Snacks part 2: Best low calorie snacks

Now that we have taken a look at the best low-calorie dairy snacks, it’s time to move on to part 2: Best low-calorie crunchy snacks. Let’s review the basic criteria for a ’healthy’ snack? Keep the following in mind when choosing your snacks:

• Offer between 100 and 200 calories
• Are fat-controlled (unless it’s heart-healthy unsaturated fat), providing 0 g trans fats and 3 g saturated fat or less per serving
• Are relatively low in sodium; strive to limit the sodium in your low-calorie snacks to 400 mg or less
• Are nutrient-rich: a good food source of protein, dietary fiber and/or key vitamin and minerals (such as iron, vitamins A, C or calcium)
• Offer a little something extra: are available in calorie-controlled portions, contain no high-fructose corn syrup and little added sugar; are gluten or lactose-free, have added omega-3 fatty acids, etc…

These snacks are all about convenience – they are widely available and take no preparation time/work. Another benefit of these snacks is that they are all healthy for a vegetarian/vegan.

Snacks Part 2: Top 3 low-calorie crunchy snacks

Crispy snacks: Best pick

• Popcorn, Indiana Sea Salt Chip’ins: ‘Popcorn’ chips are the hottest new snacks in the chip aisle. They are made with simple, all natural ingredients: corn, sunflower oil, and sea salt. They are ‘popped’ instead of baked and have an extra crispy texture. These crunchy snacks are whole-grain based and gluten-free. They come in a variety of other flavors, such as Classic BBQ and White Cheddar. A 1-oz. serving of the Sea Salt Chip’ins provides 120 calories, 2.5 g fat, 0 g saturated/trans fats, 22 g carbohydrates, 2 g protein, 1 g dietary fiber and 230 mg sodium. For an extra nutrition boost, make a homemade salsa for dipping with diced tomato, red onion, jalapeno or Serrano pepper, lime juice, chopped cilantro and a dash of pepper, sea salt and cumin (optional) to taste.

Nutty snacks: Top choice

• Blue Diamond Oven Roasted Almonds: These oven roasted almonds come in many flavors, sweet flavors, such as butter toffee and cinnamon brown sugar and savory flavors, such as plain and sea salt. Nuts, in general, make for healthy snacks. A 1-oz. serving of the sea salt oven roasted almonds provides 170 calories, 15 g fat (only 1 g saturated fat), 5 g carbohydrates, 6 g protein, 3 g dietary fiber and 135 mg sodium. In addition to being naturally (nearly) sugar-free, these almond snacks are nutrient-rich. One serving is a good/excellent source of vitamin E, riboflavin (B2), phosphorus, copper, magnesium and manganese.

Protein-rich vegan snacks: Nutrition beyond compare

• Steamed or boiled soybeans (in the pod) with sea salt: this snack only takes a small amount of preparation. You’ll need 1/4 lb. fresh soybeans or 4 ounces frozen (bagged); Kosher or sea salt and rice crackers (these make a nice accompaniment). In a pot of boiling water, add the soybeans and cook until they are bright green (about 5 minutes). Drain and refresh in cold water. Sprinkle with salt and serve with a couple of rice crackers. A 1-cup serving of prepared soybeans (without salt or crackers) provides 189 calories, 8 g fat (only 1 g saturated), 16 g carbohydrates, a whopping 17 g of protein and 8 g dietary fiber (roughly 1/3 of your daily requirement) and 7 mg sodium (naturally occurring). Soybeans are nutrition superstars. In addition to being an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, they are high in iron, magnesium, copper, manganese, zinc, potassium, folate, vitamins C, K and others…you can’t go wrong with soybeans as snacks are rarely this naturally nutritious!

Tips for Eating Meatless ~ Tofu and Soy Crumbles

One important step towards eating healthier and watching your calories is to eat one meatless meal per week. What to do? It’s easy. I enjoy eating meatless meals because it keeps my diet varied versus boring and stale. Here one tip I use myself that will get you started!

Try tofu and soy crumbles.
These are mild-tasting and absorb the seasonings and flavor of whatever you cook them with. Perfect for tacos or spaghetti as a meat replacement.

While tofu can be an acquired taste for some, it comes in many varieties and flavors, and can be grilled, sautéed, scrambled…even fried or stir-fried. Tofu comes in firm and soft textures (soft is a great protein addition to smoothies) and is often used as an ingredient. I bought an all-tofu decadent chocolate cake from a gourmet bakery. It was completely all natural and vegan. Guess what? My non-vegetarian, hates health food brother in law didn’t know the difference! They used silken tofu in the cake, and yes, it can be that good.

A meat-lover wouldn’t even know the difference, with soy crumbles that is. They used to be packaged as a grain-like product that needed to be re-hydrated to take form.

“Now, frozen, bagged, re-hydrated soy crumbles (textured vegetable protein) can be found in the frozen food section and poured into your favorite spaghetti sauce or chili recipe.”

What’s the scoop on the benefits of flax?

Question: What is it?
Answer: Linum usitatissimum, or plan old flax, is a blue-flowered crop that has been used as a food source since 3000 B.C. Flaxseed, a reddish-brown, chewy seed, is rich in protein, fat & dietary fiber. The quality of flaxseed protein is similar to that of a soybean & the quality of its fat is similar to that of canola oil.

Question: What’s so great about it?
Answer: Flaxseeds are a rich source of several minerals and phytochemicals that have been shown to protect against the development of certain types of cancer & heart disease. The alpha-linolenic acid (omega 3 fat) in flaxseed is a poly-unsaturated fat and is being studied for its importance in the prevention of chronic inflammation related autoimmune disorders. It does this by way of limiting the body’s production of chemicals called prostaglandins. Prostaglandins can speed up tumor growth and contribute to inflammation.

Question: I’ve heard the term ‘lignans’ in reference to flax. What are those?
Answer: Flaxseed in an incredibly rich source of a group of compounds called lignans. Many plant foods contain lignans, but flaxseed provides a whopping 75 times more lignans than any other food!

“Lignans are important because they may have powerful antioxidant properties that can help block the damaging effects of harmful oxygen molecules called free radicals. These molecules are thought to cause changes in the body that can lead to cancer.”

Lignans show promise for blocking the effects of estrogen, which helps to protect against breast cancer. Even when estrogen positive tumors grow, in the presence of lignans, their growth may slow or halt.

Question: Any other benefits?
Answer: Flaxseed is very high in fiber, 3 TBS of seeds provide 3 grams of fiber, or about 12% of the Recommended Daily Value. Fiber, among other functions, can help block the effects of harmful compounds in the body that, over time, can damage intestinal cells, leading to cancer. It also moves these compounds out of the body quicker.

Question: I’ve seen the seeds and the meal, what’s the best way to eat flax/incorporate into my diet?
Answer: It’s best to buy the seeds (Bob’s Red Mill is a great brand) and grind them yourself shortly before use. This releases the benefical oils. Store the ground flax in an airtight container in the fridge and sprinkle 1 TB or so in smoothies, on salads, in yogurt…even stir some in soup or spaghetti sauce (nobody will know)!