healthy snack – meg.antinucci

Peaches & Cream…

Hey guys!! Hope you are all doing great and staying on track if like me you gave yourself some new healthy goals for 2015! I am just trying to stay on track and keep eating more fruit and veggies everyday!

One of the easiest and tastiest ways for me to get a healthy serving of fruit is to make a smoothie. Sometimes I have one for breakfast and sometimes I have them later in the day or at night if I am craving something sweet!

I usually always have a variety of frozen fruit in my freezer because my hubs and daughter both love smoothies too! Normally we have strawberries, mango, pineapple, and mixed berries on hand but recently we picked up sliced frozen peaches and I have been obsessed you guys!! They are seriously so good and I love combining them with mango and pineapples!

Recipe

1c Unsweetened vanilla or regular Almond Milk

1 Small Ripe Banana

1/2c Frozen Strawberries

1c Frozen Peaches

1/2c Frozen Pineapple

*Throw it all in a blender and enjoy!*

Approximate Calorie Count- 269

So I have mentioned previously that I usually just drink almond milk and I highly suggest you guys give it a try if you have never tasted it before. My husband never wanted to try it and then after he realized you literally can’t taste the difference in smoothies he is now a huge fan as well! This is a really simple change that will help cut a few calories and eliminate diary from a snack while still tasting delicious and being a great healthy option!

xo Meg

January 13, 2015 by bellanoochi

Date Almond Rolls…

A few months back I had no idea that these tiny treats even existed, and now I eat them all the time! I randomly stumbled upon them at our local BJ’s wholesale club and figured I would give them a try because they are raw and contain just two ingredients, dates and almonds. Seriously these things are like miniature candy bars they are sweet but have that crunch from the almonds and are kind of gooey in the middle. I will eat them mostly by themselves as a little snack two is a serving size and do have a decent amount of calories considering how tiny they are but they are packed with flavor, vitamins, and nutrients.

I just saw an episode of Giada at Home on the Food Network and she made a Banana Walnut Smoothie that looked really good with almond milk, walnuts, and a few other ingredients. I decided to put my own spin on in and use these little date rolls in place of the walnuts that hers called for.

Recipe

1c Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

1 Banana

1 Almond Date Roll

3/4c Frozen Mango

3/4c Frozen Pineapple

Total Calories: 296 for entire recipe which is great for breakfast or for a snack you could split the recipe into two servings at 148 calories per serving of course this will vary depending on the brands and size of banana.

I definitely noticed a difference with the dates, they added just a little bit of extra sweetness and combined with the banana gave a perfect creamy texture that was delicious! I will be making this over and over again this summer it’s so good!

xo Meg

March 25, 2014March 25, 2014 by bellanoochi

Sweet Treat…

Lately I have been craving a sweet treat and this snack is perfect and takes about five minutes to make! This is really simple but came from making my low-fat apple desserts. The longest part of making this snack is peeling and cutting up the apple! My husband and daughter absolutely love this snack and are always asking me to make it for them!

We like to eat them cold because they are sweet and have a great crunch, but you could throw them in the microwave or glass bowl to heat them up on a cold winter day.

Recipe

1-2 Apples Sliced

Sprinkle of Cinnamon

Sprinkle of Brown Sugar or Sugar Substitute

Calories: Under 100 depending on size of apple

I love snacks like these because they are so simple but delicious and fresh. There are so many different ways to use apples so we always have a big bag of them in the house. We love them to eat plain or juice them with greens!

xo Meg

January 30, 2014 by bellanoochi

Homemade Hummus…

Hummus is one of my all time favorite snacks! I love it so much because its relatively healthy and you can eat it with tons of different veggies or pita chips. I normally just purchase this from the store but I was totally out and really wanting it for a snack so I remembered seeing a recipe on the Food Network for a version that had eggplant in it that looked so good. I didn’t have any eggplant so I just threw this version together pretty quickly and it really turned out delicious! The actual recipe had a lot more ingredients and is here if you want to take a look at it!

The great thing about hummus is that you can use really any type of bean that you like so it’s giving you protein and healthy fats. Then you can choose if you want to add in any additional veggies like eggplant or even roasted peppers. Then whatever flavoring you choose, garlic, or even something spicy. So the ingredients will vary depending on your personal taste, I really just used what I had at home!

