5 Super Low Calorie Hunger Buster Snacks you really Must Try - Part II

Looking for a 3 o'clock fix? How about a post-workout energy boost? These healthy, low-calorie snacks can get you through any diet craving.

5 super low calorie snacks that I am digging right now.  My kids love them too!

Don't forget to check out our Part 1 - Healthy Snacks to Try!

Lite Nachos - love me some nachos!  Use baked torilla chips (I use about 8-10), add a small about of shredded low fat cheese.  Pop in microwave for about 10-20 seconds than I go crazy with the veggie toppings! Unlimited tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, red peppers, easy on avocado, a few olives, a little sour cream and salsa.  I try to keep this snack under 200 calories.

Pizza Toast - toast a high fiber/low carb bread or English muffin.  Once toasted add a bit of ketchup top with some cheese and add your favorite topping.  Put oven on broil and place toast until cheese has melted.  Watch for it!  This goes quickly and easily burns!!

Tuna in lettuce wraps - I use Greek yogurt or, if you dont like the tart taste swap out blended cottage cheese or even lite mayo.  I add some curry powder and sometimes grapes and/ or apples, tomatoes chopped up.  Also another time saver is the pouch tuna that you don't have to drain....so easy!

Deli Turkey or Chicken Slices wrapped up in a dill pickle or skim milk cheese stick with a bit of mustard for dip. (If desired)

Healthy Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, peeled
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup light mayo or vegan mayonnaise
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup great northern beans
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles
2 13.5-ounce cans of artichoke hearts, drained

Preparation

1. With food processor running, drop in the garlic clove and shallot; process until minced. Turn off processor, scrape down sides of bowl.
2. Add remaining ingredients except artichokes and process until well combined. Add artichokes and pulse briefly so that small chunks remain.
3. Serve with rice crackers or your favorite raw veggies.    

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Protein Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

These bars are yummy!  Great for a post workout snack or a grab and go lite mini meal.

1.5 Cups Instant Oatmeal

3 Medium Bananas, Mashed

5 Scoops Vanilla Protein Powder

4 Egg Whites

1/2 Cup Walnuts, Ground

1 TBP Vanilla Extract

1 TBP Cinnamon

handful of chocolate chips

Cooking Instructions

In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients (oats, protein, walnuts, cinnamon) and stir. In a separate bowl, mash bananas and add egg whites and vanilla and stir. Pour wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and combine until evenly mixed.
Scoop mixture into a 9x9 Pyrex dish and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Optional topping: prior to baking, combine a calorie free sweetener such as Stevia, Splenda, Truvia, etc. with some cinnamon. Pour the cinnamon sweetener on top of the mixture, then bake. You may also top with melted dark chocolate after cooling. Makes 9 bars.

Nutritional Info

• Calories: 199
• Protein: 16g
• Carbs: 22g
• Fat: 7g

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5 Super Low Calorie Hunger Buster Snacks you really Must Try

Looking for a 3 o'clock fix? How about a post-workout energy boost? These healthy, low-calorie snacks can get you through any diet craving.

5 super low calorie snacks that I am digging right now.  My kids love them too!

Pudding Pops -- 1 pkg instant pudding, 1 1/2c milk, 2c cool whip. Dissolve pudding in milk, whip in cool whip. Spoon into 3 oz Dixie cups and insert Popsicle stick. Freeze.

A healthy refreshing 100 calorie freeze snack using Yo plait Light Yogurt. You get any of your fav flavors of yo plait light yogurt and basically you just turn the yogurts upside down, cut out the out the bottoms, cover with foil and pop through your Popsicle stick. then freeze for a few hours. then remove them (run the plastic part under some hot water for easy removal!) Delicious!

Roasted chick peas - watch your portions.  I divided mine right away into baggies to get the portion correct to make sure this tempting snack staying under 100 calories

3 Ingredient Banana Cookies - how could it get any easier? (original recipe from Skinnytaste.com)

-2 medium/large ripe bananas

-1 cup uncooked quick oats

-1/4 cup of walnuts, chocolate chips, or peanut butter chips

(or any other mix-in of your choice!)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray or line it with parchment paper or a splat. Mash the bananas well, and combine them in a medium bowl with the oats. Fold in the walnuts or baking chips - or whatever mix-in you are using. Place by the tablespoonful on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes, until cookies are firm and lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool completely on cooling rack. Makes approximately 16 cookies.

Frozen yogurt bits.  Just coat berries with some vanilla flavored yogurt and pop in the freezer.  Eat right away or they become soggy.

