Grabbing a snack is a great way to keep hunger at bay, but what you pick can make a big difference to your waistline. Celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels reveals her favorite snacks for an afternoon pick-me-up or mid-morning nibble. “These snacks are quick, easy and they all taste good,” says Michaels. “They’re preservative-free, contain no trans fats, MSG, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners.”
- Hard-boiled egg and a piece of fruit. Fruit is a great source of vitamins and fiber, while the egg offers protein and healthy fat.
- Veggies and hummus. “This is an incredibly healthy snack that’s filling and tasty,” Michaels says. That’s because the fiber from the vegetables and the protein in the chickpeas both promote fullness. If you’re worried about the preservatives and sodium in some store-bought brands of hummus, check out our katamata olive hummus recipe!
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Most of the time when we snack, we just want the act of snacking. Rarely does anyone actually need those extra calories, but most need the boost in nutrition from a healthy snack to help hit your daily nutrition requirements.
Sensible Foods dried fruit and vegetable snacks are the perfect snack for dieters- the calories are almost negligible, they are made from whole foods and they keep your mouth busy with satisfying little crunches. Sensible Foods come in a ton of different flavors, including Apple, Corn, Edemame, Tropical Blend, Strawberry-Banana, Soynut, Cherry Berry, and Orchard Blend. Sensible Snacks uses a process that removes the water while maintaining the product’s cell structure and nutritional value, and intensifies the flavor. The process gives them a shelf life of over two years, and each packet is the equivalent to 1/2 cup of fresh fruit, or 1 serving of your 5 a day. They range in calories, but all clock in at under 100 calories per pouch.
I love healthy foods in all forms, and choose my snacks based more on their nutritional profile than their taste. Being the healthy minority of my mid-20 peer group, I always like to run new healthy food products by some “average” eaters to get their spin. I gave some Cherry Berry to a fruit-a-phobe friend of mine, who quickly demolished the whole packet claiming he loved them because they taste like Fruity Pebbles. This is a true statement, which quickly led to an experiment of whether drowning them in milk would cause them to puff back up into berry form. It did not.
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Hanging Christmas stockings never gets old. Even though you may be the one that packs them, it’s still an exciting and integral part of many families’ holiday traditions. Instead of packing them with candy, here is a list of pint sized products – every one of them completely tested! – that can help your family members get a leg up on a healthy, active lifestyle before the New Year’s Eve ball drops!
Handful Bras
– Originally created because company owner Jennifer Ferguson couldn’t find a flattering sports bra, this pocket sized product is a dream come true for smaller breasted ladies. Holding you firm without flattening or causing the dreaded “Uni-boob” image, this is the one sports bra that does it all. I let my two older daughters try this bra, and it has already become a favorite. It doesn’t ride up, it flatters and holds everything into place. In other words, it does exactly what it’s *supposed* to do and none of what it isn’t. Attractive enough to be worn alone, or flattering under a traditional work out top, this bra would make a wonderful addition to a Christmas stocking.
Myorope Balls – These “balls on a rope” appear innocent and safe, but one quick trial and you’ll know that these balls mean business! I’ve long been a fan 
of self-massage and trigger point pressure, even going so far as to carry a lacrosse ball in my boxing bag. It can be tricky to get the ball at just the right spot, which is where the unique design of the Myorope comes in. Offered in 2, 4 or 6, the design allows for one ball to be anchored and lets the rest get into every nook and crevice that needs help. If you’ve got a runner, CrossFit enthusiast or triathlete – or if you are a fan of foam rolling, these will be the hit of the day. (I’ve been badgered for my set every time I enter the gym!)
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I’m a sucker for Mexican food, and eat it all the time because it is so easy to get the same delicious flavors you would find in your favorite cheesy, greasy restaurant entrees in a healthy, fresh and easy meal at home. I always have 
fresh tomatoes, onion, cilantro and avocado stocked to dice and add a little Mexican flare to chicken, fish, fajitas, and salads for hardly any calories. Keeping soft, corn tortillas on hand over the bleached flour ones lends a more indulgent restaurant-style feel to a meal, but, you know, I could never find a healthy and satisfying substitution for the crunch of a traditionally lard-laden tortilla chip.
Enter Beanitos: crunchy, yummy tortilla chips made from whole beans and whole grains. These fiber-filled little guys are always gluten-free, wheat free, and soy free, packed with 4 g of complete protein, with no cholesterol and no trans fats. They come in 4 great flavors, including Pinto and Flax and Cheddar Cheese, which boasts whole pinto beans, whole brown flaxseed and whole grain rice as their first three ingredients and Black Bean and Chipotle BBQ, whose first two ingredients are whole black beans and whole grain rice. At 140 calories per serving, and 20 percent of your daily fiber these make a healthy filling snack that fits into almost anyone’s diet.
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Who doesn’t like to get something in the mail that isn’t a bill or another credit card offer? And while our birthdays give us one day a year to impatiently wait the mail’s arrival, with a subscription to Lollihop you can actually look forward to mail delivery once a month, all year long.
Lollihop is an exciting new company based in Palo Alto, Calif. that’s doing its part to make the mail, snacking, and healthy eating fun again. Whether you treat yourself to a Lollihop subscription, or gift it to a friend or loved one, it truly is the gift that keeps on giving.
Founded just this year by Suzanne Xie and Tamara Rajaram, MD, Lollihop sends its subscribers a gift box once each month full of some of the best healthy snacks around. They work with a team of nutritionists to carefully curate each snack and make sure that each ingredient is something that fulfills their desire to make “eating healthy, simple, and a lot more interesting than raw cauliflower,” according to Xie’s bio.
According to Xie, the idea for Lollihop came about when Suzanne and Tamara first became friends and shared a passion to help people eat healthier in ways that are fun and accessible. During the first couple of months of working on their idea, they both developed a habit of late night snacking during their long work sessions. After that, it became clear where Lollihop should start.
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