snack ideas

Lately I've been wanting to snack while I'm at work.  I know at least part of that is due to my unhappiness with the job.  But another part of it is that I get tired of drinking, drinking, drinking all day long.  I want to chew something.  Nothing sweet, really, but just something to chew.  Most of the time I eat peanuts or some cheese.  I've been wanting to find snacks that are low carb and lower in calories and fat, but that's not always easy.  I'm not much into fruit yet since surgery, but I'm slowly finding fruits I like, such as pineapple.

Yesterday I stopped at the local heath food store to stock up on some new snacks.  The store me sells many items by the pound and there's a decent variety.  Plus, it doesn't cost nearly as much as Whole Foods bulk items.  I grabbed some sesame sticks (my new favorite!) in several flavors:  salted, honey roasted, and oat bran sesame.  I also grabbed some raw, shelled sunflower seeds, corn nuts, and salted, shelled pumpkin seeds.  I'm thinking of making my own trail mix with some peanut butter chips I have at home.  Maybe I'll toss in some raisins, too.  Not low calorie or low fat, but I figure if I stay away from true junk food, like chips, chocolate, brownies, and eat my snacks in moderation, I'm half way there.

While I was browsing I came across Quest protein bars.  I'd heard and read good things about them, but hadn't found them in any stores near me.  I decided to buy a few, even though I don't usually eat protein bars.  It's not because my nutritionist is somewhat against them, but more because it seems like I just don't think about eating them or really even want them.  Or, maybe it's because I no longer crave sweets and most of the bars I've tried are covered in chocolate, or maybe because some of the bars should be sweet and they just taste generic.  Anyway, I bought five of them:  Strawberry Cheesecake, Apple Pie, Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Peanut Butter Supreme.  They're soft, there's no added sugar in most of them, and they have 20g of protein.  I'm thinking I will chop one in two and eat each half for a snack. That will help me to not eat so many nuts and give me 20g of protein each day.

Today I tried the Strawberry Cheesecake flavor.  Yummy!  It tastes like strawberry cheesecake, there are flecks of dried strawberries throughout, and it isn't too sweet.  Nice and soft, too.  I would definitely buy it again.  This bar has 160 calories, 4.5g fat, 26g carbs, 17g fiber (!), 2g sugar and 20g protein.