Sunday, January 23, 2011

Snack Attack.

Tonight we experienced, what is about the closest Utah ever gets to being Hollywood-esque. The Sundance film festival always comes around this time of year, and it seems like 1/2 of Utah ventures up north to wander the streets of Park City in hopes of some celeb spotting. We bundled up, went to dinner, and walked around Main Street for a bit. It was preetttty chilly. I think any hopes of spotting any celebs were dashed by my survival instincts.

a. I hate being cold.
b. Because I hate being cold, (as was above mentioned,) I walk as fast as possible from one location to the next. Eyes on the prize = getting inside and getting warm. No time to star gaze, unless of course you are in the way of me getting inside.
c. My Giant North Face coat has a large fur hood that blocks my peripheral. Warmth over Beauty.

So, I'm sure I passed Paris, Ashton, JT, and Angelina...but I was to worried about my own warmth to give them the time of day. ;) Let's be honest...I'm not one of those people who just runs into famous people left and right like my sister Nichole. Although...I've met Fred Willard, and one time I saw MC Hammer outside of Pure in Las Vegas.

On to actual important things...One of my booty boot campers asked about some good snack ideas that both she and her daughter could eat that she could feel good about. I came up with a list of my favorites...

- Any sort of cut up fruits and vegetables. Having fresh, pre-cut vegetables and hummus or a fat free dip on hand is a great way to satisfy cravings for something crunchy, with an option that is low in calories and fat. Having whole fruits on hand such as apples, bananas, pears, clemantines, and oranges are also great and easy to take on the go. Frozen grapes can be a great treat to munch on. A favorite snack of mine is cut up bananas or apples with peanut butter or almond butter.
- Caramel Corn Quakes. These are a great option if you are looking for something sweet. Kids love them too.
- Nuts are also a great option. I am a big fan of the all natural almonds. The only problem you can run into when you are dealing with nuts is portion control. It's very easy to keep grabbing and grabbing without realizing that you've gone overboard. Nuts are high in calories, so you don't want to overdo it.
 - I LOVE sweet potato fries. They are so delicious, and kids love them too. They are a great after school snack, or side dish to a healthy lunch or dinner.
 - Fake out chips and salsa. Set your oven to broil. Take a whole wheat tortilla, I prefer the La Tortilla Factory Low Carb Tortillas, and spray a cookie sheet. Place the tortilla on the cookie sheet and cut it into pieces using a pizza cutter. Give them a once over coat with cooking spray and throw them into your oven for a few minutes. As soon as they crisp up, take them out and eat them with some fresh salsa or hummus. I prefer mango salsa...yum.
- Air popped popcorn is  a great low calorie snack that kids love. One cup of air popped popcorn is about 33 calories. Be careful not to ruin those great stats by dousing it in butter and salt. I prefer some spray butter and just a sprinkle of salt for taste.
 - Low fat zucchini cookies. This is, hands down, one of my favorite recipes. If you haven't made these cookies yet, you are crazy. Every time I make them and give them away people can't believe they are healthy. They only have about 80 calories per cookie. I like to double or triple the batch and put them in the freezer in a big ziplock bag. Take them out and put them in the microwave for 15 seconds and you'll be happy as a clam. 
- Edamame  I LOVE the individual packs you can get at Costco. A great protein filled snack.
- String Cheese
- Low Fat/Fat Free Yogurt with Fiber One Cereal
- Whole grain crackers and Laughing Cow Cheese
- Bran muffins. These are another favorite recipe that I will make and put in the freezer to have on hand for quick snacks or breakfast.
- Deli Turkey and whole grain crackers
- Healthy protein bars and meal replacement bars. My favorites are Cliff Bars, Zone Perfect Bars, Pure Protein Bars, and Balance Gold Bars. 
- Hard Boiled Eggs
- Protein Shakes
- Cottage cheese and your choice of fruit or veggies. I like either tomatoes with some salt and pepper, or cut up fruit. 
- 100 Calorie Packs...I'm not a huge fan of these because they don't hold much nutritional value, but they are great for portion control and can be great to keep on hand for your kids.
- Sugar Free Fudgecicles. 
- Diet Rootbeer and fat free vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt. 
- Fat Free/Sugar free pudding cups
- Fruit Leather
- Whole wheat toast with Peanut Butter 

Hopefully these ideas can help you make your snacks healthy ones! What is your favorite snack/your kids favorite snacks? I would say my all time fave right now is air popped popcorn. Have you ever met anyone famous? I forgot to mention my sister and I rode Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland with Lou Diamond Phillips...la la la la la la bumba!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

A couple of my favorite snacks are greek yogurt with some Kashi Honeysunshine mixed in or a syntha 6 cookies n cream protein shake made with ice, almond milk, cocoa powder and 1 tb. of peanut or almond butter!

