Snacking Smarts

If you're trying to lose weight, there's no reason to say no to snacks. Don't worry about what Mom said: As long as you have your snack two to three hours before a main meal, a moderate snack will not ruin your appetite.

An added benefit of snacking is that it takes the edge off your hunger, preventing you from overeating at mealtime. So let's take a look at some snacks to just "say yes" to!

25 Calories

Really watching that waistline? These treats count up to only 25 itty bitty calories:

• 1 small glass of tomato juice
• 12 pretzels
• 1 c. air-popped popcorn
• sugar-free Jello pack

50 Calories

If you're aiming for 100 calorie snacks, read on ... the best part about these ... you can have two servings of them for the same calorie budget as those below!

• handful of animal crackers
• 1 c. air-popped popcorn with a handful of peanuts
• 1 c. grapes
• 1/2 c. fruit cocktail
• 1/4 c. reduced-fat cottage cheese

100 Calorie Snacks

The mother lode of snacking ... 100 calorie snacks are the perfect "bang for your calorie buck": More filling than lower calories snacks and easy to work into most any diet plan. These all have 100 or fewer calories each:

• 1/2 c. sugar-free Jello and two Tbsp. reduced-fat whipped topping
• two handfuls of chocolate raisins
• 1/2 an apple spread with 2 tsp. peanut butter
• 1/2 c. orange juice (Try it frozen!)
• 1/2 c. fat-free, sugar-free instant or packaged pudding
• whole wheat toast with 1 tsp. sugar-free spread
• non-fat yogurt (artificially sweetened)
• single serving of apple sauce
• 1 serving of many varieties of Campbell's soups
• a Fudgesicle
• 6 saltine crackers with 2 tsp. of peanut butter (My personal favorite!)
• half a turkey sandwich using reduced-calorie bread, mustard, and veggies
• mock S'more: reduced-fat Graham cracker, topped with a jumbo marshmallow and drizzled with chocolate syrup