Low-calorie but high-filling snacks?

[AaronSofaer]

Pretty much, I'm finding that I eat quite a number of calories a day in snacks, despite trying my best to limit myself. I don't like going hungry and I don't like going to bed hungry, so I find myself eating a couple of yoghurts, or a sandwich, or somesuch.

This is not conducive to losing weight.

So I'm asking for tips on snacks/easy-to-make foods that are filling but low in calories.

[Brian Seiler]

Anything featuring a lot of fiber. Preferably soluble fiber. Soluble fiber turns into a thick slurry in your stomach that basically tells you that you don't want food for a while. Oatmeal for breakfast, for example, is a good way to put off hunger before lunch.

[BennyProfane]

Popcorn. Don't add salt or any sort of oil/butter/spread.

[Bahimiron]

Cannolis.

[Angie Gallant]

I eat carrot sticks and raw sugar snap peas.

[Marged]

Carrots or apples and peanut butter.
Fruit.
Cucumbers + ripe tomatoes + feta.
A slice of high fiber bread, toasted, with peanut butter and peach slices.

[RyanMichael]

Radishes. Whole. If necessary, dip in kosher salt, or, if you're crazy like me, bacon salt.

[Reed]

Pretty much, I'm finding that I eat quite a number of calories a day in snacks, despite trying my best to limit myself. I don't like going hungry and I don't like going to bed hungry, so I find myself eating a couple of yoghurts, or a sandwich, or somesuch.

This is not conducive to losing weight.
Sure it is, as long as you're not eating too much. It's good for your metabolism and preserving muscle. A light yogurt (one of those individual cup sizes) is a good choice - that's only about 90 calories (0 fat). Sandwich with whole wheat bread, chicken/turkey and a small amount light miracle whip.

Clementines are great. About 30 cals each, no fat. 3 or so are quite filling. Beef jerky, cottage cheese (particularly good at night since it has slow release protein), grapes, bananas, whey protein shake (skim milk + banana)...

[extarbags]

Basically fruits and vegetables.

[Marged]

Radishes. Whole. If necessary, dip in kosher salt, or, if you're crazy like me, bacon salt.

You eat them raw!? I have never heard of such a thing. What are you, some kinda sadomasochist? Are you going to suggest he snacks on raw onions next?

[Flowers]

Sand. Also, celery, which is wet sand mixed with cellulose.

[DanielElliot]

You eat them raw!? I have never heard of such a thing. What are you, some kinda sadomasochist? Are you going to suggest he snacks on raw onions next?

You can cook radishes?! I've never had them anything BUT raw.

[Jakub]

Broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, carrots.

[Athryn]

Popcorn. Don't add salt or any sort of oil/butter/spread.

12345

[Wallapuctus]

Carbs before bed is a big no-no if your goal is weight loss. I hamstring myself regularly by eating cereal on a late night hunger binge. It's so f-ing good.

Yogurt is a great food but high carb. Try fat free cottage cheese instead for less carb before bed, or eggs? You could get crazy and wrap deli slices in lettuce or spinach for a weird little burrito. That actually sounds kind of delicious and I'm gonna try that...

[Athryn]

You can cook radishes?! I've never had them anything BUT raw.

I normally eat them raw, but actually made a dish the other night that used leeks and radishes. Sauteeing them takes the peppery bite out of them, and they almost become potato-like.

[CLWheeljack]

You eat them raw!? I have never heard of such a thing. What are you, some kinda sadomasochist? Are you going to suggest he snacks on raw onions next?

I suppose it might be a primarily French preparation (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2007/07/radishes-butter.html), but it really is the only way to eat them.

My wife loves them. You can either slice them thinly, or just sprinkle salt and bite the whole thing like a hard boiled egg. The salt cuts the spiciness of the radish, and the texture is crisp. It's really very refreshing.

[AaronSofaer]

Yogurt is a great food but high carb. Try fat free cottage cheese instead for less carb before bed, or eggs? You could get crazy and wrap deli slices in lettuce or spinach for a weird little burrito. That actually sounds kind of delicious and I'm gonna try that...


How about jelly that doesn't have HFCS? Cause then I could eat ... cottage cheese and jelly. Which is not only delicious, but also grosses out my girlfriend, so a plus on both levels.

[RyanMichael]

Fresh, plump radishes from the farmer's market are a summertime treat like no other. 99% of the time I eat them raw, but occasionally you can find a way to integrate them into a cooked dish. I made something once that was a snow pea and radish mix sauteed and drizzled with some soy sauce that was quite good.

