Fitting In Snacks and Desserts: Planning healthy snacks and desserts, Enjoying savory bites and Tasting sweet treats.

Fitting In Snacks and Desserts

In This Chapter

� Planning healthy snacks and desserts

� Enjoying savory bites

� Tasting sweet treats

When you’re counting every calorie in an attempt to lose weight, you may think snacks and desserts are something you’ll never see again in this lifetime. Not so! For most dieters, sweet and salty treats are an important part of losing weight and often serve as motivators when you use your snack calories for favorite comfort foods and other special treats. I, myself, live for the moment when I know that I’ve eaten enough healthy stuff to justify the (heaping) tablespoon or two of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream I plan into my diet most days.

You don’t need to torture yourself about forbidden foods because no foods are forbidden on this diet. True, the foods you may think of as forbidden — cookies, candies, chips, dips, and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream — are quite limited on a calorie-controlled weight-loss plan. They have to be. But if you can control the amount you eat, then don’t feel guilty. This diet doesn’t prohibit you from sampling these yummy treats.

The healthiest sweet stuff usually includes some type of fruit, and the healthiest savory snacks are usually made with some type of vegetable matter. If you choose healthier treats most of the time to use for your snack calories, then, as a registered dietitian, I can say without reservation, “Go right ahead and enjoy the cookies, candies, crackers, chips, dips, and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream you eat (in moderation) from time to time.”

In this chapter, I provide some 100-calorie snack and dessert recipes that are healthful, easy to prepare, and fun to eat. I also throw in a list of 50-calorie snacks for those of you who want to break your 100-calorie snack allowance into two extra mini-snacks.

Being Smart about Munching between Meals

If you like to snack but think you have to sneak your snacks or, at the very least, feel guilty about eating them, think again. A well-planned snack can help because it

� Provides energy

� Keeps your blood sugar steady throughout the day

� Fills nutritional gaps in your diet

� Facilitates weight loss by preventing you from getting too hungry and overeating at your next meal For many low-calorie dieters, a snack eaten sometime between lunch and dinner is the most important “meal” of the day because it staves off the hunger and fatigue that often accompanies afternoon slump, which is the energy gap that many people suffer toward the end of the workday. An after- noon snack fills that gap and helps tide you over until dinner.

In the following sections, I give you a few tips and tricks for eating snacks and desserts without wrecking your low-calorie plan.

Adding variety to snacks and desserts

To get the most out of your snack calories, think of snacks (and desserts, for that matter) as mini-meals, and balance them the way you would balance a small meal, with a little bit of protein, a little bit of carbohydrate, and maybe a little fat. Balancing snacks and desserts serves the same purpose as balancing the rest of your diet. When you eat different types of foods together, your body metabolizes them at different rates, which means a steadier and longer- lasting supply of energy. Your snacks and desserts will do a better job of tiding you over until your next meal.

For example, instead of eating 100 calories worth of saltine crackers (6 or 7 crackers), have three crackers, half an ounce of reduced-fat cheese, and a few apple or orange slices. This type of snack can compensate for nutrients that may be low or missing in your regular meals. In this example, you’re getting calcium, protein, and a little fat from the cheese, different types of carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals from the fruit and crackers, and sustained energy from the combination of all three foods.

A sweeter way to balance a snack and add some fun is to treat yourself to a chocolate drop or mini-chocolate bar, served with a couple of fresh strawberries and a half cup of skim milk. This snack is loaded with vitamin C and calcium, and provides other nutrients along with a chocolate bonus. Just remember: Don’t get carried away. Only one piece of chocolate!

These two examples show how eating between meals can become a healthful, guilt-free habit that doesn’t have to affect your weight, or your blood sugar, in a negative way.

