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Snack Attack: Pre and Post Workout Snacks

FitSugar — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:00:00 -0700

People are always asking me what makes good pre- and post-workout snacks and so I am always on the lookout for them. As you can imagine, I was thrilled to see that MSNBC recently did an article on the best fuel for your workout and they are:

Before the workout:

A banana with yogurt.
A whole-wheat toasted bagel with fruit spread.
A quick bowl of instant oatmeal.

For a quick refuel after the workout, just

Snack Attack: Pre and Post Workout Snack Ideas

FitSugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:00:00 -0700

People are always asking me what they should eat before and after working out and the math is simple: aim for a high-carbohydrate, moderate protein, low-fat meal or snack. The problem comes in when trying to figure out what snacks and meals fall into those basic guidelines. I did a fun little quiz on foods for working out a while back, but recently Weight Watchers has summed up their favorite pre- and post-workout snacks/meals. They sound tasty and look easy, so I wanted to share them with you so you can get a few more ideas for yourself. They are:

Five pre-workout snack ideas:

Half a chicken, turkey or lean roast beef sandwich on whole-wheat bread
Low-fat yogurt with a sliced banana
Low-fat string cheese and 6 whole-grain crackers
Hard-boiled eggs, yolks removed and replaced with hummus. (Check out my own recipe here!)
Skim milk blended with frozen fruit to make a smoothie

For post-workout meal ideas just

Snack Attack: Fruit and Yogurt Popsicles

FitSugar — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 02:00:00 -0800

Even though it may be cold outside, I still crave ice cream (it's one of my downfalls). Store bought frozen yogurt is so much healthier than ice cream but many can contain a lot of added sugar. Instead, I like to whip up a batch of frozen yogurt popsicles with fresh fruit.

Want to see my recipe? Then

Super Bowl Snack: Make Your Own Hummus

FitSugar — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 03:00:00 -0800

The Super Bowl seems to be a lot about snacking, and it's easy to eat mindlessly when there are munchables right in front of you. So if you're throwing a Super Bowl party or attending someone else's, forget the cheesy nachos, buttery popcorn, and creamy veggie dips. Make some homemade hummus instead. It is so simple to make yourself and fresh veggies go so well with hummus.

Want to see my recipe? Then

Snack Attack: Sleepy Snacks

FitSugar — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 07:30:00 -0800

While I try to avoid eating less than three hours before bed, sometimes a girl just gets hungry. Luckily there are some snacks light in calories that make great bedtime snacks because they could actually help you fall asleep.

Here are some great suggestions from Joy Bauer for snacks that could help you improve your sleep:

Eat a light snack before bedtime to help produce serotonin (the calming hormone). Try a light snack — 200 calories or less — that’s mainly carbohydrate with a touch of protein. Many scientists claim that by combining an ample dose of carbohydrate together with a small amount of protein (which contains the amino acid tryptophan) your brain produces serotonin, which is known as the “calming hormone.” And when we’re calm, we are certainly more apt to fall asleep. Suggested bedtime snacks:

1 slice of whole wheat toast topped with 1 small slice of low-fat cheese

1/2 cup healthy cereal topped with 1/2 cup skim milk

1 banana with 1 teaspoon of peanut butter

1 rice cake topped with 1 tomato slice and 1 slice turkey breast

Source

Snack Attack: Make Your Own Twix

FitSugar — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 13:30:00 -0800

After posting about Twix's 100-Calorie Bars, user chrissy00 shared a great little snack idea that you can make on your own.

"Why not make your own healthy twix bar? I take 2 graham crackers (whole wheat), layer with sugar-free, low-carb (walden farms makes a great one) caramel, and sugar-free chocolate that is melted. Dip the graham cracker into the melted choc and smoosh together with the caramel and more chocolate. Much healthier and low in carbs and sugar free. Yummmm!"

Sounds like a tasty snack (or dessert) idea to me. If you try it out, share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Snack Attack: Healthy Treats for Your Freezer

FitSugar — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 03:00:00 -0800

Sometimes healthy snacks can get boring and it's nice to have some easy to make snacks on hand for anytime your tummy starts rumbling and you've already eaten dinner. eDiets has found the best healthy snacks to keep in your freezer and since I love almost everything on this list, especially Skinny Cow Ice Cream, I wanted to share it with you.

Birds Eye Steamfresh Veggies: One entire bag has less than 200 calories.
Skinny Cow Ice Cream: These delicious ice-cream sandwiches are 97-percent fat free and have only 140 calories
Sugar-Free Popsicles: They are low in calories and sugar-free!
Edamame: These soybeans are low in calories and easy to make -- all you have to do is boil some water.
Gardenburger: These are delicious and hearty and have around 100 calories per patty.
Kashi Go Lean Frozen Waffles: Each waffle has 8 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber, and only 3 grams of fat!

What about you? Do you keep a "go to" snack in your freezer? Tell me what it is in the comments section below.

Holiday Eating Tip: Make a Thanksgiving Leftover Salad

FitSugar — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 02:00:00 -0800

After a heavy Thanksgiving meal, many of us are craving meals on the lighter side the following week — especially those of us who are trying to make it through the holidays without the inevitable weight gain! So for something lighter, make a salad with plenty of fresh vegetables topped with cubed or sliced leftover turkey.

Other ingredients to consider are dark purple salad greens, cherry tomatoes, green peppers, celery, leftover peas, chopped almonds, and hard-boiled eggs.

Top with a cranberry salad dressing that you can make on your own by mixing some leftover cranberry sauce with olive oil and a touch of balsamic vinegar.

Why I love this salad:

Turkey is high in protein, and I have a lot of it lying around.
Cranberry is among our list of favorite seasonal foods.
Mixed veggies provide you with a natural source of fabulous nutrients like vitamin c and lycopene, to name a few.
Olive oil and almonds are great sources for monounsaturated fat (aka the good fat).

Fit's Tip: Love cheese on your salad? Cheese is a great source of calcium but can be high in fat, so try topping with a cheese that is a little bit lower in fat naturally like Parmesan or Sap Sago (made from whey).

Lite'n It up Feature: Healthier Pizza Bagels

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 10:15:00 -0800

Due to the frozen pizza recall last week, we've been forced to get our pizza fixes other ways. Being that most frozen pizzas are not healthy, the silver lining was that this was a good opportunity for all of us to rid our freezers of them anyway.

User steen, not willing to tempt fate by buying any more frozen pizzas, found a fabulous recipe for Power Pizza Bagels from Parenting.com that was too good not to share with everyone!

To see the recipe, just

Snack Attack: Inexpensive and Nutritious Snacks (and Meals)

FitSugar — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 09:30:00 -0700

I've been a big Joy Bauer fan; she kind of has a tough love approach to eating. In her book, Food Cures, she gives great tips and tidbits on how to eat right, easily.

Joy has a little column/blog on Yahoo health, and her most recent entry about finding inexpensive, healthy snacks was right up my alley, particularly since I am always complaining about how expensive it is to be healthy.

Here are highlights:
Afternoon Snacks:

5 cups air-popped popcorn (2 tablespoons Jolly Time kernels) = 5 cents
1/4 cup raw almonds = 20 cents
1 Polly-O string cheese (from a large bag at a wholesale club) = 16 cents
1 apple = 50 cents
1 Nature Valley granola bar packet (from a large box at a wholesale club) = 16 cents

For some inexpensive and healthy meal ideas, just