Going grocery shopping...snack and meal ideas PLEASE!

EquestrianLark135

So...last time I went grocery shopping (my first time shopping for healthier foods), I bought too many healthy snacks and not enough stuff for meals. I bought things like Nature Valley granola snacks, Kudos Bars, Luna Bars, 100 calorie Packs, Special K Bars, Kashi snacks, and some fruits and veggies. Those snacks were great, but a lot of them were surprisingly high in sugar, sodium, carbs, and calories. I'm looking for LOW...like really low...calorie snacks. Something I can snack on while watching TV and not push me over my calorie limit. The biggest one I've heard is celery. So, I'm getting that. What other snacks are pretty low calorie???

And with meals...I'm no cook so I haven't tried any recipes yet, but I also don't have a lot of time to make big dinners with school and after school activities, so I'm looking for quick, easy, HEALTHY, LOW CALORIE meals. I looove the Healthy Choice Steamer meals, but they're soooo expensive. And some are pretty high calorie.

I know there probably isn't a lot of snacks/meals that are really low calorie, but any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated!!! :flowerforyou:

Rach911

I love snacking on pickles (VERY low calories), pineapple (canned cause I'm too lazy to cut a fresh pineapple), Triscuits (especially the Rosemary & Olive Oil flavor) and popcorn (get the low fat, usually only 90-100 calories for the whole bag).

My favorite easy and low cal/fat recipe is something that I stumbled on while trying to figure out what to make. If you have a crock pot, take chicken breast and place on bottom, season with whatever you like (I use Adobo, Garlic, Onion & Red Pepper flakes) then pour a whole carton (the box carton not the cans) of chicken broth on top. Let it cook all day while you are at work. When you get home it will be soooo tender you wont even need a knife to cut it! I usually combine that with brown rice and a veggie.

Kristierlong

Sabras Hummus
Laughing Cow/Babybel Light Cheeses
Pita Bread Pizzas
Greek Yogurt
Skinny Cow Ice Creams
Vita Brownies

CoachsWife4

I have REALLY enjoyed this website for meals and some homemade snacks: www.skinnytaste.com They are all REALLY yummy and both my little boys will eat them, too.

I love grapes, even frozen (slows you down and gives a completely different take on them.), and the vitatop muffins, if you can find them in your local freezer section.

Vegasboricua702

Bananas
Strawberries
Grapes
Tuna and crackers
String Cheese
Left overs

Thats usually what I have.

Oh and my favorite snack is throwing 1 scoop of protein powder, 1 banana, 1 cup of strawberries, 5 ice cubes, 1 cup of skim milk and blend!

kristidem

Tacos! - Taco shells (hard or hi-fiber soft), ground chicken breast or 90% lean beef or beans, taco seasoning, lettuce, tomatos/salsa, low/reduced fat cheese, low/no fat sour cream. Two tacos, 1/3cup chicken, 1/4cup cheese, and veggies are 500 calories or less/ Tonight I had 3 taco shells, 1cup ground chicken, 1/2cup regular cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and 2Tblsp low fat sour cream for 650 cals. I'm stuffed!

rnrgames2

Egg white & veg omlettes are really filing, easy & light on cals. Add a salad & you've got dinner. Weight Watcher's wheat bread is my new fave for toast & sandwiches as it has half the calories of most sliced bread. I eat a lot of " toss it in the pot", wok, steamer, or grill veg. melanges. If you need some meat/fish add it too. Then just change the spices & herbs. Quick, easy, tasty & lo cal

Oh & popcorn is great when you have little wiggle room at the end of the day. Pop 1/4c. in microwave in a paperbag (with opening folded over a few times) as you would regular microwave popcorn. My husband likes his with olive oil but I use no oil & a sprinkle of salt in bag before popping (the humidity makes most of the salt stick)

erisfreenici

I buy several different fruits each week and cut them up when I get home. This week I bought a cantaloupe, personal sized watermelon, strawberries, and pineapple. I also have sugar free jello pudding which rings in at 60 calories per cup. If I mix that with some fresh cut strawberries it's pretty delicious. I also like to have hummus & carrot sticks as a snack. I reserve luna bars for if I forget to eat breakfast in the morning... I keep a box of them at work.

As far as meals go, one of my favorites is chicken tacos:

Cut up some chicken breasts into small-ish sized cubes (I use 2 medium size breasts for 2 people).
Put the chicken in a ziplock bag and throw some mexican seasonings in there. I use 2tsp red chili powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1tsp onion powder, 1tsp cumin, a dash or two of dried cilantro, a dash of cayenne pepper (if desired), a dash of black pepper, and a dash of salt. You can add a little flour just to make the chicken brown up nicely, but it's optional.
Then add about 2 tsp of olive oil, just to coat the chicken.
Shake it up real good.
Dump it into a larger-sized pan at medium to medium-high heat and brown up the chicken. Your best bet is to use a non-stick pan, but if you don't have one then you might have to add a little more oil to keep the chicken from sticking to the pan. Then dump about a cup of salsa on top and simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Dress your tacos as you like. I usually use just a dallop of low-fat sour cream.