Grazing throughout the day

Research over the past few decades has shown that, for some people, grazing, or eating small meals and snacks throughout the day instead of three larger meals, can help with weight control and other health issues. More frequent eating may help

� Lower your blood cholesterol

� Control your moods

� Keep your blood sugar steady

� Give you more control over your appetite

Grazing works for low-calorie dieters as long as you aren’t random. You still need a low-cal plan (see Chapter 6 to start with a four-week plan), and you need to stick to your calorie limit if you’re serious about losing weight. The only difference between grazing and eating three square meals a day is that you’re breaking the same number of calories up into smaller meals to be eaten more often.

For many people, however, snacking or grazing is detrimental to their diet. If you’re the type of person who isn’t satisfied with small portions of your favorite foods or for whom a few bites of food easily leads to a binge, then you probably need to avoid frequent snacking, at least for now. You may even have to forego all snacks and desserts until you feel in better control of your eating habits. If that’s the case, take your snack and dessert calories (and the foods that provide those calories) and add them to your regular meals. For instance, rather than having a baked apple at 3 p.m. to hold you over until dinner, add it to your breakfast menu or have it with dinner, rather than later in the evening.

All the low-cal snacks and desserts in the world can’t help you lose weight if you overdo it. You have to be able to stop eating when you’ve used up your calorie allotment. Your body plays a funny trick on you when you eat too much, too often. If you start feeding yourself six or eight times a day, you’ll start to feel hungry at those same times every day. That’s okay if you’re simply dividing an appropriate number of daily calories into that many small meals and snacks. But if you feed that hunger with excess food, then snacking becomes just another bad habit that can lead to weight gain.

Sampling 100-Calorie Snacks

The following sections provide recipes and ideas for quick-to-fix snacks, both savory and sweet. You can eat some of them in the here and now, while you can make others ahead of time for your scheduled snack or if you need to appease a snack attack that comes out of the blue. (Yes, it happens, and yes, give in to it! Better to give in to a craving and allow yourself 100 extra calories worth of satisfaction than to end up bingeing later in the day because you denied yourself a small treat earlier.)

Treating yourself to sweet snacks

The sweet snacks in this section and the desserts later in this chapter are certainly interchangeable. They all contain approximately 100 calories in a single serving. The only difference is that the desserts are just slightly more sophisticated, and perhaps more suitable for serving to company.

If your friends are like mine, they’ll welcome the make-it-yourself oozy cookie snack made with marshmallow creme and chocolate syrup (Just a Little S’More) in this section just as readily as the more elegant chilled dessert cup of orange sections in sweet and spicy syrup (Oranges in Spicy Syrup) you can find in the section “Making the most of fruit,” later in this chapter.

Watermelon Freezies

This recipe isn’t unlike the semifrozen, slurpable drink snacks you may have enjoyed as a kid at your local convenience store. This one is a little healthier, though, because it contains real fruit, instead of just fruit-flavored sugar syrup, and it fits nicely into your 100-calorie snack slot.

Combine the frozen watermelon cubes, limeade concentrate, sugar, and mint, if using, in the container of a blender or food processor. Process with on/off motions until smooth. Serve immediately.

Tip: Put any leftover mixture back in the freezer before it thaws and freeze for up to a month. To serve at another time, take the mixture out of the freezer for 10 minutes before reprocessing.

Just a Little S’More

I include this recipe because dieters deserve to have as much fun as everyone else.

A take-off on the traditional campfire s’mores, this sweet treat weighs in under 100 calories — if you can eat just one! The recipe is written to yield only one serving. I don’t recommend it for anyone who can’t keep ingredients like marshmallow creme in the house, for fear of eating the entire jarful during a midnight binge.

Spread the marshmallow creme onto one of the graham cracker rectangles. Drizzle the creme with the chocolate syrup. Top with the remaining graham cracker rectangle. Enjoy!

Tip: Sometimes when I make one, I put it on a plate and pop it in the microwave oven for 5 seconds just to warm it slightly.

Savoring salty snacks

If you have a salt tooth, rather than a sweet tooth, then you go more for chips, pretzels, and other savory foods when the urge to snack strikes. The recipes in this section are all designed to allow you to eat not just one, but several, and still stick to your 100-calorie snack limit.