I like to have a supply of these little frittata (or crustless quiche) in the fridge at all times.  They are a nice and filling snack and they can be 'to go'!  Saute up some vegetable of choice and put in a greased muffin tray.  Add egg beaters or whipped eggs to the tray and top with a little bit of cheese.  Super low in calories and are very filling.

Check out our Part II of our Favorite Calorie Hunger Buster Snacks!

Plan to eat or plan to fail.  No matter what your goals are, planning is key!

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Weight Watchers Grilled Brown Sugar Baked Plantains with Spicy Sauce

Have you ever tried plantains?  Well, neither had I until I picked one up the other day and thought I really do need to try this strange banana looking fruit.  Here is some interesting information about plantains:

Plantains are from the same botanical family as bananas and appear almost identical. However, plantains are a starchy, low-sugar fruit and are used and consumed more like a potato than their sweeter cousin. The outer skin is very thick and difficult to peel when the fruit is unripe. Plantains are eaten around the world but are most popular in Latin America and West Africa, where they are a dietary staple.

They are super good for you as they are high in fiber, potassium and vitamins A and C.

Sweet Roasted Plantain with Spicy Sauce

1 very ripe plantains Lemon Juice 1 tbsp Olive Oil to brush 1 tbsp brown sugar Directions Preheat oven to 400F. Peel the plantains.   Slice them into about 1/4 inch coins.  Lay them on a cookie sheet on parchment paper.  Brush first lemon juice on both sides.  Mix the olive oil and brown sugar in a bowl.  Brush the plantains with the mixture on one side.  Pop in the oven for 10 minutes and flip and brush with remaining olive oil mixture.  Roast for another 10 minutes or so until they start to brown at the edges. Mix plain Greek yogurt with some sriracha sauce for your spicy dip Did I like them?  YES!  They were even good the next day.  They are quite starchy almost like a potato. Serves 2

 

Nutrition for one medium sized plantain:

Calories: 179
fat: 0 g
protein: 1 g
carbs: 48 g
fiber: 4 g
potassium: 20% RDA
vitamin C: 28% RDA
vitamin A: 28% RDA
vitamin B6: 18% RDA
Magnesium: 12% RDA
Folate: 12% RDA



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Sweet Mini Turkey Muffins with Caramelized Onions

Yum!  My kids adore these little bite size meat muffins.  I make a whole batch (12 muffins) and they are gone before we all go to bed.  They just call out, when you open the fridge.  These gems are 3 points + weight watchers each so if you are following weight watchers than best not open the fridge after dinner.

If you don't have the time to caramelize the onion, than just chop it up and add it raw.  Caramelizing it, just brings out a real yummy sweet flavor but both methods are good.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground turkey
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup or so shredded zucchini
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp dry yellow mustard
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp chipotle pepper spice
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 diced celery stalks
• 1 sweet onion, caramelized with a little bit of EVOO or oil spray

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 375 and spray muffin pay with some cooking spray (or coat with a little olive oil) 

Mix all the ingredients in one large bowl until well combined.  Use your hands.   Roll the mixture into balls and place each one in the muffin pan.

Bake for 40 minutes or until cooked through.

Makes 12 muffins.

Nutrients per muffin: Calories: 121; Total Fat: 1.5g; Saturated Fat: 0.4g; Cholesterol: 37mg; Carbohydrate: 6.4g; Dietary Fiber: 1.2g; Sugars: 0.9g; Protein: 19.6g

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One Point Weight Watchers Crust-less Quiche

This recipe is a staple in the house when we are all trying to eat healthier and maybe shed a few pounds. It is super filling for only 1 ww points plus per slice. And it is loaded with FREE good for you vegetables. This is good hot, cold or even room temperature. Bring it for your next brown bag lunch or grab a slice for the morning commute I've made this dish so many times that now I just eye ball it. Add different vegetable and you could even add some cheese but than it would no longer be just one point.

Ingredients:

Natural cooking spray
2 cups (about 1 onion) thinly sliced yellow onion
1 pound button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 red pepper 

2 cups liquid eggs - like egg beaters

3/4 cup reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, optional
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove as much liquid as possible

Sliced tomato 

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9-inch square pan with cooking spray; set aside. Heat spray in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Add mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until liquid is absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes; set aside to cool. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, nutmeg and remaining 1/4
teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add onion, mushrooms and spinach and mix well. Transfer to prepared pan, spread out evenly and bake until set in the middle and golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let cool 10 or 15 minutes; cut into 24 squares and serve.


