of fruit in one leather. Yum! Try to buy "natural" versions with no added sweeteners.
Rice Crackers. These are a new FAVORITE of mine. They are small, salty, crunchy & satisfying. 120 calories in 38 crackers! This is my typical "get home from work snack" when I just feel the urge to munch on something but am not actually that hungry. I buy them at Trader Joes but you can find them at traditional grocery stores as well. Diamond Brand Nuts has almond & other nut flavored rice crackers that are great.

Trader Joes Fiber Cakes. these are like mini bran muffins. 80 calories & tons of fiber. My favorite is the apple cranberry flavor & I like to heat them in the microwave. So good with coffee!

Fruit. I'm not a huge fruit person by nature- but am trying to incorporate more into my snacking.  All berries are REALLY low cal. 8 medium strawberries is only 50 calories. An entire cup of blueberries is only 70. A medium nectarine has 70 calories. A simple (and always in season) apple has 80 calories.  Always a good option.

Hard Boiled Eggs. 70-80 cals depending on egg size.  Top with salt & pepper=YUM and they stick with you for a while.

Lite String Cheese. Between 60-70 calories depending on the brand.  LOVE these. I feel like these fend off hunger really well and keep me satisfied. Plus they're kinda fun to eat :)

Whole Grain Toaster Waffle.  Around 100 calories.  Top with Jam or eat alone- very satisfying morning snack.

Pop Chips. The best invention in the world. Chips that are not baked or fried- they are popped! And they come in amazing flavors like BBQ, Sour Cream & Onion and are only 100 calories for a decent sized serving.

Lara Bars. If you are going to eat a protein bar or keep one in your purse- this is a great brand.  They are a little higher cal, between 190-220, but are made with 100% natural ingredients (basically fruit & nuts) and taste great!

I would put baby carrots on here- and I've bought them as a snack before but I feel like I'm lying to you all if I say I actually think they're satisfying.  They're not. That's why I always have an un-eaten bag of them in my fridge :)

And finally- a few other things to keep in mind when selecting a snack:

When is your next meal? If you are hungry but know you will be eating soon- go with something small that will digest quickly like a piece of fruit.  If you have a while before your next meal- try a string cheese, nuts or something with more protein.

A good rule of thumb that my trainer taught us was that 100 calories should buy you about an hour of energy before you start to feel hungry again.  So if I have lunch at 12pm and had a 300 calorie meal- I know my snack will be around 3-3:30 when I start to get hungry again.  It's different for each person, but it's a good guideline.

Happy Snacking!

XO

Chel

PS. I do not believe in 100 calorie packs. It is just small portions of processed food that leaves you hungry 20 min later. Just FYI :) 

PPS. Checkout this dinner I made last week- it's the Stuffed Pork Chop from Trader Joes I'm always talking about! And a delicious & colorful salad! (ok the mashed potatoes weren't the healthiest thing ever...)

SMART Goals & Mid Morning Snack Ideas

I have some exciting news to share!! I had my 6 Week Bootcamp Evaluation this morning and I met ALL of my goals! I have lost 8.8 pounds, 6.5 inches & my body fat has decreased from 29.5% to 25.9%! I walked out of the appointment feeling GREAT and motivated to do even better in these last 6 weeks. I think for me the major take away is the importance of setting goals for yourself. And not just in your head- write them down.
SMART goals are something I use at work & they transition into fitness very well. What is a SMART goal? Well it's Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic & Timely.
Here's an example of a bad (but common goal). "I want to be thin". Ok... so what that leaves out is- what is thin to you? Do you want to loose inches, pounds? And when do you want to be thin? And is this reasonable goal with the actions you plan to take?
A better goal is: "I will loose 5 pounds by staying in my calorie range by November 1st". Is that still a simple goal? Yes. But now you have a way to measure yourself that takes into account what your goal is (loose 5 lbs) how you are going to reach it (counting calories) and when you will reach it by (Nov 1st). Check out this article about Fitness SMART Goals- it made a lot of sense to me and can help you develop your own. www.fitnessmantra.info and in the search type SMART Goals. The article is the second one that comes up.
And now for some mid morning snacks- to keep you from overeating at lunch. I like these to come in somewhere around 100 calories. You'll notice that all of these things take little or NO preparation. This way you can toss them in your bag and head to work- or about your day.
A few personal favorites:
-Trader Joes Light String Cheese (60)
-1/2 toasted whole wheat english muffin with 1/2 Laughing Cow Light Cheese spread (100)
-Trader Joe's Mini Bran Cakes blueberry or apple cranberry (80)
-Medium bananna (110)
-Flavored Non Fat Greek Yogurt (my favorite is the honey flavor) (130)
-1/2 cup dry Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal (95)
-Mary's Gone Crackers brand wheat & gluten free crackers. Good by themselves or with a little cheese. (100-150)
-Almonds. I purchase these raw and non salted. Raw because uncooked food has more nutrients & unsalted so I am able to stop eating them (dry roasted salted nuts are a weakness of mine).(100)
-Whole Wheat Waffle. I like to buy these frozen and then toast them at work. Kashi makes a blueberry one that is really healthy- I like the Trader Joes Brand Blueberry one the best. (95)
Enjoy!
Chel

Early Morning Workouts Make Me Hungry!

Why is it that after an early morning workout I feel like I'm STARVING all day? Nothing is satisfying or enough..
I'm trying to get through and stay in my calorie range by eating lots of low cal snacks, rather than big meals. A few I've had today:
After my workout- Egg white pita. This was GREAT and only 160 calories. Basically take a half of a Trader Joe's Pita toast it. Scramble 6 tbs egg whites (2 servings- 1 did not seem like enough) add a spoonful of salsa to the eggs. Then- 1/2 of a Laughing Cow spreadable cheese wedge on the inside of the pita. So satisfying and good!
100 calorie pack natural almonds (not roasted or salted) These are a new find for me- I'm not very good at portioning so I love when it's conveninently packaged. And- the protein and good fat in these seems to stick with me a little longer. I found these at Vons.
The other thing keeping me distracted from my endless hunger this morning were some funny emails from friends- here's one of my favorite reactions to the start of my blogging experience:
"I love your blog idea... I will read it! Although I'm way funnier than you! Why don't you just blog our emails back and forth to each other? Now that's something I would read. "
There you go B, now I AM blogging our emails :)
Have a great day! Oh and PS- I am still trying to figure out how to add pictures and also how to spell check prior to posting- so bear (or is it bare??) with me as I figure it out!
Chel