Dried Tart Cherries And More!: Healthy Snacks At Your Fingertips

When I'm craving a delicious fruity snack, there is hardly anything better than a handful of dried tart cherries

. But that is just one of many ideas for a healthy snack to keep you on track with your fitness and nutrition goals. It can be especially challenging to remain on the right course if you don't know what to reach for when you're hungry. That's why I have compiled a few suggestions.

If you're looking for something that keeps well in the long-term, then freeze-dried or dehydrated fruit is an excellent way to go. Banana chips have a nice crispy texture, while apple rings tend to be fluffy and soft, just to name a few examples, so you can have a huge variety of flavors and textures to satisfy your craving. Plus, their vitamin and antioxidant content is a wonderful boost to your immune system.

Dried tart cherries or dehydrated cranberries--often nicknamed "craisins"--have an excellent sweet and tangy flavor. But you should beware of the sugar content of any and all dried fruit, as it can be quite high. Read the nutrition labels carefully so you can get a proper serving size.

Winter is just around the corner, so you might be tempted to prepare a creamy mug of hot cocoa after coming inside from a snowy day. But you might want to rethink that, considering most servings of drinkable chocolate have at least 140 calories, so opt for the diet variety (it does exist) or have some tea sweetened with a zero calorie substitute for sugar and a little lemon for flavor.

If you're hungry, mix a single packet of high-fiber oatmeal with some steaming water, and you've got a long-lasting combatant against hunger. At around 120 calories, it makes a warming snack that will stave off those winter blues. Low fat soup is also a great option to achieve the same effect. Avoid cream-based soups, as their high dairy content makes them much more fattening. Again, be wary of the serving size. Most canned varieties list their serving size as eight ounces (a cup).

Don't shy away from the "health foods" found at your grocery store. Low fat or sugar free items are now as delicious as their more lavish counterparts because of advances in food science. For example, my favorite potato chips now come in a non-fat variety and taste much the same as their more fattening other half because of a new frying product. At 70 calories per ounce, they are less than half the calories of the original type.

Dieting doesn't have to deprive you. You just have to get creative!

by: Art Gib

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