My Favorite Healthy Snacks

I’ve mentioned it before – I really love snacks. Lots of little meals > 3 big meals. Here are the snacks I most often eat.

1. Greek yogurt. It’s packed with protein, is rich and creamy, and full of flavor. My favorite brands, by far, are Fage and Chobani.. My absolute favorite is Fage’s Cherry 0%. I don’t typically like cherry-flavored foods, but this is the jam.

I also really like their Blueberry 0%.

Of all of the Chobani flavors, Pineapple 2% is the one I buy the most. Just like their Passion fruit flavor, it’s very tropical.

Surprisingly, I love their Lemon 0%. It’s really refreshing!

2. Luna bars. Let’s be honest, these things are “healthier” candy bars. They’re made with 70% organic ingredients and contain many essential vitamins and nutrients. Iced Oatmeal Raisin is ridiculously good.

I’ve noticed that people either love the Iced Oatmeal Raisin or the S’mores flavor, but not both. Weird, right? My other top flavors are Peanut Honey Pretzel, Chocolate Dipped Coconut, and Blueberry Bliss.

3. Nuts! I prefer almonds and walnuts, but put me in front of a can of cashews or peanuts and I won’t deny them. First and foremost, I like plain ol’ nuts in their natural state. I buy them in bulk from either Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s.

4. Fruit. I love almost all fruit in its natural state. Bananas, blueberries, and strawberries are my favorite. I’ll also never say no to pineapple. Have I ever told you I briefly lived in Hawaii with my mom when I was 3? Yep. Check this out. Someone was eating a lot of pineapple in 1987.

5. Back to the food. In high school, chips were my weakness. Nowadays, I reach for popchips. They’re not baked or fried, but instead air-popped. They have the best flavors and are so crunchy. I have little to no self control around a bag of Barbecue or Salt & Pepper popchips.

Their newest flavor, Sweet Potato, is quite different because it’s sweet, but is absolutely delicious.

Have you guys seen the new tortilla popchips? I’m dying to try them!

6. String cheese. I hadn’t had string cheese in years until very recently when I visited my grandparents. I forgot how convenient of a snack this is. And it’s cheese. Come on. We all love it. These bad boys are only 50 calories a pop (stick?) and, well, they’re fun to play with.

Embrace your inner 10-year-old and buy a bag of these.

7. Cottage cheese + jam. Sorry if you just threw up after reading that. It’s a great combo, I swear! Cottage cheese packs a punch of protein, and if you buy a lower sodium or low-fat kind, is a great post-workout snack. Top it with some jam for extra flavor. Just try it! +

8. Carrots + hummus. Sabra’s Roasted Garlic hummus is the best! +

9. Avocado + toast. It’s one of the most simple, yet delicious, snacks I eat. Just top a piece of toast with a couple avocado slices, drizzle with honey, top with salt & pepper, eat munch away.

10. COOKIES! Of course! Can’t stop, won’t stop. These aren’t healthy, but I could never leave them off my list of favorite snacks. ;)

What’s your favorite snack?

Are you team Fage or Chobani?

Favorite Luna bar flavor?

A–Z Survey for Saturday

Big hugs to Janetha for posting this awesome survey. Couldn’t resist stealing it…

A is for age: 27 3/4. Ugh. 28 is coming very soon. I was semi bothered by this number until a coworker and I talked about it on Friday. He said 28 is a great age because you’re clearly an adult, but not yet 30. Ha!

B is for breakfast today: I had a cup of grapes and strawberries with the new Gnu Foods Blueberry Cobbler bar. It is so good. As soon as I ripped it open I could smell the blueberry flavor. Once it hits the shelves, you guys need to scoop a bunch up!

Thank you, Gnu Foods, for sending me an early shipment!

C is for currently craving: No cravings at the moment. Shocking. Who am I?

D is for dinner tonight: Last night Amanda and I went to Five Loaves for dinner. I had 1/2 of the Eggplant Fritters salad (w/ grilled asparagus & goat cheese over mixed greens) and the Sweet Chili Glazed Eggplant Wrap with cucumbers, sprouts, carrots, peppers & Thai peanut sauce. This was my second dinner in a row at Five Loaves. New love!

E is for favorite type of exercise: Running or strength training. Kickboxing is my favorite  group fitness class.

F is for an irrational fear: Every now and then I worry when I’m running or driving over the bridge. Like what if it just collapsed? Eek! I’m also petrified of subway crashes.

G is for gross food: I’m still totally disgusted by all forms of poultry. I don’t know what happened or how to fix it. :(

H is for hometown: From birth – 13, I lived in Acton, MA and still consider that my “hometown.”