Garlicky Herb Pita Chips

You can’t eat just one, but you don’t have to, because they’re less than 20 calories apiece. Feel free to eat five or six for a full snack.

1 Preheat the oven to 300.

2 Split each pita bread so that you have 16 rounds. Place the rounds, rough side up, on your work surface.

3 Stir together the egg whites, olive oil, garlic, basil, and salt in a small bowl. Brush some of this egg-white mixture over the rough side of each pita round. With a pizza cutter or a knife, cut each pita in 4 equal wedges. Gently cut or pry each wedge apart. You’ll have 64 wedges. Place the wedges, coated side up, on baking sheets.

4 Bake the chips, in batches if necessary, for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges are toasted and the egg-white topping is set. Remove the baking sheets to wire racks. Allow the chips to cool completely before serving.

Salad Scoops

My friend Laurie Mozian, who is also a registered dietitian, shared the basis of this recipe with me years ago. Her version called for spooning the finely chopped vegetable mixture onto rye-crisp crackers or melba toast. You can do that, if you like (keeping it to two or three crackers). But personally, the way I write it is a great way to sneak a few potato chips into your diet.

1 Combine the tomato, cucumber, green onion, and dressing in a small bowl.

2 Spoon a generous tablespoonful of the salad onto each potato chip just before eating.

You can serve any of the snacks in this section as party food. If you’re invited to someone else’s party and you’re worried about what you’ll eat when you get there, you can offer to bring a tray of low-cal snacks and then position yourself close to that tray so that you’re not tempted to reach for any of the higher-calorie foods provided by your host.

Bean and Cheese Nachos

To serve these nachos at a party, simply double, triple, or quadruple the recipe. Even nondieters scarf them up!

1 Preheat the oven to 450.

2 Spread the tortillas evenly with the beans. Top with salsa. Sprinkle with cilantro, if desired, then the shredded cheese.

3 Bake the nachos for 8 minutes or until the tortillas are crisp and lightly browned around the edges and the cheese has melted.

4 Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut each tortilla into eight nachos.

This recipe makes about 16 servings if you’re planning to use it for a party. For an everyday 100-calorie snack, or as party fare, have 3 tablespoons of dip with a cup of assorted raw vegetable dippers.

1 Combine the spinach, cheese, dill, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Whirl for 30 seconds, just to combine, scraping down the side of the container with a spatula, as necessary.

2 Add 1⁄2 cup of the yogurt to the food processor. Whirl until almost smooth. Stir in the remaining yogurt until well mixed. (Don’t process the remaining yogurt, or the mixture will be too thin.)

3 Turn the dip into a serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

50 snacks worth 50 calories

With 50-calorie snacks, you get to snack more often. You can always double the quantity on any of these snacks to get your full 100 at once, but dividing snacks up into 50-calorie portions can help you bank calories for later on in the day, when you may start feeling desperate for a bite to eat.

� 25 small thin pretzel sticks

� 20 tiny fish-shaped crackers

� 20 mini marshmallows

� 15 pistachio nuts

� 15 grapes

� 10 dry roasted peanuts

� 8 tiny bear-shaped graham cookies

� 5 dried apricot halves

� 5 almonds

� 5 cashews

� 5 walnut halves

� 4 saltine crackers

� 4 baked tortilla chips with 1 tablespoon salsa

� 3 dill pickles

� 3 mini rice cakes

� 2 brazil nuts

� 2 small chocolate drops

� 2 dried dates

� 2 graham cracker squares

� 2 saltines with 1 teaspoon peanut butter

� 2 vanilla wafer cookies

� 2 cups light microwave popcorn

� 2 tablespoons dried cranberries

� 2 tablespoons dried cherries

� And a partridge in a pear tree (oops, wrong list; keep reading for more great snacks)

