In place of fruit?
terri092990
Posts: 16 Member
I love eating fruit as I could eat it all day, but it's high in sugars. Please give me ideas what you have for snacks that are healthy. Thanks in advance!
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Replies
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Fruit, it’s nutritious.
As long as it fits in my calories and nutritional goals I am not concerned about the sugar. I have no health problems so not worried about my sugar/carb intake form that view either.
Cheers, h.12 -
Fruit is healthy.
Everything in moderation.
Is your problem fruit? Or not finding it easy to eat one portion and then stop?
Those are different issues.5 -
Is there a reason to cut back on sugar? Some fruits have less sugar. Berries have fiber. I don’t eat much sugar but I do allow myself a small portion of berries.4
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Fruit is healthy.2
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Vegetables2
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Old me would scarf several pounds of candy and carbs per day.
Perhaps not everyone’s problem, or not to my degree.
But rather than feeling guilty about enjoying lovely, healthy fruit, I just tell myself, “It’s better than it was before”.
And it seriously is.7 -
I eat 200-500 grams of whole fruit daily. It doesn't do anything bad. Unless you're instructed by your medical team to limit sugar, then fruit isn't a bad thing.
My "sugar" on this site includes all sugar from fruit, vegetables, dairy and added sugars. I try to stay under 100g a day for my total amount, but other than that don't try to limit fruit.
If you are really eating it all day, then I guess that could be a problem but two or three servings wouldn't be.4 -
Unless there is a reason to cut back on sugar...eat fruit.4
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Not all fruit is high in sugar - what you are currently eating and why is the sugar in fruit a concern to you would give some much needed context.
Berries in particular have a lot of (flavour) bang for the (calorie/carb/sugar) buck.
Personally I tend to prefer savoury snacks but also look at my diet as a whole in regards to being healthy or not, often my snacks are purely for flavour and enjoyment but that's a lot easier to fit in a big diet.
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In the nutrients I track for MFP, I swapped out sugar for fiber.
When I was in Costa Rica for 6 weeks I ate tropical fruit all day long and dropped a size without even trying. How? I created a calorie deficit because the higher calorie foods I normally ate were not available.
However, these days I do add a protein with fruit snacks - for example 112 g cottage cheese. When I was eating higher fat I would have a small amount of PB and/or cheese with apples.
OOO, I wonder if my local apple orchard has Honey Crisps in yet...7 -
Umm, out of all the snack options out there, I'd say fruit is a healthy one! The only thing I would do is add some protein plus a bit of healthy fat. For example, I'd add some nuts or have apples with nut butter, part-skim string cheese, plain greek yogurt topped with fresh fruit and a bit of honey, or even some nitrate-free lunch meat.0
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If you're not diabetic (or some similar health condition that requires you to limit total carbohydrates including inherent sugars in no-sugar-added foods), there's no need to limit fruit unless you eat so much that it either:
1. Prevents you from staying at reasonable calorie totals, or
2. Drives out other essential nutrition while you're staying within calorie goals.
Even the national/international health organizations (USDA, WHO, etc.) recommend limiting *added* sugars. That's for the above 2 reasons, plus the risk of dental cavities, if you read the detailed text explanations of their recommendations.
Fruits have fiber, micronutrients, and (depending on the specific fruit chosen) possibly some macronutrients beyond carbs. Many people find them filling. They're more nutrient-dense, less calorie dense than common sugar-added sweets (cookies, candies, cakes, etc.). Some people find that eating fruit helps reduce their cravings for less nutrient-dense sweets (baked goods, candy). That was true for me.
Fruit is fine, as long as you don't regularly have either of the two numbered problems above, with the amount of fruit you eat.
I went over the MFP default sugar goal every day while losing weight, when the only added sugar I ate was a single daily 30-calorie tablespoon of all-fruit spread in which concentrated fruit juice (which counts as added sugar) well down the ingredient list. The rest was inherent sugars in fruit, veggies, and no-sugar-added dairy foods. Once I realized that, and saw that I was getting enough protein & fats within calorie goal alongside the fruits, I swapped out the sugar column in my diary display for fiber.
I lost weight fine (class 1 obese to healthy weight in less than a year), and have maintained a healthy weight for 5+ years since, eating multiple servings of fruit most days, and getting lots of milk sugars from no-sugar-added dairy foods, especially plain Greek yogurt (with its ample protein, good micros, and versatility).6 -
There is a big difference between grapes, and raspberries. Maybe just change type of fruit consumed. Maybe have less fruit.
If you DO decide fruit is necessary to cut completely, just eat a little bit larger servings of other foods.
If you have no medical reason to cut sugar though, and you are going to have sugar in your diet, I would cut all added sugar first, and leave the sugar in fruits & veggies. You DO know that veggies have sugar too, right? You aren't cutting them, because of sugar, are you?