Recipe

1 Can of Garbanzo beans

1 Lemon Juiced

2-3T Garlic Flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Calories: For 1/6 of the recipe is 70 calories and 3.5g of protein

*Directions: First you want to rinse the beans in cold water and then throw them into a food processor or blender. Next juice your lemon and add to the beans. Start to mix the ingredients together and add in your olive oil a tablespoon at a time until it becomes creamy. Season with salt and pepper or garlic powder if you don’t have flavored oil. I just tasted it as I went until it was the texture and taste that I liked! For the pita chips I took a pita bread that I had in the fridge and broiled it in the oven for a few minutes until it became crispy. I love this brand because it only has 60 calories for an entire pita compared to 130 calories for about 10 pita chips you would buy at the store in a bag. I then just cut it into triangles and they were perfect to dip into the hummus. If you wanted to add extra flavor you could brush the bread with olive oil before you put it in the oven.

I also wanted to mention my all time favorite hummus that I generally purchase at the store and love to eat it with baby carrots! It is a sweet and spicy black bean hummus made by the company Eat Well Enjoy Life. This stuff is so good I am obsessed with it and it only has about 40 calories per 2 tablespoons which is great!
I love this as a snack and it literally only took five minutes to put this together and was so tasty!

xo Meg

January 27, 2014January 27, 2014 by bellanoochi

Snack Attack…

I love snacks salty are the best but I have to watch myself because they can get me into trouble. There is nothing wrong with having a snack like pita chips, or tortilla chips, or even popcorn. You just have to be aware of how much you are eating, something I never used to do. A serving size of tortilla chips is about 10 chips and can be around 140 calories which isn’t too bad for a chip, but I would catch myself blindly eating handfuls of them and then you have to guess as to how much you are really eating. So I started to literally count them out and that way I know how many calories I am eating.

This is one of my favorite snacks, guacamole and reduced fat tortilla chips. I usually just make my own guacamole because I usually always have avocados. For some reason they are never ripe when I want half of one and then I have 3 ripe at once so this is a great way to use up ripe avocados and its delicious!

Recipe

3 Ripe Avocados

1-2 Small Vine Ripe Tomatoes

1/2 Lemon Juiced

Garlic Powder, Salt, & Pepper to taste

*Mash it all up in a bowl to your desired consistency! Another one of my go-to snacks that I eat several times a week is popcorn. This is hands down my fave snack of all time. If you get the urge to snack on something at night like I do then this is perfect because it can be very low in calories and you can flavor it however you like! I always use an air popper to make mine from white corn so there is no added fat or oil. After it’s done popping I use a misto olive oil sprayer to add a little extra virgin olive oil. Then I top it with sea salt and a little cayenne pepper for a little kick! My husband uses a non-fat butter spray and white cheddar flavoring powder that has like no calories. There are so many different options and for about 7 cups of popcorn its under 150 calories.

Fruit is the fastest food and best snack you can have in my opinion. If I am starving or I will be out all day I always make sure to grab an apple, banana, or grapes. They aren’t that messy to eat in the car and can be very filling. A medium apple, cup of grapes, and banana are all around 100 calories and make a perfect snack on the go!

Happy Snacking!

xo Meg

January 16, 2014 by bellanoochi

Tomato Obsession…

I really don’t know what has gotten into me but lately I have been obsessed with tomatoes! I love to just eat them plain with mozzarella or use them in dishes that I am cooking. I went through a bunch of my healthy cookbooks and they seemed to be everywhere, so I went to the grocery store in search of different types of tomatoes to spice up the simple dishes I have been eating with fresh ingredients.

One of my all time faves is a tomato mozzarella sandwich it always hits the spot especially if you use fresh Italian bread… nothing is better toasted with a little olive oil! I have been paying much closer attention to my portion sizes, I thought that because I was watching my calories that I couldn’t have delicious fresh bread, but for 2 oz they are usually between 140-150 calories. One of the best kitchen gadgets I have invested in is my food scale that I ordered from Amazon. It is so helpful and you don’t have to guess how much food you are eating. I was shockingly surprised that 2 oz of bread is actually plenty and very satisfying. When you are eating it with fresh veggies which don’t have many calories at all it is a very filling meal.

These pictures are actually from different days, I seriously love eating this! For a lighter meal or snack I will have just the tomatoes with a little mozzarella, balsamic, salt, pepper, and olive oil topped with fresh basil and eat it just like a salad. If I want more of meal I will slice up 2 oz of fresh bread very thin and toast them in the oven and top with half an avocado. You could put this over lettuce like an actual salad but I find with fresh ingredients you really don’t need it I love all of the different tomatoes just by themselves!

xo Meg

September 17, 2013 by bellanoochi