� 1 fig bar cookie

� 1 peach

� 1 plum

� 1 flavored rice cake

� 1 mini sesame breadstick

� 1 mini box (1⁄2 ounce) raisins

� 1 cup puffed cereal

� 1 cup raw baby carrots

� 1 cup sweet red pepper strips

� 1 cup tomato juice

� 1 cup whole strawberries

� 1 ounce lowfat deli meat

� 1⁄2 apple

� 1⁄2 grapefruit sprinkled with 1⁄2 teaspoon sugar or other sweetener, if you like

� 1⁄2 small banana

� 1⁄2 cup chicken noodle soup

� 1⁄2 cup fresh blueberries

� 1⁄2 cup fresh cherries

� 1⁄2 cup fresh pineapple

� 1⁄2 cup light or juice-packed fruit cocktail

� 1⁄2 cup orange sections

� 1⁄2 cup cranberry juice

� 1⁄2 cup skim milk

� 1⁄2 slice light bread toast with 2 teaspoons fruit spread

� 1⁄3 cup unsweetened applesauce

� 1⁄4 avocado

Dishing Up 100-Calorie Desserts

Dessert eaters will probably want to use their snack calories for an after- dinner sweet. Believing you can find a satisfying dessert for 100 calories or less may sound impossible, but I include six recipes in the following sections.

Making the most of fruit

Nutritionists recommend fresh fruit as the dessert of choice, because it’s sweet, easy, packed with nutrients, and comparatively low in calories. What could be bad? Nothing, but if you’ve ever been on a restricted diet, you know that eating the same foods, the same way, over and over again, no matter how delicious they are, can get boring. And boring spells nothing but trouble for dieters! The following are several recipes that feature fresh fruit in fun and tasty ways.

Cannoli Creme Topping

If you’ve ever had an Italian cannoli pastry, you can appreciate the flavor of this creamy, sweetened ricotta cheese mixture. This recipe uses it as a topping for fresh fruit that’s especially good with a 1⁄2 cup of sliced strawberries or a mixture of strawberries, blue- berries, and raspberries.

Combine the cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a blender or food processor. Whirl for a minute or until very smooth, scraping down the side of the container as necessary. Stir in the chocolate chips and orange rind, if using. Refrigerate the topping for up to a week.

The following recipe features refreshing oranges cut into sections. To cut orange sections, use a small, sharp knife to remove the rind from the orange in a circular fashion, running the knife under the rind and around the fruit (see Figure 15-1). Be sure to cut through the membrane that holds the sections intact. After you have removed the rind, cut down alongside the membrane on both sides of each section to release the sections.

Oranges in Spicy Syrup

This recipe makes four servings as a stand-alone 100-calorie dessert, but you can also use less of this mixture as a topping for a small scoop of light vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.

1 Combine the sugar, water, lemon juice, and cloves in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.

2 Add the orange sections to the saucepan. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Pour the oranges and syrup into a bowl and let the mixture stand for at least 15 minutes or cover and refrigerate overnight.

Vary It! You can also try this recipe with grapefruit.

Most low-cal fruit desserts and snacks (including the following recipe for a Raspberry Baked Apple) double as healthful breakfast foods because they’re not high in added sugars.

Raspberry Baked Apple

You can bake this apple the traditional way — in the regular oven — but it will take longer. Substitute any flavor fruit spread you like, and if you’re having a light-eating day, and can spare another 25 calories, mix the fruit spread with a tablespoon of fat-free granola or other plain, nugget-shaped cereal or a teaspoon of finely chopped nuts before filling the apple.

1 Peel the apple halfway down from the top. Cut out the core almost to the bottom, leaving a 1-inch opening at the top (see Figure 15-2). Place the apple in a microwave-safe dish. Add 2 tablespoons water to the dish.

2 Cook the apple in the microwave for 3 minutes or until tender. (If you don’t have a rotating tray in the oven, turn the apple once halfway through cooking time for more even cooking.)