Good Luck, whatever you decide.1 -
Thank you all for your comments and advice. I will take to heart. No, I am not diabetic and have not been told to cut down on sugar. It's that I can't stop at one serving as I love fruit. I am losing weight, so guess I shouldn't worry about it so much. Cheers to all!10
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terri092990 wrote: »I love eating fruit as I could eat it all day, but it's high in sugars. Please give me ideas what you have for snacks that are healthy. Thanks in advance!
Fruit is healthy and packed with necessary vitamins and minerals and fine so long as it's not crowding out other necessary nutrition. You can also manage the sugar aspect by selecting different fruits...ie bananas are pretty high sugar content, but most berries aren't. Rather than cutting it out, I'd aim for more variation. If it's crowding out other nutritional necessities, you can just cut back a bit. I'm not a big snacker, but when I do it's usually jerky or little individual cheese squares, but that's a pretty minimal part of my diet as I'd much prefer larger meals to snacking.3 -
Fruit is healthy.
I have lately been eating home-grown tomatoes as a snack, as I have so many of them I have to use up, and they are delicious. Technically a fruit but culinarily a veg, and lower sugar by comparison. If you want lower cal, lower sugar snack options, any veg, like carrots, cucumbers, radishes, kohlrabi, etc. Maybe dip in hummus if you don't like it on its own.
Other ideas: If you want more protein, cottage cheese or some greek yogurt. If you can control the amount you eat, nuts. I'm also a huge smoked salmon fan.0 -
If your goal is to minimize your overall sugar intake there's nothing in fruit that you can't get in vegetables.1
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Berries have more fiber than sugar, particularly raspberries and blackberries.0
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Certain fruits are higher in sugars than others, but you also need to remember that fruit is very high in fiber, so you're definitely not going to be able to overeat it without feeling really full.
If you're concerned about sugar, try going for berries (I buy frozen mixed berries and blend them), granny smith apples, kiwi (I usually have two of these before bed. They help you sleep), cantaloupe, watermelon. If you're craving something sweet, Fruit is going to be your best, most nutritious option. Yeah you could go for something that's artificially sweetened, but you're not going to get the extra benefits.
Eat fruit. Don't be scared of it. I eat it all the time and still manage to lose weight. Stay away from fruit juices or dried fruits though.2 -
WailingDusk wrote: »Certain fruits are higher in sugars than others, but you also need to remember that fruit is very high in fiber, so you're definitely not going to be able to overeat it without feeling really full.
If you're concerned about sugar, try going for berries (I buy frozen mixed berries and blend them), granny smith apples, kiwi (I usually have two of these before bed. They help you sleep), cantaloupe, watermelon. If you're craving something sweet, Fruit is going to be your best, most nutritious option. Yeah you could go for something that's artificially sweetened, but you're not going to get the extra benefits.
Eat fruit. Don't be scared of it. I eat it all the time and still manage to lose weight. Stay away from fruit juices or dried fruits though.
For me, dried fruit seems over-demonized at times, too. Yes, it's calorie dense (less water), but the fiber and nutrients are similar to fresh fruit. In a calorie counting context, reasonable portioning is possible.
I eat prunes regularly out of hand, and dried mango fairly often, others occasionally. I always have a beverage (usually water, but maybe coffee or matcha) alongside, and usually do a "nibble and sip" kind of thing, enjoying the concentrated flavors of the dried fruit. The combo of the dried fruit and fluid can be pretty filling, similar to whole fruit.
It's helpful that dried fruit travels well (small/light), without bruising or spoiling, like as a snack while walking or biking if desired, or to have on hand on long car trips. (Anything long enough for a snack, I'd always have a water bottle, too.)
I'm not a big juice drinker, don't know whether it may work for others. I prefer vegetable juice (V-8 or tomato), if I'm having juice. It's not a calorie/satiation thing, though, so much as not being a fan of sweet drinks.5 -
kshama2001 wrote: »In the nutrients I track for MFP, I swapped out sugar for fiber.
When I was in Costa Rica for 6 weeks I ate tropical fruit all day long and dropped a size without even trying. How? I created a calorie deficit because the higher calorie foods I normally ate were not available.
However, these days I do add a protein with fruit snacks - for example 112 g cottage cheese. When I was eating higher fat I would have a small amount of PB and/or cheese with apples.
OOO, I wonder if my local apple orchard has Honey Crisps in yet...
Honey Crisps are the best best best! Off topic, but I love them enough to comment!1 -
WailingDusk wrote: »Certain fruits are higher in sugars than others, but you also need to remember that fruit is very high in fiber, so you're definitely not going to be able to overeat it without feeling really full.
