snack smart – Betsy Schow

Snack Smart: Egg-cellent protein

Remember those commercials — The incredible edible egg? This food is often slammed for cholesterol, but it has good fats as well as a complete protein with a full compliment of amino acids.

I am not advocating swallowing a half dozen raw eggs or anything, but a couple, hard boiled or scrambled, makes for an excellent small meal. Or add lots of spinach or fresh veggies to make an omelette. Be sure to skip the greasy butter.

Whenever possible, try to use organic or farm fresh eggs. From chickens not fed antibiotics or steroids. Here’s what I collected from my gorgeous gals this morning. Perfect dinner for me and my two kids. And easy enough that even I can’t screw up the cooking 🙂

Snack Smart: Healthy chicken nuggets and fries

My kids eat utter crap. It’s totally my fault. Well I’m trying to fix that. Their fave food is Dino nuggets and fries. They tend to turn their nose up at anything else. So here was my attempt from this weekend.

The chicken isn’t dried or blackened, so you can tell my husband cooked it 🙂

Of course me kids wouldn’t eat it… At first. I told them daddy made healthy chicken nuggets and fries. The nuggets were naked and the fries were squished. Behold, 10 minutes later the plates were empty.

Have figured out any healthy ways to remake the classics or your faves?

Snack Smart: The Road Trip

Ah, the dreaded road trip. The bane of any dieter’s existence. The cure? Plan ahead!!

If you know you are going to be driving for umpteen hours, bring your own snacks. Don’t rely on gas station stops. You will end up getting the Twix or something equally not good for your. Pack your own dehydrated fruit. Or nuts. Pre-portion them out like I showed in Portion Control Made Easy. That way you are not eating the whole bag of trail mix. (Has more calories than you might think. Good for you though)

Plan ahead what you are going to eat if you stop at fast food along the way. Or use a smart phone app that tracks calories. That way you can make a good informed choice if you have to eat at those golden arches.

Snack Smart: Add Some Caliente

A little heat can go a long way. It also serves as stopper from eating to much. This week I made Huancaina sauce (Peruvian cheese sauce) for a class presentation. It has a lot of cheese, but it also has aji amarillo, yellow chile paste. It really keeps you from using way to much, but it’s so flavorful. Traditionally it’s served on potatoes, but you can use it as a dip for veggies too.

I don’t use a recipe per se, its largely to taste. But this is how I made it

Mix together equal parts cream cheese, cottage cheese, and queso fresco.
Add evaportated milk to make the mixture sauce like.
Add seasoning: Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste.
Add the aji amarillo paste a spoonful at a time until you reach your desired spiciness.

Blend together until a thick and creamy. If it’s too thick, add more milk. Too liquidy, add more cream cheese.
Tada! So easy, even I can do it.

Bien Proveche

Snack Smart: Dried Fruit

Need a yummy low cal snack on the go?
Try dried fruit. Its portable and much easier to stuff in a purse or backpack than squishing and bruising that real banana or apple.

A word to the wise though, watch the label. A lot of dehydrated fruits are candied. All that sugar adds up to big calories that you don’t need. The fruit is sweet enough on its own. Bananas and apricots are notorious for this. Look at the ingredient list, if they add sugar, pass it by.

My favorite is the Kirkland brand freeze dried fruit. Just apples in a bag. 35 calories. The perfect snack in between class. Great for lunchboxes for the kiddos too.

Snack Smart: Chips and salsa alternative

Ok, hear me out. I was skeptical too. But it’s actually good.

Salsa is pretty good for you. It’s the tortilla chips that’ll get ya every time. So try enjoying your snacky salsa with a different kind of crunch. Try celery or my personal favorite, baby carrots. Yummy and low calorie. Satisfy your craving without blowing your budget. Plus the ‘caliente’ in the salsa can help heat up your metabolism.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Snack Smart: Foods that keep you slim – from Melanie Douglass

Today I am up to my ears in homework. So I am going to let someone else do the heavy lifting. This is a great article/video from Studio 5’s Fitness Correspondent, Melanie Douglass.

http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=56&sid=21275419

Check it out!

Snack Smart: Salads are not always low calorie

Are you trying to lose weight? So you automatically pick the salad off the menu? Sadly, salad does not always equal low calorie or healthy.

Most commercial salads have cheese, croutons, some have breaded chicken or bacon, maybe guacamole. None of these things are bad per se. But they certainly hike up the calorie count. The worst offender is the dressing! You can easily use 300+ calories just on 2 tablespoons of dressing. Ugh that’s a bag of M&Ms.

So make your own fresh and yummy salad. Here’s mine: fresh diced tomatoes, cucumber slices, fresh lettuce. Tossed with balsamic vinegar straight from the cooking bottle. Not the vinaigrette dressing. Yum and under 150 calories.

Snack Smart: Sugar Free and cranky

It’s been 24 hours since I’ve had any contact with the love of my life… Sugar.

And I am not a happy camper. I’m grumpy and every brown thing I see reminds me of chocolate goodness. So what’s the reason for my self imposed hell?

As of Monday my husband and I decided to be sugar free. He’s diabetic and not doing so hot in the blood sugar levels. He decided to go on a strict diet to get it under control. So to be a good wifey I thought I would offer to join him in his saccharin exile. Stupid me.

I’m hoping this is just a phase. That after a few days I’ll have more energy, and fewer headaches.

So I am asking you the reader, what are your sugar free snack smart tips? Will I survive?

Snack Smart: Just a taste

How many times have I been looking forward all day to the brownie that I’ve budgeted for. Five seconds later, its over. The brownie is gone, and I want it back. Temptation is to grab another brownie, but I’m better than that. Most of the time. 🙂 This is what I’ve started to do instead.

I break my treat into four pieces to enjoy throughout the day. Think about it. When you inhale a treat, your tastebuds are really just tasting that first bite. So why not have that first bite… all day. Stick to that one brownie or cookie, but make it last for a while. You trick your tastebuds into thinking you’ve had more than you’ve actually had.

Extra tip for you mommies. Make sure you do not leave your partially eaten treat out for small children to find. They seem to think its fair game.