Don't laugh, but to me some of the fitness icons are celebs in my book. When I went to the Olympia I met tons but my fave was Monica Brant, and I stood right next to Arnold at the Arnold Classic :)

Anonymous said...

popcorn is definitely my go to for snack attacks. yum, in fact i ate bunches last night! i've met a couple olympic hockey players but no one *really* household name famous...

A Prelude To... said...

I want me some sweet potato fries!! That's it! - I'm making the husband get me my new oven today! I can't believe we've lived without one for months now.

Thanks for snacky ideas.

Shannon said...

I love clementines! Now I really want one, but don't have any.

My favorite snacks or some toast with peanut butter, a GOOD apple, laughing cow light cheese with some Special K crackers, cottage cheese with some splenda and cereal (usually either malt-o-meal honey nut cheerios or Special K vanilla almond), a tortilla with a little bit of light butter, or light, sugar free yogurt.

I've never really met anyone famous, but my dad saw someone famous (can't remember who, maybe Martin Short?) at a gun show in Vegas.

Jenn said...

Awww..I love Utah and cold and Sundance Film Festival!! Lucky you!! I def. have days when I wish it was cold here! Its been Santa Ana's here(which means summer and 75 degrees) I guess I cant compain! :)
I love to eat string cheese and apples for a snack!
But those apples and peanut butter look so yummy!!
Hmmm.... celebs, yes! I have been acting for year now so I see lots. The coolest one was Leonardo, I worked on Inception. Def. the most surreal moment in my life!
Hope you have a great day!!

Unknown said...

haha, I would have done the same thing. I HATE BEING COLD! I don't care what celebrity is around, I need warmth too.
I love those zucchini cookies. Might have to give it whirl myself. We eat lots of hummus and veggies. Plus I like to make my primal energy bars. YUM!
LC

Katy said...

My favorite ever are the Quaker rice cake 100 calorie packages. The Chocolatey Mint tastes just like Girl Scout Thin Mints, which is a HUGE weakness of mine. So I get the indulgence without the calories.

Anonymous said...

My favorite snack is: Apple and Peanut butter!!

I have met Adrian Gonzales from the Padres and Paul Walker at Cold Stone :)

Heather said...

Great snack ideas! Thank you! My son is addicted to all fruit. I keep apples, oranges and peaches on the counter in a basket and he asks for them all day long! He doesn't even know what a cookie is yet. My friends think I'm cazy, but I love that he's like that! He'd also prefer "brocci" :) over meat. I do intend to give him sweets sometimes but I'm just not ready to start. He loves eating and I love giving him nutritious things to eat! I promise I won't deprive him!!

I get so excited when I hear about someone seeing or meeting a celebrity. The closest I've gotten is a long time ago I got autographs of players on my favorite baseball team - the NY Yankees! Derek Jeter and Andy Petit were the ones I was most excited about! I've never seen an actor or actress...but I hope to some day!! :)

jennifer said...

I love almond butter-especially with bananas!

I'm so excited about the zucchini cookies recipe:) I have a garden and I always have an overabundance of zucchini! Constantly looking for new ways to use it!!

Love all the snack ideas. Popcorn is definitely on the top of my list along with boiled egg whites, string cheese, and apples.

I've met Dan Marino on the street. I have my picture taken with him and my kids and it's hanging in my hallway. Garrett Hedlund from the movie "Tron" and "Country Strong" is a friend from my hometown. Lots of pro hockey players and Ryan Hall are my claims to fame:)

Have a great day! Keep posting all these yummy recipes!

Jenn said...

That was me on the last comment. Signed in under the wrong account:)

The Hungry Runner Girl said...

That is so fun that you went to the film festival....I am just like you, nothing else matters but finding warmth!!! K, your sweet potato fries are calling my name!! THank you so much again for coming over and cheering me up and I have to say that your yogurt you brought is my favorite snack. I also have been on a big string cheese kick last week!

Nicole said...

I need to check out those bran muffins- I love all things high fiber! My favorite snack is wheat thins with any sort of hummus or dip.
I've never actually met anyone famous but I've seen Jay Leno, Kristen Bell, Helena Bonham Carter, Nicki Hilton, and Magic Johnson.

Jody @ Raising Fin and Fish said...

Great list of snacks! I'm a big fan of the apples with peanut butter.

I met stone cold steve austin in a 7 11 when I was a senior in high school on spring break. I also saw - not met - both snoop dogg and willie nelson on the same flight home from hawaii.

COLORADOctor said...

nom nom nom snackssss.
I love bananas, nuts, nuts+seeds bars, hard boiled eggs, zone bars, nu go bars, pirates booty, baby carrots, greek yogurt w/ granola, etc.

If I had to choose between meals and snacking all day, snacking would definitely take the cake (or maybe zucchini cookie?)

Eleyna Julia said...

Wow, thanks Megs! This will totally help us. :)

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