3 Spoon the fruit spread into the opening in the top of the apple. Microwave for 30 seconds or until the filling is bubbly.

Tip: The best way to eat a baked apple is to halve it first, allow the filling to flow out, and then cut the apple into bite-size pieces.

Chocolate-Frosted Frozen Banana

This recipe is a great low-cal treat to keep on hand in the freezer for when only some- thing chocolate will satisfy your sweet tooth! (You can find additional chocolate recipes in the next section.) You can use the chocolate to coat strawberries and other fruits too, if you like. That way, you still get a taste of chocolate while having a healthy serving of fruit.

1 Cut the banana in half lengthwise, and then cut each long half in half crosswise to make four equal pieces. Place the banana pieces on a plate and freeze for an hour or two or until just solid.

2 Combine the chocolate square and milk in a ramekin or small cup. Microwave for 45 seconds. Remove the ramekin from the microwave and stir the chocolate mixture with a spoon until it is smooth and spreadable. Spoon or brush the chocolate along the length of the frozen banana pieces. Return the bananas to the freezer for 1 hour or until the chocolate frosting is frozen solid.

3 Wrap each banana separately in freezer paper and keep frozen until ready to eat. To serve, remove the banana pieces from the freezer 15 minutes before serving. Place them on dessert plates and carefully cut them into thin slices. Serve the bananas semifrozen.

Tip: If you can’t wait for the banana to freeze, simply take your share, cut it into thin slices, and spread it with a little of the chocolate frosting while it’s still warm.

Satisfying your sweet tooth with chocolate

Chocoholics, rejoice! There’s room in a low-calorie diet for your favorite food group. In this section you find two recipes that can satisfy your craving with- out pushing you over your calorie limit.

Cocoa Meringues

If you can’t eat just one of these sweet, crispy drops but you can stop at five or six, then this chocolate cookie is for you! They also make great giveaways for friends who are watching their weight.

1 Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick aluminum foil.

2 In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cocoa. Set aside.

3 In a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the egg whites until foamy. Beat in the cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla. Add the cocoa and sugar mixture, 1 table- spoon at a time, beating until blended after each addition, until the egg whites are stiff and glossy (see Figure 15-3 to find out what stiff peaks look like). Drop the batter by measuring tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.

4 Bake the meringues for 90 minutes. Turn off the oven, open the door slightly, and allow the cookies to cool completely in the oven. (This step takes several hours.) Remove the cookies from the baking sheets with a spatula. Store the meringues in a tightly covered container for up to a few days.

Vary It! These cookies are even more fabulous if you substitute an equal amount of chocolate extract for the vanilla. If you can’t find chocolate extract in your supermarket, check in specialty food shops and baking supply stores.

When you need a quick chocolate fix, remember that chocolate syrup has only 13 to 20 calories in a teaspoon. (The calorie range is due to variations among brands. Check the labels on different brands in your supermarket if you want to find the one with the fewest calories.) You can satisfy your need with a drizzle of syrup on fresh strawberries or a couple of banana slices or even a small wedge of angel food cake. Just be aware of how much syrup you’re pouring, however, because by the time you’re up to 2 tablespoons, you’ve topped 100 calories, just from the syrup alone.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

This recipe uses classic calorie-cutting techniques such as using skim milk instead of whole milk and light bread in place of regular bread, and replacing some egg yolks with egg whites to lighten up a traditional dessert.

1 Preheat the oven to 325.

2 Coat a 1-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut the bread slices into small cubes. Place the cubes in the baking dish.

3 In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and cocoa powder until well mixed. Stir in the egg yolk and milk until blended.

4 In a medium bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold the whites into the cocoa mixture until almost blended. Be careful not to overmix or you may deflate the beaten whites. Pour this mixture over the bread cubes.

5 Place the baking dish in a larger baking pan. Carefully add enough boiling water to the larger pan to come 1 inch up the side of the baking dish.

6 Bake the bread pudding for 35 minutes or until golden brown and set. Serve warm.