Smarter Snacking

One of the benefits of working at a gym is getting to read all of the health and fitness magazines that we stock for patrons. A recent issue of SHAPE had 2 great ideas for how to snack without feeling you're depriving yourself.

1) Eat half and half- if you're craving something that's bad for you, eat half of a serving, and have half a serving of something healthy. Example: cocoa puffs and cornflakes or high-fiber cereal, alfredo sauce and red sauce, M&Ms and almonds.

2) The 10-calorie trick: take 20 10-calorie servings of multiple types of food to make a 200 calorie snack that satisfies all of your various cravings. Some good suggestions from SHAPE:

Candy:
2 skittles
3 plain M&Ms
1 gummi bear
1.5 black licorice bites
1 Whopper
2.5 Jelly beans
3 Altoids
4 Nestle Toll House chocolate chips

Sweet:
2 teddy grahams
40 cheerios
1 container tropical berry or strawberry kiwi sugar-free Jello
1 Animal Cracker

Salty:
1.5 Almonds
1 Pecan Half
1 Cashew Half
20 roasted salted soy nuts
1 shoestring french fry
1 Wheatables cracker
2.5 Pistachios
18 salted sunflower seeds
2 fritos
7 pieces pirate's booty
1/3 cup air-popped popcorn (not butter!)
1 French Onion Sunchip
4 Goldfish
2.5 baked Cheetos

Fruit:
1 apple slice
3 red or green grapes
1 orange wedge
2 large strawberries
12.5 blueberries
1 dried pineapple piece
3 watermelon balls


Combine any of the above to have your own customized low-calorie snack.
It doesn't count if you go over the given amount.

Happy eating :)