by Jackie Youngman

Created on: April 28, 2008

JACKIE'S TOP TEN NUTRITIOUS SNACKS

Lots of us feel incredibly hungry in between meals, and are tempted to snack on unhealthy foods such as crisps (potato chips), cakes, biscuits, pastries etc. We reach for these foods when in need of a "quick fix", but they can pile the weight on us before we know it. Most of these types of snacks are very high in fat, calories, processed sugars, and are low in dietary fiber. Many years ago I was very overweight, and I followed a healthy, but strictly fat and calorie controlled diet. I did find though that during this diet, I had days when I felt more hungry than others. For me, hunger is a dangerous feeling, as I find that to relieve the feeling, I am very tempted to reach for a bar of chocolate. On this diet, chocolate or other kinds of high calorie food would have been disastrous, so I invented and created a series of low calorie, low-fat healthy snacks that I could safely munch on in between meals.

A lot of them were so delicious, that I continued eating them even after the weight had been lost. I share them with you now, and say that if you drink a large glass of water with each of these snacks, it doubles the stomach-filling sensation.

All of the following are one single serving.

1. CHEESY PEACHY CRISPBREAD SNACK

Take two crispbreads of any variety, e.g. Energen, Ryvita. Spread one tablespoon of low-fat cottage cheese onto the surface of each crispbread. Remove the stone (pit) from a fresh peach, and slice the peach. Place the peach slices across the cheese on one of the crispbreads, and arrange a little watercress on top. Cover with the other crispbread. If preferred, you can use drained canned peach slices.

2. ZINGY CELERY CRUNCH

Take two washed, topped and tailed sticks of celery. Mix 4 tablespoons of low-fat plain yogurt with 2 tablespoons of drained canned sweetcorn kernels and 1 tablespoon of raw, diced green beans. Spread the yogurt/sweetcorn/green bean mixture evenly along the grooves of the celery sticks, and sprinkle generously with hot chili powder, or if you prefer a milder taste, a generous sprinkling of paprika pepper.

3. EGG, SULTANA AND APRICOT MEDLEY

Take one shelled hard-boiled egg, and chop roughly. Mix with 1 tablespoon sultanas and 1 tablespoon chopped dried apricots. Blend 1 tablespoon of low-fat plain yogurt, and spread the mixture onto a thin slice of cold toast (it tastes better of the toast is made with wholemeal bread). Serve the covered toast slice on a bed of shredded lettuce or watercress.

4. POTATO

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