Low-Calorie Goodness

Happy Tuesday Everyone! In case you haven't noticed, I am a health/fitness website junkie. I am always looking for something new to spice up my fitness routines or broaden my food horizons. Lately, I have been looking for some new low calorie snack ideas. In reading these websites, I can’t decide if the writers are idiots, or if they just gear their writing toward a stupid audience. Here is a list of stupid low-cal snack ideas. In case you are interested. I am guessing you’re not… but here it is anyway:

• Lettuce- Every website that has suggested this does not have a measurement listed. Probably because you can eat a pound and not get fat. Or full for that matter.
• Celery- who eats celery plain? Disgusting.
• 1 oz. marshmallows- that’s 4 large marshs if you’re wondering. Sounds nutritious
• 2 strips of bacon- that’s like .009 oz. of meat. Are we feeding mice here?
• 9 Lifesavers- that is a pack. No one should be eating that many Lifesavers in a sitting.
• 30 Altoid mints- Seriously?
• 3 level tbs margarine- Come. On.
• 4 oz. wine- I love a good glass of wine, but as a snack? This is ridiculous.

On a side note, further angering me are these articles about why it’s OK to eat desserts and otherwise unhealthy foods over the holidays. Now, I am all about cheating on holidays, but these people go a step further than that and misinform the reader. Some articles are saying things like, "It has nuts and fruit, so it's healthy!" WRONG! It’s definitely ok, and possibly even necessary, to eat desserts over the holidays. Duh. However, don’t be fooled into thinking you are nourishing your body while you are eating a slice of pumpkin pie. Hello.

I realized after reading these crap (not “crappy”, because they are, in fact, CRAP) ideas that I cannot depend on people to come up with things for me. I just have to do it myself. There is no need to sacrifice nutrition, taste, or a full stomach for the purpose of losing weight or staying trim. So, I would like to share a thoughtful list of low-cal, gluten-free snacks.

These are not only low-cal, but decent size portions. I don’t know about you, but 4 small gluten-free crackers just doesn’t cut it for me

• 1 boiled egg with 10 baby carrots: 130 calories.
• ½ cup fat free cottage cheese with 1 tbsp strawberry jam: 120 calories
• 1 ½ cups of sliced apple with 1 tbsp peanut butter: 185 calories
• 1 cup celery with 2 tbsp cream cheese: 90 calories
• 3 tbsp almonds: 160 calories
• 1 cup Rice Chex with 1/3 cup almond milk: 130 calories
• Biochem Sports 100 Calorie Protein Bar by Country Life: 100 calories
• 6 oz. non-fat plain yogurt with ½ cup sliced banana: 160 calories
• 2 tbsp hummus: 70 calories (have ½ -1 cup of veggies with this and you’re at 130 cals tops!)
• ½ cup chickpeas: 105 calories
• 1 wedge Mini Babybel Cheese Light/Laughing Cow Light wedge: 50/35 calories (pair this with anything!)
• 2 slices turkey breast meat and a dill pickle: 70 calories
• 1 slice Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free breadwith 1 tbsp fat free cream cheese and 2 slices of tomato: 175 calories. Substitute ½ the butter with canned pumpkin or applesauce for an even lower calorie bread!

Obviously, there are about a million other things I could come up with, but these are the ones that I eat most frequently. A lot of things can be mixed and matched. If you are ever curious to know what the calorie count for your food is, visit Calorie Counter. It has a HUGE database with name brands and everything. Great resource. Now get snackin’!