Every single dieter has a weakness.. SNACKS.
These monsters are sometimes more calories than a meal and can often prevent weight loss candidates from achieving their weight loss goals. As a person who LOVES to snack, I will be sharing four of my favorite recipes from Spark Recipes for diet-friendly snacks.
Spark Recipes is an awesome source for weight loss recipes that are still yummy. Sometimes they feature weight watcher classics and user originals are hit as well. The best part of the website? They have calorie/nutrition information on the page! Check them out!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1/4 cup water
1/6 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 2-3 lemons (about 3 Tbsp)
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cumin powder
Directions:
Place all ingredients into a food processor (or blender) and process until very smooth. Refrigerate in an air-tight container for 7-10 days.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1/6 of dip
Calories per serving: 215.9
Grams of fat: 12.8 g
cCyandPearls tips
- Serve with pita chips if you are not on a strict diet
- Serve with carrots, cucumbers, or celery if you are on a stricter diet
Ingredients:
- Salsa:
2 medium apples (Fuji or Gala preferred), chopped and peeled
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
2 medium Kiwi Fruit, peeled and chopped
1 small orange, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup diced fresh pineapple
1 Tbsp Splenda (or to taste)
2 Tbsp sugar free Strawberry or Apricot jam
Tortillas:
8 whole wheat tortillas
2 Tbsp melted Light butter or buttery spread
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp cinnamon
Pam buttery spray (optional)
Directions:
Mix the fruits together with the Splenda and blend in food processor or chopper until consistency of salsa. Add the sugar free jam and mix. Chill.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix the butter, honey, & cinnamon together.
Spray the tortillas with Pam spray if desired, and spread the buttery mixture on each tortilla and stack in 4's. Cut both stacks into 8 sections each.
Place carefully on cookie sheets which have been greased or sprayed with Pam spray.
Bake for about 8-10 minutes or just until slightly crisp. Watch very carefully so they don't get too crisp.
Cool slightly before serving with the chilled salsa.
Mix the butter, honey, & cinnamon together.
Spray the tortillas with Pam spray if desired, and spread the buttery mixture on each tortilla and stack in 4's. Cut both stacks into 8 sections each.
Place carefully on cookie sheets which have been greased or sprayed with Pam spray.
Bake for about 8-10 minutes or just until slightly crisp. Watch very carefully so they don't get too crisp.
Cool slightly before serving with the chilled salsa.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1/8 of salsa
Calories per serving: 203.9
Grams of fat: 4.8 g
cCyandPearls tips
- Experiment with different fruits
- Forgo the buttery mixture and sprinkle tortilla chips with cinnamon sugar to reduce calories and sugar
Ingredients:
- 6 rice cakes
3/4 cup tomato sauce
6 tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded
Directions:
Spread 2 tbsp of tomato sauce onto each rice cake, sprinkle each with 1 tbsp parmensan.
Bake in oven at 350* until cheese begins to melt or heat in microwave until cheese bubbles.
Bake in oven at 350* until cheese begins to melt or heat in microwave until cheese bubbles.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 "cake"
Calories per serving: 65.8
Grams of fat: 1.7 g
cCyandPearls tips
- Switch out the cheese for Cabot's 75% reduced fat sharp cheddar (you have to shred the cheese yourself
- Sprinkle some garlic power, oregano, and basil over the "cake" for flavor
Ingredients:
- 2 cups plain soy milk (or almond milk if you can get it)
2 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 banana, peeled and frozen
2 tbsp. no sugar added creamy peanut butter
Directions:
Put all ingredients into the blender and mix until smooth. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1/2 of recipe
Calories per serving: 294
Grams of fat: 14.7 g
cCyandPearls tips
- Using skim milk will reduce the fat and calories but reduce the protein value
- Smucker's Natural chunky peanut butter will add texture to the recipe
Happy Snacking! What websites/recipes do you use to keep your snacks diet-friendly?
-Chrissy Yimei Ching
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