The 1-Minute Weight Loss Cheat Sheet – Quick Shortcuts & Tactics for Busy Women (4 page)

Having a cup of cottage cheese with fruit is a really healthy snack. The cottage cheese provides protein, which as you have already learned, protein is important for a range of body functions and helping you to keep from feeling hungry so quickly. The fruit, combined with the cottage cheese, is an ideal choice because it provides fiber, which will help fill you up, as well as a range of micronutrients that the body needs.

If you need a healthy snack on the go, cottage cheese and fruit can fit the bill there as well. There are companies that make it in a convenient little cup, which you can just tote along with you. But you can just as easily make it yourself. Just be sure to keep low fat cottage cheese on hand, along with some fresh fruit. Within minutes, you can wash up and slice the fruit and add it to the dish of cottage cheese.

Ideal fruit chunks to include with your cottage cheese include strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries. Berries of all kind are loaded with antioxidants, which help protect your body’s cells. It helps keep your body from aging as quickly, but it also helps to fight off things like cancer. Another popular and tasty option is to have peaches with cottage cheese.

Additional nutritive value of having cottage cheese and fruit for a snack include getting a good dose of calcium, as well as Vitamin C, which can help keep your immune system up.

Choosing cottage cheese and fruit for a snack is a wise choice, especially if you want something that feels a little more like a meal, but without all the calories and fat. Check out the different varieties of cottage cheese that are available and see which one you prefer. When it comes to cottage cheese, you simply can’t beat this delicious and nutritious snack!

If you haven’t yet noticed, the dairy aisle is a popular place for milk alternatives. Many people are choosing to bypass the regular milk, as they head for such alternatives as soy (bad!!) and almond milk, among others.

People are doing this for good reason. Almond milk provides a range of nutritive benefits, and it can be a healthy and tasty snack. In fact, almond milk has about one third the calories that regular milk has. Just reaching for it, rather than regular milk, will save you a lot of calories per glass!

Depending on the brand of almond milk you purchase, you can expect that a serving of the unsweetened beverage will only set you back about 35 to 40 calories. But in those calories comes a range of nutrition, including calcium, Vitamin E, Vitamin D, Vitamin A, and Magnesium.

Sticking with the unsweetened types will help you avoid the unnecessary sugar, as well as additional calories. Give almond milk a try by itself, and also consider using it in your protein shake, which was mentioned earlier. Any place you would normally use regular milk you may want to substitute it with unsweetened almond milk. It will save calories, while providing you plenty of nutrition.

Unsweetened almond milk is a tasty snack to have any time of the day!

Grapes have to be one of the tastiest and healthiest foods and snacks that there is! They are super easy to buy, clean, and tote around. You can wash them ahead of time and keep them clean in the refrigerator, and you can eat them on the run with ease.

When it comes to grapes, taste aside, you are also making a wise snack choice. Grapes are considered to be a food that is low on the glycemic index, so even though it tastes sweet, you don’t have to worry about them causing spikes in your blood sugar level.

Grapes also contain some important phytonutrients and powerful antioxidants. The skin of grapes contains a phytonutrient called resveratrol, which is believed to help keep your body younger, longer. It’s a really powerful antioxidant that you want to make sure you get into your diet on a regular basis. Grabbing a cup of them as a snack is an ideal way to do just that.

Another thing that many people like about grapes is that they make a wonderful snack on hot days. Many people freeze the grapes and then eat them frozen on warm days. This gives you a chance to have a frozen treat or snack, but it won’t fill you up with a lot of sugar or fat from grabbing a traditional frozen ice cream treat or something similar.

If possible, try to purchase organic grapes because they have been identified as one of the foods that is sprayed the most with chemicals during the growing process. Buying organic grapes will help you avoid the pesticide residue. If buying organic ones is not possible, whether because of availability or cost, then be sure to give your grapes a thorough washing prior to eating them. This will help get rid of a lot of the pesticide residue and keep it out of your body.

Grapes make a healthy snack option, providing the body with manganese, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, and fiber. Plus, they taste great and are a refreshing treat!

Sometimes when we want a snack, we long for something that we can just pop into our mouth, one at a time. This is especially true when you are watching a movie or sitting around chatting with friends. Air popped plain popcorn to the rescue!

Eating air popped plain popcorn for a snack is a healthy choice that will give you the opportunity to munch on something during a movie, or just because. With air popped plain popcorn, you can eat quite a bit of it at a time, as well.

A serving of air popped plain popcorn is considered to be around three cups. The three cups of air popped plain popcorn will only be around 93 calorie and one gram of fat. But it also provides you with fiber, and believe it or not, protein.

One serving of popcorn will give you about 3.5 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein. And since it is plain, you don’t have to worry about the salt content. That’s the beauty in keeping it plain – you lose all the unhealthy properties that people add to their popcorn.

Popcorn is one of nature’s perfectly healthy snacks. It’s what we do to it that renders it unhealthy. Adding a bunch of butter and/or salt will make it unhealthy and will hurt your diet goals. But just eating air popped plain popcorn will help you stay on track and feel satisfied at the same time.

If you find you are turning your nose up to air popped plain popcorn, just be aware that it is because you have trained your taste buds to prefer it dripping in butter and laced with lots of salt. You can also un-train your taste buds. Just eat air popped plain popcorn a few times, and before you know it, you will be craving it!

While this snack may take a little bit of prep time, it is well worth the wait. Hard boiled eggs are a nutrition powerhouse, providing loads of protein to help you get through your day!

Hard boiled eggs have only about 70 calories each and preparing them is a breeze!

To make hard boiled eggs, just put the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring them to a boil, then put the heat down to medium, and let them boil for another 10 minutes. Remove them from the heat and put them in a bowl of iced water. By doing this, it will ensure that the yolks stay yellow. Keep them chilled until it is completely cooled off.

To peel your hard boiled eggs, give it a crack on each side and then roll it between your hands to help the shell fall off. Then, enjoy!

Some people add a dash of salt to their hard boiled eggs, but you may want to skip that, especially if you have been advised to watch your sodium intake.

Each hard boiled egg contains around 6 grams of protein and 4.5 grams of fat. They also contain a lot of iron, about 6 mg.

Hard boiled eggs make a snack that is packed with nutrition and will keep you feeling great!

If you are looking for something a little different, or to help you have energy to keep physically active, consider tuna.

Many bodybuilders and personal trainers choose tuna as a healthy snack option. This is because it has a lot of protein, is low in fat, and provides some other nutritional value as well.

The key here is to buy light canned tuna, making sure that it is packed in water, rather than oil. The varieties that are packed in oil will add additional fat and calories that you don’t want to take in for a snack. Stick with purchasing the ones that are water packed.             

One of the bigger cans of tuna
(packed in water) can account for two snacks. Just open the can, take half out, and put the rest in the refrigerator until you need another healthy protein-packed snack.

Tuna is also a good source of some minerals that your body will benefit from, including phosphorus, potassium, and selenium. There are also some B vitamins in canned tuna as well.

Another benefit of eating canned tuna for a healthy snack is that it is convenient. You can purchase small snack sizes to tote around, or larger cans for home use. The cans do not have to be cold if they have not been opened, so it makes it even that much more convenient.

Want a tasty snack that will only set you back around 5 calories? Think pickles!

A pickle spear, which is typically not a full pickle, is only around 5 calories. If you were to eat an entire pickle, it will still add up to less than 20 calories total!

Pickles provide a tasty snack that will fill the desire for something salty, yet it will not harm the waistline because it’s not loaded with calories. And in those less than 20 calories, you will still get a couple of grams of fiber, as well as a little bit of calcium, iron, and vitamin A.