If you're concerned about sugar, try going for berries (I buy frozen mixed berries and blend them), granny smith apples, kiwi (I usually have two of these before bed. They help you sleep), cantaloupe, watermelon. If you're craving something sweet, Fruit is going to be your best, most nutritious option. Yeah you could go for something that's artificially sweetened, but you're not going to get the extra benefits.
Eat fruit. Don't be scared of it. I eat it all the time and still manage to lose weight. Stay away from fruit juices or dried fruits though.
For me, dried fruit seems over-demonized at times, too. Yes, it's calorie dense (less water), but the fiber and nutrients are similar to fresh fruit. In a calorie counting context, reasonable portioning is possible.
If you're the one drying the fruits, then I'd say, maybe... if you're already at your goal weight. The reason I say avoid is because if you're obese and trying to lose weight, it's easier to over-consume dried fruit because there's less volume to feel fuller and takes less time to eat which doesn't give your brain enough time to get the signal that you're full. If someone's concerned about sugar, a lot of dried packaged fruits have sugar added to them (and oils sometimes. Take a look at the nutrition facts of dried bananas. It's criminal.) which is why I said if you're the one drying fruit, it's a lot better.
For obese people (I include myself in this because I was morbidly obese), it's better to stay away from nuts, seeds and dried fruit when starting out unless you are very strict with your portion sizes. Less than a handful is a complete serving size, which a lot of people find shocking.0 -
WailingDusk wrote: »WailingDusk wrote: »Certain fruits are higher in sugars than others, but you also need to remember that fruit is very high in fiber, so you're definitely not going to be able to overeat it without feeling really full.
If you're concerned about sugar, try going for berries (I buy frozen mixed berries and blend them), granny smith apples, kiwi (I usually have two of these before bed. They help you sleep), cantaloupe, watermelon. If you're craving something sweet, Fruit is going to be your best, most nutritious option. Yeah you could go for something that's artificially sweetened, but you're not going to get the extra benefits.
Eat fruit. Don't be scared of it. I eat it all the time and still manage to lose weight. Stay away from fruit juices or dried fruits though.
For me, dried fruit seems over-demonized at times, too. Yes, it's calorie dense (less water), but the fiber and nutrients are similar to fresh fruit. In a calorie counting context, reasonable portioning is possible.
If you're the one drying the fruits, then I'd say, maybe... if you're already at your goal weight. The reason I say avoid is because if you're obese and trying to lose weight, it's easier to over-consume dried fruit because there's less volume to feel fuller and takes less time to eat which doesn't give your brain enough time to get the signal that you're full. If someone's concerned about sugar, a lot of dried packaged fruits have sugar added to them (and oils sometimes. Take a look at the nutrition facts of dried bananas. It's criminal.) which is why I said if you're the one drying fruit, it's a lot better.
For obese people (I include myself in this because I was morbidly obese), it's better to stay away from nuts, seeds and dried fruit when starting out unless you are very strict with your portion sizes. Less than a handful is a complete serving size, which a lot of people find shocking.
Good point about sweetened dried fruit. I don't dry my own these days (did some, in the past). I buy it, but I nearly never buy sweetened dried fruit (maybe every once in a while something like health food store bulk cranberries, which are usually sweetened but a little less than mainstream brands, for muffins or something). Many dried fruits are plenty sweet enough on their own, and sweetened ones not as tasty, to me.
I still say I find it filling, when eaten with a beverage. Others may differ.
I did eat dried fruit while losing weight from obese to here, though. I do weigh my portions of nearly everything, and certainly dried fruit. Ditto for nuts & seeds - though I do eat -more- of those in maintenance.
Dried bananas taste like they're made out of low-grade plastic. I never eat them. 😆
That preceding paragraph is probably enough unpopular opinion for one post, but I'll add that I find most modern varieties of apples way too sweet, plus usually insipid tasting in other ways. I get that many people love Honey Crisps (among others), but I'd put them in the "not worth eating" category. Others can have my share of those!2 -
Echoing Ann, it's incredibly easy to find versions of most dried fruits without sugar added. I get dried apricots a lot (for cooking, not eating on their own), and there's never any sugar added. My dad recently did a cross-country drive and he had the same dried apricots, as well as other dried fruits, none with sugar added.
As for dried bananas (which I do like, but don't buy since for me they are a snack food and don't go with a meal and I tend to eat only at meals or an occasional real dessert/cheese course), these are the ones I see most often, and they are bananas only: https://baresnacks.com/products/simply-banana-chips
I disagree with the idea that obese people must only eat high volume foods. People are different. For me, nuts and seeds were foods I've included without problem with losing weight. I don't usually eat dried fruits (I have on biking trips and use them in some recipes, as noted), but that's only because I generally don't like them as much as fresh fruits.3 -
I am a big fan of dried apricots and sultanas.