[Enidigm]

/tongue at radishes.

I can't but help associate radishes with pregnant women ever since Faerie Tale Theater (back on Showtime in early 80s) had a pregnant Shelly Duval eat them obsessively dipped in chocolate.

[Mike Cathcart]

http://www.qwantz.com/comics/comic2-1536.png

[Cubit]

Fresh, plump radishes from the farmer's market are a summertime treat like no other. 99% of the time I eat them raw, but occasionally you can find a way to integrate them into a cooked dish. I made something once that was a snow pea and radish mix sauteed and drizzled with some soy sauce that was quite good.

i think marriage is screwing with your head, son. radishes are not my idea of a high-filing snack.

[Ben Sones]

Pickles. When I'm hungry for a snack but have already had a snack recently and know that I shouldn't have another, I go for dill pickles. They are so low in calories, they are barely even food. I think an entire big jar has something like 30 or 40 calories in it, total.

[Brian Seiler]

Pickles. When I'm hungry for a snack but have already had a snack recently and know that I shouldn't have another, I go for dill pickles. They are so low in calories, they are barely even food. I think an entire big jar has something like 30 or 40 calories in it, total.

Also, by the time I've had my fourth piece of vinegar soaked dirt banana, I'm usually ready to call it a day as far as food goes.

Seriously, I don't hate pickles, but they make me not hungry at all any more.

[Adree]

Fresh, plump radishes from the farmer's market are a summertime treat like no other. 99% of the time I eat them raw, but occasionally you can find a way to integrate them into a cooked dish. I made something once that was a snow pea and radish mix sauteed and drizzled with some soy sauce that was quite good.

Witness the house the trick or treaters skip.

[Griddle]

http://www.qwantz.com/comics/comic2-1536.png

Goddamnit, I was going to post that. :(

Oh well, my vote is celery, cucumbers, carrots, and mushrooms, dipped in a little bit of hummus.


VVV Hahahaha, that was bad, but I liked it.

[balut]

http://www.qwantz.com/comics/comic2-1536.png
So T-Rex ate a Met-RX bar?

[LMN8R]

Pickles. When I'm hungry for a snack but have already had a snack recently and know that I shouldn't have another, I go for dill pickles. They are so low in calories, they are barely even food. I think an entire big jar has something like 30 or 40 calories in it, total.
Have fun with that gastric cancer, high blood pressure, and hypertension after eating many times the recommended value in sodium!

[Jose Liz]

Grapes are great, bananas, and low-fat pretzels

[dwinn]

Have fun with that gastric cancer, high blood pressure, and hypertension after eating many times the recommended value in sodium!

There are plenty of low-sodium options that run about 18mg of sodium per 100g of pickle.

[Griddle]

I hear negative calorie foods make great snacks. Supposedly apples, strawberries, and others take more calories to digest than their entire caloric value. Not to mention they are rich in soluable fibre.

[crazy jane]

Be careful with pickles. Check the ingredients before you buy. I picked up some dill pickles a couple of weeks ago, only to discover that they had HFCS in them. In DILL pickles. WTF? It was easy to find a brand without it, but still. Keep an eye out.

[Brian Seiler]

I hear negative calorie foods make great snacks.

Errrrr.......no.

If you spend all your time snacking on apple cores and corn silk, yes, you will probably burn a little bit more energy TRANSPORTING (not digesting - digestion takes almost no energy) the food through your system than you gain from it, but be skeptical of any claim that any food exists that actually takes more energy to process than it gives, because that, by definition, is not food. Low calorie foods (celery, eggplant, etc.) are not bad for snacking because they let you fill your belly without ingesting a lot of energy, but the evidentiary basis for any claim of a "negative calorie food" that's not, you know, a magnet from off your fridge or a pebble on the ground should at the least be held to a lot of skeptical analysis.

The conclusion, though, that fruits are full of fiber that will make you feel full IS correct in a lot of cases. Unfortunately, they're also full of a lot of sugar, so tread with care. The energy content per bulk of an apple versus an equivalent weight of Doritos is advantageous, but not as much as some other options.

Check the ingredients before you buy. I picked up some dill pickles a couple of weeks ago, only to discover that they had HFCS in them.

Used as a sweetening agent, no doubt, and not in incredible amounts. Even dill pickles may sometimes receive some amount of sweetening agent, because drinking straight vinegar is the culinary equivalent of putting your hair directly in a mimeograph. That said, you have nothing to worry about - despite fear mongering to the contrary, HFCS is harmless in any amount that a human being would consume. If you like the way the pickles with corn syrup taste better than the ones without it, feel free to get the ones you like without worrying about whether they're secretly making you fat. HFCS is, as far as the digestive processes are concerned, chemically indistinguishable from regular cane or table sugar, though I and apparently most other folks can taste a difference.