I is for something important: Friendship!

J is for current favorite jam: Wild Ones by Sia & Flo Rida. SO good!

K is for kids: No. Just no. Ask me in a few years.

L is for current location: Mt. Pleasant, SC.

M is for the most recent way you spent money: Dinner.

N is for something you need: New pillows. My knee to stop hurting. A good book to read.

O is for occupation: I work for the Communications team at Blackbaud. That’s all you need to know. Any more information and you’ll just be confused.

P is for pet peeve: Slow talkers. Slow walkers. Slow drivers. Slow story tellers. Loud chewers. People who yawn out loud. STOP IT!!

Q is for a quote:

R is for random fact about you: I can hula hoop for a really long time. If someone was feeding me, I’m sure I could hula all day long.

S is for favorite healthy snack: Bananas. Carrots & hummus. Fage’s cherry Greek yogurt.

T is for favorite treat: Chickfila’s IceDream. With or without pickles on the side.

U is for something that makes you unique: Dog bite scar on my left jaw. Nobody really notices it.

V is for favorite vegetable: Beets! Peas! Brussels sprouts. Asparagus. The ones everyone hates.

W is for today’s workout: Running outside. How can I say no in 80* weather?

X is for X-rays you’ve had: Remember that time I sprained my foot dancing at Trio? That’s the one and only time I’ve had x-rays done.

Y is for yesterday’s highlight: It was definitely catching up with Amanda. Love that girl. The bottle of Malbec we split wasn’t bad either.

Z is for your time zone: EST.

Happy Saturday!

Tasty Tuesday

It has been a while since I made a list of new products I’ve discovered, so here goes! Enjoy! 

1. Fage’s Greek yogurt is my absolute favorite. Nothing compares to their rich, creamy texture. They have so many different flavors and I can honestly say I like every single one. Recently, they came out with a raspberry flavor. It’s divine!

2. After seeing Trader Joe’s Hot & Sweet Mustard on Katie’s blog several times,  I finally decided to give it a try. Wow. Just wow. Now I see why she goes through a jar a week. If you’re a fan of mustard, go pick this up immediately. I love topping my Morningstar veggie burgers with it.

It sort of reminds me of Chick-fil-A’s mustard. No wonder why my taste buds are loving it!

3. Thanks to my dear Sara, I finally tried the Cinnamon Coffee Cake Kashi bar. She was so kind to send me not one, but four bars, and I devoured them immediately. They remind me of my favorite Luna Bar, Iced Oatmeal Raisin. I hope to one day find them in my area.

4. We all know how much love I have in my heart for Popchips. I am most fond of the Barbecue, Sweet Potato, and Salt & Pepper flavors. After trying the Jalapeno flavor recently, I have added it to my list of faves. It’s a spicy one!

5. Since becoming a Vegetarian, I’ve been trying different veggie burgers. So far I’ve gagged at the Trader Joe’s veggie burgers (random green bean hanging in the patty was CREEPY!), but really loved the Morningstar Spicy Black Bean burger. I’ve also enjoyed the Morningstar Asian Veggie Patties.

6. Peanut Butter & Company’s Dark Chocolate Dreams is a chocolate lover’s dream peanut butter. It’s creamy and smooth, with a rich chocolate flavor. You can put it on top of, well, anything. Even a spoon will do – just don’t eat the spoon!

7. Lastly, I’d like to share a wine with you: Marchigue Cabernet Sauvignon from El Huique.  First introduced to me by Trish of Vidalco Wine, this fabulous bottle is an excellent and affordable choice. It’s sweet, soft, and velvety with flavors of cassis, blackberries, and currants. I could drink this all night long. Oh, wait. I have.

What new products have you recently found and loved?

Please recommend any vegetarian products that you like. Or dislike – a girl needs your help!

The Friday Five

1. What I’m Reading: More cookbooks. I don’t think I’ve ever borrowed an American food cookbook from the library. What’s the point when I can go eat a Chick-fil-A? Haha, just kidding. Sort of.

2. What I’m Listening to: Another old, but awesome song.

3. What I’m Eating: My very favorite Greek yogurt. Nothing compares to the thickness and creaminess that is Fage! I eat one almost every day. Yay protein!

I typically don’t like cherry-flavored things, but this is just dreamy. My second favorite flavor is blueberry.

4. What I’m Re-Tweeting:

5. What I’m Pinning: This is quite possibly the coolest beach chair I’ve ever seen. Truly made for nerds.

So…are you guys enjoying the Friday Five posts?

Any blog post topics are welcome! Share your ideas.

HAPPY WEEKEND! XO!