need healthy munchies

[amazongold]

Besides fruit and fresh veggies, I need some ideas for healthy munchies. Bill is finally getting serious about his diet, controlling the diabetes, and losing weight. Hallelujah!

We already have hummus, which we eat with middle eastern flat bread. I am going to try Giada's recipe for white bean hummus, too.

[blacklabparent]

Tabouleh! A middle eastern parsley salad. Zingy & delicious stuffed into a pita, or even on it's own. Nuts (not too many, a handfull or so a day), almonds, walnuts, unsalted. Full of the good fats your body needs, and good fats do not contirbute to body fat or heart disease, as some people wrongly perceive. Fresh fruit & veggies! I know you said besides, but most people don't come close to a good ammount of fresh fruit & veg. Get lost of colour in there too, red bell pepper, radishes, etc.

[2labcrew]

Besides fruit and fresh veggies, I need some ideas for healthy munchies. Bill is finally getting serious about his diet, controlling the diabetes, and losing weight. Hallelujah!

We already have hummus, which we eat with middle eastern flat bread. I am going to try Giada's recipe for white bean hummus, too.

Although I am a Lebanese purist when it comes to my hummus, her white bean hummus is good!

For the day, my DH takes a hard boiled egg for mid morning, tuna (from the 3oz pouch) mixed with Tzatziki (less fat and calories than mayo), 2 Wasa crackers, a small salad of baby greens, crumbled toasted pecans (6 halves), feta (1 oz), and 1/4 chopped pear with low fat caesar dressing, then fruit and a piece of cabot low fat cheddar for afternoon snack. All are small enough portions to be a single snack though.

Red pepper slices with tzatziki to dip in is heavenly...the bite of the garlic against the red pepper is fabu contrast!

[blacklabparent]

Chickpea salad is a great cold snack to keep in the fridge, and makes a great side dish too!

Chickpea Salad

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if desired
3 cups chopped red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh garlic
2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed (or 3 cups cooked garbanzo beans)
3/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh flat leaf Italian parsley
1½ cups chopped green onions (scallions), green parts only
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
A handful of chopped kalamata or black oil-cured olives, optional

Heat 1/3 cup olive oil in a large frying pan and add the red onion, stirring to coat it with the oil. Cook the onion gently over medium or medium-low heat, stirring often, until the it is soft and starting to brown, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about one minute; don't let the garlic brown. Remove from the heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, stir together the garbanzo beans, cilantro, parsley, green onions, and lemon juice. Add the cooled onion garlic mixture. (If you're impatient like I am, you can mix the onions and garlic into the beans while they're still warm, and the other ingredients will help cool them down.) Mix in the crumbled feta cheese and olives (if using). Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (remember that the feta and olives will already be salty) and up to ½ cup more olive oil if desired.

This salad tastes best if made ahead and allowed to sit for a few hours before serving. Serve at room temperature, with a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil if desired.

[joflake]

T, I took your advice for making healthy chips and tried that yesterday. I found whole wheat lo-carb tortillas cut into triangles, sprinkled some olive oil and sea salt on them and baked them. We acutally browned some ground chicken and made nachos out of them. Delicious! Thanks for the tip. Now when we get a craving for chips we can eat these. I like the lo-carb fact.

[YellowJakesMom]

We make the chickpea salad from Farmgirl Fare all the time too. We put it on lettuce or in pitas

We do olives, rice crackers, edamame, fruit smoothies (frozen fruit, yogurt, honey, tofu), veggies +/- hummus, homemade salsa and baked pitas, too.

[blacklabparent]

T, I took your advice for making healthy chips and tried that yesterday. I found whole wheat lo-carb tortillas cut into triangles, sprinkled some olive oil and sea salt on them and baked them. We acutally browned some ground chicken and made nachos out of them. Delicious! Thanks for the tip. Now when we get a craving for chips we can eat these. I like the lo-carb fact.

They are good, glad you liked them! try sprinkling them with some fresh grated parm before baking =)

[blacklabparent]

We make the chickpea salad from Farmgirl Fare all the time too. We put it on lettuce or in pitas

We do olives, rice crackers, edamame, fruit smoothies (frozen fruit, yogurt, honey, tofu), veggies +/- hummus, homemade salsa and baked pitas, too.

Best. Food Blog. Ever.

this salad is in heavy rotation here, everyone loves it, which is a plus. i served it alongside grilled chicken kabobs and it was a hit with a pretty diverse crowd. =)

[Anne]

I wish I could love chickpeas. =( I've tried. Really.

Grape tomatoes, Nori rice crackers, edamame, almonds....we always have hummus around to dip veggies into. Popcorn, popped in a bit of olive oil w/S&P.

[amazongold]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I think I'm going to try all of them!