[Wallapuctus]

Don't perpetuate the negative calorie food myth. Fruits are not negative calorie foods. However, they are still tasty, healthy snacks.

[Reed]

Celery is ultimately negative - it takes more calories to chew and digest. I'm not sure that's true of any other food, though. Seems very unlikely with anything as tasty and sweet as strawberries. ;)

[Athryn]

HFCS is, as far as the digestive processes are concerned, chemically indistinguishable from regular cane or table sugar, though I and apparently most other folks can taste a difference.

Please, lets not shit up another thread with the HFCS debate. ><

[Ben Sones]

Have fun with that gastric cancer, high blood pressure, and hypertension after eating many times the recommended value in sodium!

I don't eat the entire jar. They're salty, but a couple of pickles is well below the recommended daily allowance for sodium.

[Bahimiron]

I don't eat the entire jar. They're salty, but a couple of pickles is well below the recommended daily allowance for sodium.

Jesus fucking Christ, Ben. BE RESPONSIBLE! Don't you realize that throughout history every person who has ever eaten a pickle has died. You can't deny it because it's true! Okay! So stop eating pickles.

If you want a low-cal, filling snack that costs only pennies, you should try eating pennies.

[Moore]

Radishes. Whole. If necessary, dip in kosher salt, or, if you're crazy like me, bacon salt.



OR:

My wife uses sliced radish, peppers and cucumbers instead of chips, for salsa eatin'

I use chips, but I also do like these, just also need my evil corn chips along with the salsa.

[Skipper]

I'm not sure what type of diet you are on but some roasted, unsalted almonds aren't too bad. The upside for almonds is the high amount of mono fat which makes you full. You can literally only eat so many handfuls of that before you can't eat more.

Combine that with a little fiber which you get from them and a low sugar amount and you have a filling food that's not over the top on calories and won't spike your blood sugar. There are other nuts as well if you need less calories, more fiber, or whatever your particular diet might have limitations for.

[RyanMichael]

You can literally only eat so many handfuls of that before you can't eat more.

Combine that with a little fiber which you get from them and a low sugar amount and you have a filling food that's not over the top on calories and won't spike your blood sugar.

You might want to re-check your math. Almonds are one of my weaknesses, I'll fill up a dixie cup about 2/3 of the way to the top and do my damnedest to only eat one at a time (as opposed to a mouthful), but even after polishing that off I could eat another cupful.

That initial batch comes out to about 30 grams, which is in the neighborhood of 170 calories.

170 calories and I could probably eat twice as many as a snack and not be sated. Maybe it's just me, but if I have to gorge myself on something, it'll be something way more bulky and calorically-sparse.

[extarbags]

Yeah, nuts aren't really low calorie for their weight, but they are high in protein, which I guess scratches the satisfaction centers in your brain, so that helps in a pinch.

*Prepares to be excoriated by qt3 doctors for his extremely scientific analysis of the human brain's reaction to nuts*

[RyanMichael]

Maybe nuts are a trigger food for me, but whether it's sunflower seeds, almonds, or some mixed goodies, I could gorge myself on 500 calories worth before I rein myself it.

[russellmz00]

eating nuts before a meal makes you feel fuller faster.

anyone try the shangri-la diet?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shangri-La_Diet

The diet itself consists of taking 100–400 calories in the form of either extra-light (not extra-virgin) olive oil or sugar water per day, either all at once or spanned throughout the day. This must be consumed in a flavorless window, which is at least one hour after flavors have been consumed, and at least one hour before flavors will be consumed.[5] The consumption of these flavorless calories supposedly lowers the set point, and therefore, lowers weight.

[LMN8R]

Jesus fucking Christ, Ben. BE RESPONSIBLE! Don't you realize that throughout history every person who has ever eaten a pickle has died. You can't deny it because it's true! Okay! So stop eating pickles.

If you want a low-cal, filling snack that costs only pennies, you should try eating pennies.hahaha I was just joking about the sodium thing :-) Obviously anything in moderation is fine, but the guy made it sound like he just sits there eating pickle after pickle as a "healthy" snack.

I did a search and apparently most dill pickles have something like 1000+mg per spear, which is just absurd.

[Jakub]

Weight gainer+celery or carrots. The veggies fill you up, and the weight gainer goes to work and makes you not burn out. This is my study food, for when I don't want to be distracted by hunger/digestion/something on my palate.
Or you could like, have a piece of chicken and maybe a potato to go with your veggies.