Supermel

My favourite snack is yogurt with berries and fat free whipped cream. If i have enuf cal's left i put on granola too.

I also will do celery or green beans and hummus, but i'm sure to measure out the hummus first. A big bowl of hommade vegetable soup is a good filler on really hungry days.

a spoonful of lowfat peanut butter stirred into oatmeal is not low-cal, but 1/2 tbsp plus one package of oatmeal is around 150 cal and will keep my full for hours.

Right now, i'm trying to find foods that don't make me hungry after. A fibre1 bar just seems to spike my sugar and make me soo hungry after. But a bowl of oatmeal makes me full and not still craving.

I like laughing cow wedges too but stay away from crackers.

hard boiled egg and ww toast.

Apple wedges and pb

j777kin

Beef Jerky or in fact any kind of jerky. Low calorie and low fat. Watch out if sodium is a problem for you. Suprising me is Salame Higher in fat but a different taste. You do have to control the amount. Look at the calorie count on the microwave popcorn.

Unfortunately I have not found any version of pre-built meals that is reasonable from a fat standpoint. There are a few frozen meals in the 300 to 400 calorie range. Many of them are mostly Carb loaded. I do better on high protien low carb and high vegetable diet.

Frozen vegies will grill up into a meal in about 10 minutes and there are mixed veggie packs that work for two people. A 1 pound bage of mixed vegies and a small piece of chicken diced up. Saute the chicken in a little olive oil for 3 ninutes then throw in the frozen veggies with no water. Stir till the Veggies are as tender as you want. Add most any sauce, like soy or Oyster sauce. Add Onions and Garlic if you want. You can make a meal in about 10 minutes. You can vary the veggie mix and the meat and sauce and have almost unlimited variety.

kpadilla411

Well one of my fav snacks is shredded chicken mixed with cottage cheese and a little bit of mustard. Then I put it on a romaine lettuce heart and roll it up. The calories depend on portion size of chicken and cottage cheese. The ones I make are like 52 cal each. If ou don't like cottage cheese you can use yogurt instead.
I like this snack and it statisfies my hunger.

mrphil86

Baby carrots.... 5 an hour. Can never go wrong with that.

Get a little color for the skin too.

e1lindsay

I could not LIVE without my nightly air-popped popcorn...that air popper was $18 and the best money i've ever spent! You can eat like 4 cups of that stuff for less than 100 calories and it's full of fiber and filling!
PS- anything out of a box and in "bar" form will be high in sugar, sodium and un-natural ingredients!

Walking2Lose

I think vegetables and fruits are low in cals.
Here is a list of low calorie foods in one of my Jillain Michaels books:
Apple, medium: 75 cals
Apricots, 4 medium: 70
Banana, 1 medium: 90
Carrots, 1 medium: 30
Cherries, 15 cherries: 85
Corn on the cob, 1 medium ear: 80
Grapefruit, 1 medium: 75
1 cup cooked green vegetables: 40
Kiwi, 1 medium: 45
Orange, 1 medium: 65
Papaya, 1 cup cut: 55
Peach, 1 medium: 70
Pineapple, 1 cup cut: 75
Plums, 2 medium: 70
Popcorn (full-fat) 2 cups: 110
Pretzels, 1 oz: 115
Pumpkin, 1 cup mashed: 85
Strawberries, 1 cup: 50
Watermelon, 1 cup cut: 50

If I can find some other cook books with low calorie snacks. I will post those as well!
Good luck!

stephierue

Fruit salad, add a bit of vanilla yogurt to make it creamy. Cottage cheese & crackers or wheat bread w/ black pepper. Black beans- you can make them as a dip, a soup or cook them w/ onions, a can of diced tomatoes & green peppers. Add some chili, cumin, salt & pepper. Serve with a little rice or alone. Prepare veggies & fruit when u get home so they're easily accessible.

AlexandraR2011

I get frozen chicken tenders and grill them and grab some veggies.. Super good when seasoned with lemon pepper.

cmariegerber

I am no cook myself. Just trying to decide what to make is hard enough. My husband is lactose intolerant, and my only child is a picky eater. I usually have the best luck finding a variety of meals on kraftrecipes.com. I have been raised on convenience foods and have hardly anytime to make things from scratch. If you look at the healthy eating section, there is a good variety of recipes that you can make for either yourself or for your family.

Ree_Chatelain

progresso soups are pretty low in calories and I love the yoplait yogarts. cheerios is a low calorie snack that i'll munch on dry while at work if i just feel like i need to eat. I also get the morning star veggie burgers (130 calories) they make a great easy dinner. Or the tyson grilled chicken breast, they are already cooked so basically you just have to season them a little and heat. I use those on nights when i'm running late. And a grilled chicken breast with a bowl of soup is pretty filling.