No added sugar in the versions here - and easy to weigh and portion out.
I tend to eat them as part of a lunch box - ie with other things, not a stand alone snack
40mg of dried apricots is 100 calories.
If you weigh them properly and adhere to portion size - not hard to fit into a reasonable calorie allowance.3 -
I don't eat dried fruit very often, but it does feature in my emergency power outage food stash.
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If anyone else is like me - needs unsulfured apricots and can't find them locally/thinks Whole Foods charges too much, I like these from Amazon:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T3JKX3I/
Here's a yummy Chicken & Apricot Masala recipe! (Only the "shoe leather" type apricots need to be soaked.) I mash it up with another recipe and add 8 oz coconut milk.
https://www.food.com/recipe/nigella-lawson-chicken-apricot-masala-594481 -
WailingDusk wrote: »WailingDusk wrote: »Certain fruits are higher in sugars than others, but you also need to remember that fruit is very high in fiber, so you're definitely not going to be able to overeat it without feeling really full.
If you're concerned about sugar, try going for berries (I buy frozen mixed berries and blend them), granny smith apples, kiwi (I usually have two of these before bed. They help you sleep), cantaloupe, watermelon. If you're craving something sweet, Fruit is going to be your best, most nutritious option. Yeah you could go for something that's artificially sweetened, but you're not going to get the extra benefits.
Eat fruit. Don't be scared of it. I eat it all the time and still manage to lose weight. Stay away from fruit juices or dried fruits though.
For me, dried fruit seems over-demonized at times, too. Yes, it's calorie dense (less water), but the fiber and nutrients are similar to fresh fruit. In a calorie counting context, reasonable portioning is possible.
If you're the one drying the fruits, then I'd say, maybe... if you're already at your goal weight. The reason I say avoid is because if you're obese and trying to lose weight, it's easier to over-consume dried fruit because there's less volume to feel fuller and takes less time to eat which doesn't give your brain enough time to get the signal that you're full. If someone's concerned about sugar, a lot of dried packaged fruits have sugar added to them (and oils sometimes. Take a look at the nutrition facts of dried bananas. It's criminal.) which is why I said if you're the one drying fruit, it's a lot better.
For obese people (I include myself in this because I was morbidly obese), it's better to stay away from nuts, seeds and dried fruit when starting out unless you are very strict with your portion sizes. Less than a handful is a complete serving size, which a lot of people find shocking.
I ate all those -- dried fruit, nuts, and seeds -- starting at Class II obese, and it didn't impair my ability to lose weight. Like anything else, you weigh or measure by volume, or you can count nuts in a pinch. I ate a lot of coffee-powdered almonds as my midafternoon snack in the early days (sadly I can no longer find them, just cocoa powder coated), and because they were machine processed, I guess, they all appeared to be exactly the same size. I found I could count out the equivalent of a half or even a quarter ounce sometimes and eat them one at a time and it would take the edge off both hunger and cravings. Sometimes I would do the same with sunflower kernels -- they're small enough that you can get pretty consistent amounts measuring by volume. I don't snack a lot on dried fruits -- just prunes and dried apricots and raising, occasionally, with nothing added other than maybe preservative. But I keep a wide variety of dried fruits on hand to use in baked goods, salads (especially grain salads), and in hot rice and couscous dishes.
Yeah, dried fruit, nuts, and seeds are calorie dense. But if you're on a calorie-counting site, you're most likely counting the calories of the food you're consuming. There's nothing magically different about the calories of dried fruit, nuts, and seeds. And they were a lot more satiating and nutritious than the Snickers bars and Reese's cups I was having for afternoon snacks before I started counting calories on MFP.5 -
paperpudding wrote: »I am a big fan of dried apricots and sultanas.
No added sugar in the versions here - and easy to weigh and portion out.
I tend to eat them as part of a lunch box - ie with other things, not a stand alone snack
40mg of dried apricots is 100 calories.
If you weigh them properly and adhere to portion size - not hard to fit into a reasonable calorie allowance.
For U.S. residents who don't watch non-U.S. cooking shows, sultanas are essentially what's more commonly sold in the U.S. as golden raisins (i.e., made from green grapes, also known as sultanas).
ETA: decided to double check with the Internet after I wrote the above, and apparently what I thought I remembered is not exactly true -- dark raisins, in the U.S. anyway, are mostly made from green grapes as well, and it's differences in the drying process that results in different colors. Hence the lady with the green grapes and the dark raisins on the front of the boxes of the major national brand.0 -
Oh yes, I remember now.
The sentence ' every fortnight I eat sultanas ' which makes perfect sense here apparently is confusing to Americans on both counts.
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