[Skipper]

I'm not sure what type of diet you are on but some roasted, unsalted almonds aren't too bad. The upside for almonds is the high amount of mono fat which makes you full. You can literally only eat so many handfuls of that before you can't eat more.

Combine that with a little fiber which you get from them and a low sugar amount and you have a filling food that's not over the top on calories and won't spike your blood sugar. There are other nuts as well if you need less calories, more fiber, or whatever your particular diet might have limitations for.

Just to make sure the right message comes out of my post about nuts I want to agree with the fact they CAN be high calorie if you binge on them. They are definitely not high in sugar. Not knowing what exactly the OP's diet is, this is a recommendation that will have to be taken into consideration -depending on his diet-.

They do fill you up though. If you can eat more than 2/3 of a cup as a snack that sounds like it's not a good snack for you. About a handful should do it. Filling, good nutrients, etc. For me Ryan, I could literally eat an entire bag of popcorn without batting an eyelash. I also can't stand unflavored popcorn so it's a dangerous snack for me. Raw veggies I had to have some sort of dip with. Fruit (for me) is one I have to monitor due to sugar content. One handful of nuts ... worked perfectly.

[Ben Sones]

I did a search and apparently most dill pickles have something like 1000+mg per spear, which is just absurd.

It's absurd, but also untrue, unless you have access to some weird, super-salted pickles that are unavailable in my local grocery stores. Last time I looked, the Vlasic spears were the ones with the most sodium, at around 200 mg per spear. Other brands have less, and some (like Mt. Olive pickles) have about half that much.

[Brian Seiler]

eating nuts before a meal makes you feel fuller faster.

anyone try the shangri-la diet?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shangri-La_Diet

If it has the word "diet" in the name and is a book, it's probably a steaming load of crap. This one, in particular, operates on some dubious medical theory. You probably won't kill yourself on this one (as you could with some others), but you're better off just, you know, eating a balanced diet and exercising more.

[Ben Sones]

Yeah, my doctor concurs. The real secret to losing weight = count calories and maintain a regular exercise regimen. And it takes time, but losing weight very quickly is actually not all that good for you. Weight Watchers doesn't like for you to lose much more than 2 lbs. per week, for instance.

[Hanzii]

You eat them raw!? I have never heard of such a thing. What are you, some kinda sadomasochist? Are you going to suggest he snacks on raw onions next?

Sarcasm, right?
Because everybody eats them raw, so his suggestion is moot.

The celery as negative calorie food isn't exactly a myth... but it's also not proven - the body is a rather complex machine so making such an exact calculation of how much energy it takes to process a string of celery is impossible.
The issue is moot anyway, because eating enough celery to gain any measurable amount of weight would probably be impossible since they're so low on calories and taste so nasty (at least that was what a professor in nutrition told me with a smile when I interviewed him on the subject). Celery are for stirring bloody marys, not eating.

As far as advice goes, everybody else got it covered.
Coarse bread and low fat youghurt is fine in moderation depending on how strict a diet you want/need. Nuts like almonds are great, but contains (healthy) fat, so again moderation.
Fruits are fine, but do contain sugars, so you can't just consume 10 bananas a day as a snack and expect to lose weight.

Vegetables are your best bet, but some people are extremely picky. Cucumbers, salds and tomatoes are heigh on water and not so filling - carrots, radishes, and bell peppers are perhaps a better choice for a good raw snack.

[ckessel]

Fibre One bars are awesome stuff. Really tasty and while the calorie count is only marginally lower than a candy bar, they're only "2 points" on the weight watchers scale, which effectively means they have a lot of fiber and not much fat which helps cancel some of the raw calories.

[Jag]

Fibre One bars are awesome stuff. Really tasty and while the calorie count is only marginally lower than a candy bar, they're only "2 points" on the weight watchers scale, which effectively means they have a lot of fiber and not much fat which helps cancel some of the raw calories.

Jeezus, I eat one of those and its time to clear the room. I literally cannot stomach them which is unfortunate because I know I need more fiber.

[Griddle]

Witness the house the trick or treaters skip.

Hahahaha, priceless.

Oh and about the neg calorie thing. It was second hand info overheard at the office. I wasn't attempting to spread bad info, I guess I should have researched it more. :(

[unbongwah]

Dunno if they count as "good" snack food, but I like Kashi GOLEAN Crunchy! bars (http://kashistore.com/products/bars_crackers_cookies/golean_crunchy_bars): reasonably high protein & fiber (though mostly insoluble) so they're more filling than other snack bars I've tried; about 150 - 190 calories each depending on which you get which is not so bad. Their granola bars (http://kashistore.com/products/bars_crackers_cookies/tlc_chewy_granola_bars) are also good.

