Help I need some taste and texture alternatives

lmlmrn
lmlmrn Posts: 788 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I hope all you can help. I really love chips, fries, and basically those salty crunchy foods. So I thought I can not be the only one.

What do you do to get that salty/crunchy satisfaction in your daily foods and not blow all your calories and sodium in one small plate?

Replies

  • nmalany
    nmalany Posts: 10 Member
    Try a smal serving of nuts (100 cal), pickles, or turkey pepperoni crisped in the microwave or toaster oven
  • SkagitYogini
    SkagitYogini Posts: 112 Member
    Pickles are good, and popcorn too. Get the 100 calories bags of microwave popcorn. I spray mine with zero calorie cooking spray so the seasoning salt I love will stick to it. If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, they have some snacks that are pretty low cal. I like the Preztel slims and the mini savory rice crackers.
  • chablahblah
    chablahblah Posts: 7
    Baby carrots are awesome- they are refreshing and have a satisfying crunch.
    Apples also have a satisfying sweet crunch.
    You should try Kashi's chips, a serving is 27 chips for 120 cal
    Kale chips and Apple chips
    crunchy salad with all the works and your favorite dressing
  • haunstar
    haunstar Posts: 40 Member
    Someone recommended making homemade baked sweet potato fries. Sounds awesome to me. I still need to try it...
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
    I hope all you can help. I really love chips, fries, and basically those salty crunchy foods. So I thought I can not be the only one.

    What do you do to get that salty/crunchy satisfaction in your daily foods and not blow all your calories and sodium in one small plate?

    Carrots in hummus dip. It's thick, gooey, yummy... sundried tomato and garlic hummis. mmmm. Can take the place of chips and dip, for a fraction of the calories. Be careful when you pick out the hummus, and be careful to weigh yourself a portion of hummus before cutting up as many carrot sticks as you like. Then you won't go over. Otherwise one can easily consume an entire punnet of hummus without noticing.

    Homecooked roast veges, including parsnip, beetroot (surprisingly sweet), potato, sweet potato, nz yams if you can get them, carrots and parsnip.

    Spray or coat with oil, roast until done. A roast parsnip is worth almost nothing compared to a deep fried chip, and you can have a ton of it. Sprinkle with salt to taste, splash with balsamic vinegar. But be careful not to cook in too much oil.
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
    Oh - and I occasionally have chips, but just weigh them out. 50g of chippies is actually quite a lot of chippies. You'd be pleasantly surprised.
  • lmlmrn
    lmlmrn Posts: 788 Member
    Thanks for all the suggestions I had forgotten about roasting the veggies. I had done that in the past.
    I think I will do some searches on low calorie hummus recipes too.......

    If you have more just keep'em coming!
  • cassig13
    cassig13 Posts: 78 Member
    Popchips are pretty good and the serving size is like 27chips I usually dont eat them all.
  • tootoop224
    tootoop224 Posts: 281 Member
    Popped Crisps and popcorn with zero calorie fake butter Parkay spray.
  • minizebu
    minizebu Posts: 2,716 Member
    Snow peas and snap peas provide crunch (but of course not the saltiness or mouth-feel, or fat or calories, of chips).
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,098 Member
    dried roasted seaweed -- I like Annie Chun's sesame flavored (30 calories and 70 mg for 10 sheets -- they're about 2 inches by 3 inches, and paper thin, but they pack a lot of salty/savory/nutty flavor), which I can get in the non-specialty grocery store, but if you have an Asian grocery store near you, you can find an incredible variety of brands and flavors.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    Mount Olive or Vlasic baby dills... salty and crunchy.. SO DELICIOUS.. Also I'm a fan of sprinkling some Doritos on my cottage cheese.. it adds that crunch.. half a small bag only adds 75 calories. Also edamame.. So salty and snacky. BBQ sunflower seeds. One small bag has 180 calories but it takes me Three days to get through an entire bag since it takes so long to open each one.
  • rzales
    rzales Posts: 7 Member
    Edamame! They are so tasty, easy to steam, and with a bit of salt, actually stand up well compared to chips or popcorn.
  • Katbaran
    Katbaran Posts: 605 Member
    When I'm REALLY craving chips or Cheetos or whatever junk food, I get one of the small single serving bags and work it into my macros. It's rare now, but once in a while, all the crunchy stuff, while it's good for me, just doesn't do it. As long as I'm eating well and making my calorie goals for the month, I'll indulge a bit.
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
    Baked sweet potato chips or fries... The hardest part for me is the patience to wait for them to get done.

    Slice thinly or julienne a single layer on a baking sheet with a light spritz of EVOO. Bake at 425° until crispy and cooked through.
    Pull out of the oven add salt and pepper!
  • JustineMarie21
    JustineMarie21 Posts: 437 Member
    Special K cracker chips. 18 Cracker chips for 80 calories and 2g of fat
    Sour cream and onion, cheddar, BBQ, southwestern
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,008 Member
    My taste also runs towards salty crunchy savoury Here are some snacks I like:

    Turkey salami microwaved to a crisp (use some paper towel).
    Korean or Japanese roasted seaweed snacks (not filling but tasty and crunchy).
    Kimchi (or other pickles).
    Raw veg (snow peas, green beans, carrot sticks) dipped into hummous, tzaziki or aubergine dip.
    Roast veg (I particularly like asparagus or mangetout sprayed with olive oil and roasted at 220C for 20 minutes with salt).
    A 24g pack of twiglets or pop chips is under 100 cals.
    Wonton wrappers sprayed with olive oil and baked for 10 minutes on a cookie sheet. Very similar in texture to nachos.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,008 Member
    http://www.wholeliving.com/136443/20-crunchy-snacks-under-200-calories/@center/136761/healthy-snacks#27012

    The split pea crisp recipe was really great. Apparently 55 cals per serving. Very crunchy and salty and filling too.
  • 2stepscloser
    2stepscloser Posts: 2,900 Member
    Lightly salted nuts, kale chips, pop chips, wheat thins

    Thankfully, I'm not a salty person. I wish I could fine low cal alternatives for my sweet tooth!
  • YAYJules
    YAYJules Posts: 282 Member
    Pumpkin seeds! Tis the season!
  • DawnOBRN
    DawnOBRN Posts: 290 Member
    Plantain chips!
  • dunnodunno
    dunnodunno Posts: 2,290 Member
    Pop Chips are yummy & come in a variety of flavors. They also make Pop Chips in different tortilla flavors.

    I've bought a few different Edamame mixes which have been flavorful & crunchy.
  • Swiftdogs
    Swiftdogs Posts: 328 Member
    I just had some cheddar flavored mini rice cakes. They're full of chemical garbage, but they're better than Cheetos for very low calories.
  • lmlmrn
    lmlmrn Posts: 788 Member
    Lightly salted nuts, kale chips, pop chips, wheat thins

    Thankfully, I'm not a salty person. I wish I could fine low cal alternatives for my sweet tooth!

    Try 1/2C ricotta, 1 T cocoa powder, 1 t vanilla & 1 packet splenda....yummy

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