7 years, 7 months ago- Posts
My sister called me last night completely stuck on the ideas for new snacks that she can take to work with her. She has been discouraged, as she has been overeating and falling off of the diet program due to middle of the day hunger at work. I looked online immediately, and found simple ones she has already tried, and am seeking out advice for new and tasty snacks to pass along to her! Do you have any ideas on smart choices, yet still tasty and diet approved snacks for her to enjoy that are easily portable?
Hard boiled eggs are my absolute favorite portable snack…If I have time I slice them in half and sprinkle with salt pepper and paprika before putting them in a container. I mostly stick to fruit and sliced veggies, but understandably that can get old. Greek yogurt mixed with some fruit and topped with cinnamon is a nice go to filling snack as well! I also like to make my own version of Lara Bars, but these are very calorie and fat dense so she would need to be sure they fit into her daily caloric goal. Lara Bars already made and bought at the store are fine too, the price just adds up over time. Stick to the ones with fewer than 4 ingredients.
Those are great suggestions! I also like to do half of an avocado sprinkled with a bit of salt…this is a filling and satiating snack option!
I too am looking for snack ideas. Right now I am making deviled eggs by mixing the yolks with diced red onion and mustard and a small amount of horseradish in place of mayo. Even my friends not on the program love them!They are not as easy to transport as a plain hardboiled egg, but certainly more exciting!
Great idea Judalon. I love deviled eggs but have stayed away because of the mayo. Only thing is I am not big fan of horse radish. Any other healthy ideas for that?
Brad instead of horseradish you could try a good quality dijon mustard, one with no added sugars and other junk though…I am a huge dijon fan!
Is cheese an acceptable snack? I only see cottage cheese on the list in the book. I can’t find anything about cheese at all. I’m thinking string cheese or something like that. Does anyone have any advice?
No regular cheese, only cottage cheese. Regular cheese is allowed in Phase 2.
I’ve enjoyed pairing some grapes with a Tbsp of homemade almond butter on the days when I don’t need my healthy fats for my meals. The almond butter recipe online had me blanche the almonds, but I had better luck just blending the raw almonds (and adding a bit of coconut oil like in the online recipe and a touch of salt). For whatever reason, I was able to get a smoother consistency that way, and my almond butter had lots more flavor.
I also tried adding a little garlic and basil to my cottage cheese for one snack. I must have been craving something savory, because that really hit the spot for me.
I liked my cottage cheese snack so much I created a dinner recipe using zucchini noodles, a thick tomato, onion, basil and garlic mixture, and baked the whole thing with garlic/basil cottage cheese. It made a pretty yummy dish that froze and reheated well. It isn’t the prettiest dish since it can get a bit runny and the cottage cheese doesn’t brown nicely like other cheeses do, but my husband and I both enjoyed it a lot.
@Karma Coins: 0Carol – I love your ideas. Your dinner recipe looks yummy. Will you share the tomato sauce mixture recipe and details on the baking of the dish?
Thanks, RobynRobin,
Glad you liked my ideas. Glad to share the recipe I came up with. I’m still tweaking it a bit (mainly to see if I can make it “prettier”), but I really enjoy it.
I call it “Cheesy Zoodle Bake”
The recipe makes 6 servings. They do freeze and reheat well, so I take out what I want and portion the rest out into servings to freeze for later.
I estimate it has around 245 calories per serving. It has 1 protein, a little more than 1.5 veggies, and less than 0.2 healthy fat servings.
Ingredients:
6 zucchinis (spiralized)
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 cups onion (diced small)
4 cloves garlic (minced) (for sauce)
2 cloves garlic (minced) (for cheese mixture)
2 med tomatoes minced or pureed
1/2 c fresh basil (cut up) (for sauce)
1 Tbsp fresh basil (cut up) (for cheese)
1 Tbsp salt
4.5 cups 2% cottage cheesePreheat oven to 350
Spiralize zucchini, sprinkle with 1 T salt and place in collander over a bowl or sink to drain (this helps to take out excess moisture)
Brown onions and 4 cloves of the garlic in coconut oil in saucepan at medium heat until starting to soften
Add tomatoes and 1/2 c fresh basil, bring to boil, then simmer for 5-6 minutes
While sauce simmers, in a separate bowl, mix cottage cheese with remaining garlic and basil
Squeeze excess moisture out of zoodles. (You can use your hands or a dish towel. This step will help keep the dish from being too watery.)
After sauce has simmered 5-6 minutes, add zoodles to sauce mixture and mix together
Transfer zoodle/sauce mixture to casserole dish
Add in cottage cheese mixture. Mix together lightly to ensure cottage cheese is distributed equally throughout the dish.
Bake 35 minutes(Note: Cottage cheese doesn’t brown nicely like mozzarella, so you don’t get a pretty bubbly finished product. The end result can be a bit watery because zoodles, unlike pasta, don’t soak up any liquids. I like to stir up my serving before eating it. If you are storing some for later, I recommend letting it cool a little bit before cutting it into servings. It makes it a little easier. Although it doesn’t look pretty like a lasagna, it really satisfied my craving for something a little more savory. Hope you like it if you try it!)
Do any of you have ways of making the lettuce and bean spouts that are free foods more exciting for a snack? Or instead of that should I stick with the cottage cheese, almonds, apples, and Pears for a combination of different snacks?
Joanna,
Maybe you could use the lettuce as a wrap of some sort for a sandwich, or add bean sprouts to a salad for lunch. There are many different dressing options for salads such as oil and vinegar, hummus with a little water for a salad friendly consistency.Salad Dressings:
1 cup 2 percent cottage cheese plus 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk you get a base from which you can build a creamy dressingAnother is: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and Dijon mustard.
2 tablespoons greek yogurt, splash of Stevia, and 1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Hummus and add water until its dressing consistency
I eat hard-boiled eggs as a snack, too.I’m definitely going to try deviled eggs. Guacamole or almond butter on a WASA cracker is good. You can also make a savory cheese spread by blending cottage cheese and herbs, garlic powder, etc.. I bet you could make a crab dip this way also. I tried it with Greek yogurt, but didn’t get a thick enough texture for my tastes. The Grissini breadsticks come in single serving packages, but are really too thin for dipping. I’ve also grabbed turkey sausage bites or turkey jerky from a convenience store in a pinch (must be refrigerated). Here’s a lunch idea I’ve wanted to try: baby spinach and raspberry salad with homemade raspberry vinaigrette dressing with a protein on the side. Another thought-if you take a sealed mug to work with protein powder in it, you’d just need to add the liquid and shake it up when you want a protein drink. Lettuce wrap sandwiches work, but are a little messy.
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