[RyanMichael]

For manufactured snacks, we go with the South Beach High Protein bars (cinnamon raisin is awesome) and the Kellogg's Fiber Plus bars. I compared them to everything else on the market, and they're the lowest-calorie (150, 120 cals respectively), have a good balance of nutrients, and don't have any bizarre chemically ingredients (at least by my standards).

[nKoan]

I agree about granola bars and nuts, etc.

Granola bars have a seemingly higher calorie count (sometimes towards 300+ per serving), but will actually be better for you than a lower calorie brownie or cookie. Calories are very important to count, but you can't leave out the whole picture.

[Creole Ned]

Dunno if they count as "good" snack food, but I like Kashi GOLEAN Crunchy! bars (http://kashistore.com/products/bars_crackers_cookies/golean_crunchy_bars): reasonably high protein & fiber (though mostly insoluble) so they're more filling than other snack bars I've tried; about 150 - 190 calories each depending on which you get which is not so bad. Their granola bars (http://kashistore.com/products/bars_crackers_cookies/tlc_chewy_granola_bars) are also good.
Yoinks, those bars all seem to have 13g of sugar. Granted, that's not much compared to a can of Coke but still, it's a heck of a lot more than you'd get from other snacks.

[MatthewF]

Veggie chips. These (http://www.terrachips.com/products/Original-TERRA-Chips.php) are the most easily found, usually in the organic/health foods section and not mixed in with the rest of the chip-type snacks.

[AndrewM]

I've heard anorexics like frozen grapes.

[DanielElliot]

Veggie chips. These (http://www.terrachips.com/products/Original-TERRA-Chips.php) are the most easily found, usually in the organic/health foods section and not mixed in with the rest of the chip-type snacks.

Those aren't really that good for you. They're still full of fat, and its a still a lot of carbs if you're trying to keep those down. I like them, but I treat them just as another tasty flavor of potato chip, not as something I have on a regular basis.

[RyanMichael]

Veggie chips. These (http://www.terrachips.com/products/Original-TERRA-Chips.php) are the most easily found, usually in the organic/health foods section and not mixed in with the rest of the chip-type snacks.

A vegetable...cooked in oil...that makes a chip. That's different from a potato chip exactly how?

http://www.terrachips.com/products/detail.php?prod_id=1073

http://www.fritolay.com/assets/images/product-nutrition/lays-classic_1__1_.gif

Oh, look, 1g less of fat, less sodium, a bit more fiber, but it has more sugar and less protein.

They're still fucking horrible. Don't eat chips. Period. They're bad for you. In fact, if it's fried in oil, you shouldn't be fucking eating it.

Is this really hard?

[CLWheeljack]

In fact, if it's fried in oil, you shouldn't be fucking eating it.


That's a bit throwing the baby out with the bathwater, but that's an issue for another thread, and anyways I grant you the general point (especially in a thread about low-cal snacks).

[Mike Cathcart]

In fact, if it's fried in oil, you shouldn't be fucking eating it.

This advice blows. There's nothing wrong with occasionally eating properly fried food. Although if you're specifically talking about packaged fried foods as a snack I guess I could agree with that.

[RyanMichael]

That's a bit throwing the baby out with the bathwater, but that's an issue for another thread, and anyways I grant you the general point (especially in a thread about low-cal snacks).

This advice blows. There's nothing wrong with occasionally eating properly fried food. Although if you're specifically talking about packaged fried foods as a snack I guess I could agree with that.

My quote is in the context of a "low-calorie but high-filling snack" thread.

If this was a "delicious fatty stuff to gorge myself on," then fried food is at the top of that particular list.

[unbongwah]

Yoinks, those bars all seem to have 13g of sugar. Granted, that's not much compared to a can of Coke but still, it's a heck of a lot more than you'd get from other snacks.
Hence my caveat about them being "good" for you. On the plus side, they don't taste like old newspaper.
Veggie chips. These (http://www.terrachips.com/products/Original-TERRA-Chips.php) are the most easily found, usually in the organic/health foods section and not mixed in with the rest of the chip-type snacks.
I love those, but waaay too much fat for me to consider them a healthy low-cal snack. A 28g serving of those has the same number of calories as my 45g Kashi bar, half the fiber, and almost no protein. At least they're low sodium.