Hi folks,

Last May as I began my diet you folks helped me with many suggestions. Now, 10 months later and 60 pounds lost I am very grateful. But perhaps you can help me improve one aspect of my diet.

You see, even after losing all that weight and making great progress at the gym, I have never gotten past the need (only at work, never during the weekends or days off) to snack. I think I do it like some people smoke. So, I picked the "best" snack I could...jelly beans. A small handful only has 60 calories, and I have about 8 to 12 during a typical work day.

If only I could switch to something better than jelly beans I think it would help my diet, teeth and perhaps fitness program too.

But, and here's the trick, since I only eat it at work it's got to fulfill the following requirements:

- tasty (sorry, I don't consider carrots a snack...I know some do)
- non-perishable (so I can keep a supply handy at all times)
- no offensive odor, must not draw bugs (so fruit's out)
- relatively low calorie (at least comparable to jelly beans)
- healthy (i.e., better than jelly beans)

Thanks in advance for your suggestions. I know I've posed a tough one.

Best wishes,

Lar

I love teddy grahams--the winnie the pooh version only has seven cals per cracker...

How big are the crackers Jessica?

they're, like 1" x 1/2 an inch ( a "handful" is about 5--35 cals!!)

another one, GOLDFISH CRACKERS!! I don't have their cal info handy, the costco box is in the trash...but they seem pretty benign...

seems the rumbly grahams are fairly high in cals--I probably would do teddy grahams instead (lots of varieties, I like cinnamon best)--and I swear I don't binge on the guys--they're easy to have around for Abby to snack on!!

OK, thanks. I'll try those cookies and crackers and see how they workout.

Best wishes.

Lar

Goldfish crackers are pretty addictive! I can't have them around me anymore because I will eat the whole bag at once, although I don't avoid them at parties! :)

I loooove dried fruits. The only drawback is that they may have more sugar than jelly beans (I think dried pineapple is really sugary.) But vitamins, right? And fiber! And they don't draw bugs (but do keep them in a ziploc bag). Also, nice chewy texture. Check the nutrition labels next time you're at the store to see if it's something you could use.

Here's a partial list of my food drawer at work: Box of cereal from earthy crunchy store, dried pears, dried nectarines, 3 cups of instant hot cereal, 2 Balance bars (warning: sugary, emergency only), dried peaches, baggy of granola, huge economy bag of unsalted roasted almonds.

Raisins are good snacks, too. :)

I JUST REMEMBERED GORP!!! (Good Old Raisins and Peanuts--trail mix--taking deas ideas and expanding on 'em..higher in fat, but it has protein and other good stuff...)

Heeeeeeeeey...maybe I should have GORA! (Good Old Raisins and Almonds) because I sure do have a huge bag of them. :D

Nuts are higher in fat, but also have essential fatty acids (I think? anyone?) and protein. A little bit goes a loooong way. A serving of almonds can keep me going until dinnertime. And the reason mine are unsalted, btw, is that I tend to trigger on salty things (also why I won't put goldfish crackers in the office and why there's so much dried fruit). You might want to keep things like what you go nuts (haha) over in mind as you choose your snacks, too.

I also choose plain unsalted nuts (just a handful) as a good snack. They are high in the right kind of oils as well as fiber (especially if you choose the brown almonds-the skins are high in fiber)

I've also discovered seaweed....no don't laugh. It's the kind that is used for making sushi. 2.8 grams has 0 fat, 1 carb, and it says 0 calories (but I think I'd check further at fitday for this). It's very tasty and crispy and is high in Vitamin A and C. Have to watch the salt if you buy the salted variety. SO if you like the taste of the seaweed used in making sushi, try it for a great snack alternative.

Great, even more ideas...it will take me a while to get through them all, but at least it's a weekend when I normally go to the market. I'll print this thread and take it with me.

Thanks very much!

Lar

Goldfish crackers are a good bet. You may want to try them. :)