Nutritional Info for 8 wedges: PER SERVING:60 calories, 2 g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 60mg cholesterol, 200mg sodium, 3g carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 1g sugar), 4g protein

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Baked Spaghetti Squash with Cheese

This recipe completely  surprised me and the whole family.  It was just that good.  Ive had spaghetti squash in place of spaghetti before and it was just OK.  So I wasn't super excited to try it out again but boy, was I wrong.  You really must try this recipe out, it is just that good!

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Vegetarian & Gluten Free (Serves 2)

1 medium spaghetti squash (total of about 4 cups)

1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup cottage cheese
1 egg white
1/2 cup tomato sauce or jarred spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and Cheddar blend
Sprinkle  of Parmesan cheese for the top once it is baked

Optional toppings: Fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper, green onions 

Prick the squash with a fork several times.  Pop in the microwave for about 6 minutes depending on the size.  It should be soft.  Cut in half length wise.  Scoop out all of the seeds. 

With a fork, scrap the inside of both halves to make it look like spaghetti.   In a separate bowl, add the pulled squash and tomato sauce and basil.   Fill the inside with 1/2 of this mixture evenly between 2 halves. Mix cottage cheese and egg together with garlic powder. Add cottage cheese on top of sauce mixture and top the rest of sauce mixture. Finish with mozzarella/ cheddar cheese. Pop it back in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese starts to bubble and brown. Pull it out of the oven, let cool for a few minutes, sprinkle with basil, Parmesan, and/or crushed red pepper and serve! This is so much cheesy goodness, you’ll forget that you’re also getting in a few servings of vegetables. : ) 

You could use a casserole dish instead of baking it in the spaghetti squash but hey, why bother with the dirty dish!

Calories 99 Fat 5g  Fibre 1 Carbs 11 Protein 5 grams 
WW Points Plus 3+

Adapted from I heart Vegetables




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Spicy Crab and Vegetable Spring Roll

I love spring rolls.  They can be filled with almost anything.  They are such a great low carb snack or light lunch.  I haven't yet tried them baked but I it is definitely on my list of  'recipes to try'.  I used store bought sweet and spicy Thai dressing from the Asian section of my grocery store.

 Spicy Crab and Spring Rolls Recipe

• 4 oz. cooked crab meat, gently shredded apart with your fingers ( I used imitation crab meat)
• 1 tbsp. light mayo
• 1 tsp. Sriracha sauce depending on hot much spice you want
• 1 large mango, peeled and cut into long thin strips
• 1 ripe avocados, peeled and cut into slices
• 4 cups thinly shredded carrots
• several handfuls of fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup cucumber in long slices
• 8 rice paper wrappers

1. Submerge a spring roll wrapper into warm water for 15 seconds, until it is completely soft and pliable. Using both hands, lift it out and spread it flat on a non-sticky surface.
2. Mix the crab with mayo and hot sauce
3. Pile some carrtos, crab, an avocado slice, cucumber and a mango slice on the wrapper.  Lift the edge of the wrapper over the filling and tuck it over into the beginnings of a roll, you need to stretch it a bit, but it’s a delicate balance to stretch it to its max while not accidentally tearing it. Fold in the flaps from the adjacent sides to close those edges, then continue to roll it up tightly – it’s like rolling a burrito or a wrap – and seal it shut.
4. Place on a platter and continue with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Serve with dipping sauce.

Calories per roll 82
Fat 4.5
Carbs 8
Fibre 3
Protein 2

WW points + 2

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Avocado Devilled Eggs

These are my new favorite snack to have on hand in our fridge. I just wish my husband didn’t like them as much as he does because they disappear so darn quickly. I have been making a dozen every three days for the last month for a quick high protein snack on the go.

12 hard boiled eggs
1 medium avocado, diced small
3 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt (can use light mayo)
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (this helps keep the avocado green and not turning brown)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or to taste
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper flakes, or to taste
Salt to taste
Avocado slice, green onion and paprika to garnish, if desired

Cut boiled eggs in half lengthwise and carefully scoop out yolks. Mash yolks with a fork. Stir in diced avocados, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic powder, hot pepper flakes, and salt to taste. Fill egg whites with yolk mixture and place on a serving plate. I filled up a zip-lock bag with the mixture and cut a hole on one corner and squeezed into the egg whites. Garnish accordingly. Makes 24.

2 halves Per Serving: Calories 100; Protein 4 g; Fat 3 g (the good kind); Carbs 1 g; Sugar 0 g; Sodium 75 mg (2 WW points+)
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