Sure we’re registered dietitians, personal trainers and veggie lovers, but that doesn’t mean we only love veggies and that we only crave healthy food. Ha! If only! In fact, we didn’t become weight loss experts solely through our many years of nutrition schooling and through our experience helping thousands of clients to reach their fat loss goals. What we find to be one of the most valuable pieces in our success in helping you to lose weight is actually the fact that we’ve dealt with the same food challenges in some form or another.
We’ve certainly had our fair share of snacks that not only have left us feeling heavy or bloated, but guilty after we ate it. In our younger days it was yogurt covered pretzels that got us into trouble…
After all, it’s easy to mindlessly munch on a bag of pretzels as you work away on the computer or become engrossed with your favorite show, and then suddenly reach for another pretzel (or cookie or chip, etc.) and … the entire bag is gone! (Yep, been there. Done that. AND had the belly ache to prove it 🙁 ) And worse than that, many times an hour or two later you feel hungry again (although this is not so for the yogurt covered pretzels, which we ate straight from the bulk food bag we bought them in; they were so heavy that we typically felt nauseas for hours after…eeks!)
If you too, have found yourself a victim of a well-intentioned snack gone wrong and have ended up feeling heavy or bloated and guilty , here are two ways to prevent it (and the weight gain that occurs after something similar happens a few too many times!).
1) Pre-portion your snacks and never eat straight out of the bag (box or carton of ice cream or peanut butter). If it’s not pre-portioned it’s difficult to know how much you actually eat and you can easily swallow several hundred calories more than you intended—or realize!
2) Make sure your snack is satisfying. After all, there’s nothing like a delicious, satiating snack that gives you a long-lasting energy boost, prevents you from being ravenous at your next meal and leaves you feeling good about yourself, rather than regretful. To do this, be sure your snack contains both protein and fiber.
- This fiber/protein combination makes for a longer lasting energy boost and helps to prevent hunger, so it’s the ideal weight loss snack.
- What’s more, this combination fills your stomach and keeps your blood sugar stable. It’s when your blood sugar dips that you crave energy (think food! and sugar, especially!) and this snack prevents that–and the mood swings too! Oh yeah!
- Typically if a snack is a good source of fiber and protein, it won’t be full of empty processed carb calories or loads of artery-clogging fat. Just make sure your snack isn’t so big that it adds the calories that it would from an additional meal.
- Look for a snack for about 100-200 calories.
This Creamy Cashew Hummus is made with healthy, good-for-you ingredients—and will help you get your protein and fiber! The chickpeas and cashews are good sources of both. The cashews are rich in good-for-you fat and vitamin E to fight everyday damage that speeds the aging process–and protects against disease.
This yumster is rich and decadent-feeling, but won’t leave you bloated from too much salt or feeling weighed down by too much fat. Dip your favorite veggies in it, and its one fab snack that will keep you feeling light and good about yourself! Simply scoop a portion out on a plate, grab some veggies for dipping and enjoy!
(Pssst… .looking for other healthy snacks/ dips that fit the bill? Check out our Skinny Spinach and Artichoke Dip Bites or our Skinny Tex Mex Bean Salsa or our Simple Crunchy Kale Snack )
Creamy Cashew Hummus
This creamy twist on traditional hummus has a nutty flavor that is ideal as a veggie dip for a party or as a spread on a deli sandwich for lunch!
Serving Size: 2 tbsp
Serves: ~24
Ingredients
1 (15.5 ounce) can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1 cup of raw cashews*
¼ cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
1 clove of garlic
2 tsp tahini
1 ½ tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup water
Directions
*Before making the hummus, soak the raw cashews in water for 8 hours. Soaking the cashews allows for them to blend better, and makes for an overall creamier texture. It is important to buy raw cashews and not roasted cashews, because the roasted cashews will not absorb as much water as raw cashews.
Place all the ingredients in a food processor or vitamix and blend until the desired consistency is reached. More water may be added if need be.
Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 55
Carbohydrates: 4 g
Fat: 3.6 g
Saturated Fat: 0.5 g
Cholesterol: 0 g
Protein: 2 g
Sodium: 59mg
Sugar: 0 g
Fiber: 1 g
- 1 (15.5 ounce) can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
- 1 cup of raw cashews
- ¼ cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 tsp tahini
- 1 ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tbspn olive oil
- ⅓ cup water
- Before making the hummus, soak the raw cashews in water for 8 hours Soaking the cashews allows for them to blend better, and makes for an overall creamier texture. It is important to buy raw cashews and not roasted cashews, because the roasted cashews will not absorb as much water as raw cashews.
- Place all the ingredients in a food processor or vitamix and blend until the desired consistency is reached. More water may be added if need be.
- Enjoy!