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Healthy Go-To Meals and Snacks

February 2, 2010 – 10:22 am

Recently a friend asked me to give her some ideas for healthy, low-calorie meals and snacks.  She has recently finished breast-feeding her little boy, and therefore is “allowed” significantly fewer calories than before.  I generally like to eat smaller meals about every 3-4 hours, so I come up with quite a few healthy mini-meals. Here are a few of my own go-to meals and snacks.

• two corn tortillas with 1/4 c fat-free refried beans
• two rice cakes with 1 tbsp natural peanut, almond, or sunflower butter
• 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1 tbsp natural peanut butter
• 2 – 3 tbsp hummus and raw vegetables
• salad loaded with green veggies, plus 1 tbsp sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup garbanzo beans, 1 tbsp dressing:
• blended smoothie of greens, 2 tbsp hemp protein powder, 1/2 cup frozen berries, 2 clementines, 1 tsp flax oil
• 2 slices Ezekiel toast with 1 tbsp nut butter
• apple and 12 almonds
• medium-sized baked potato with 2 tbsp fat-free plain yogurt (or tofutti sour cream) and salsa
• 1/2 cup rice or quinoa with 1/4 cup beans
• mixed veggie “steamer” — 1 red potato, 1/4 mushrooms, 1/4 garbanzos, 1/2 brocoli, steamed then drizzled with 1 tsp sesame oil and soy sauce

I use seasonings like Tony Chachere’s, hot sauce, vinegar, and soy sauce liberally on many of my mini-meals; I have no patience for bland food.