Healthy, Satisfying Snacks!-Any Ideas?

Hey guys,
so I've been vegetarian now for about 2 months and I have alot of trouble with snacking and eating junk food. I need another way and I was hoping you'd have some advice. I have been having sweets and salt cravings for sometime now and I think it wouldn't be so destructive if I was eating better things. What do you snack on and please dont give me that fruit and veggies garbage because those are the obvious choices. I'm looking for something else.

Tracy

 

Well, I've been kinda training my body to accept food throughout the day (after ages and ages of eating one big meal in the evening) by eating small healthy, snack-ish meals all day long. My absolute favorite way to do this is to fix a "platter" in the late morning, with sliced cucumber, tomatoes, and red bell pepper, some slices of whole wheat pita, and a bowl of hummus. It's completely delicious, protein and vitamin-rich, and totally satisfying. It might do well for your "salt craving", since it's quite flavorful and crunchy, and would be a good alternative to chips and dip, or whatever else you might naturally go for.
Lately when I'm craving something sweet, my favorite thing is a sliced apple with peanut butter.

 

Sweetie cravings are seriously easiest to handle with raw fruit, I've found. When I'm really craving SUGAR, I'll add a blob of fat-free caramel ice cream topping to an apple. There's always soy or tofu ice cream if you're feeling super indulgent, and I also enjoy things like dried fruit. Some days a handful of dried apple slices looks a whole lot more like a "snack" than the very same apple would if I chose to eat it raw.

Salty cravings are tougher for me. Personally I grab dill pickles as a salty snack because they're always in my house & won't attack my waistline... but my baby sister has informed me that "normal" people don't sit down & nosh pickles between meals. Other yummy salty things are: smokehouse almonds or salted peanuts, tortilla chips with salsa, or a glass of V-8
love,
mom

 

my fave snack for when im craving salty-sweet is a honey and peanut butter sandwich-tasty and the peanut butter provides plenty of protein!

 

Oh, so many snack choices... here are some of my faves:

"Ants on a log" - celery w/ peanut butter & raisins
veggies and/or pitas dipped in hummus
lightly salted nuts (or just eat 'em raw - cashews & almonds are gooooood)
dried fruit
trail mix
dark chocolate (mmmmm.... just don't go too overboard)
carob-covered pretzels
soygurt/yogurt (it's great w/ frozen berries & granola mixed in)
cereal & rice milk
toast w/ margarine & jam
rice krispie treats (made w/ brown rice cereal & vegan marshmallows)
energy/granola bars (I make homemade ones, yummy!)
gogi berries
chips & salsa (or chips & hummus) - homemade is the best!
veggie chips (basically dehydrated veggies that are crunchy like chips)
seitan jerky (like primal strips)
homemade cookies
raw fruit or fruit salad
a small spinach salad w/ walnuts & your favorite dressing
crackers & whatever you like to top 'em with (soy cream cheese, "cheese" slices, hummus, etc)
artichoke dip w/ chips or crackers

... ok now I'm getting really hungry and this list is getting really long.

 

the hummus makers athenos also make pita chips@!! their low in fat and sodium but them used with their hummus is very very tasty and vegan!!

 

Oh I forgot one of my favorite snacks: POPCORN!

I just got a popcorn popper for Christmas. Yay!

 

olives
carrots
nuts
chips
dried fruit
hummus
guacamole

 

Barter Mama, I was just thinking about popcorn... The last few years all I've done is microwave, but now I doubt I could find a trustworthy vegan one. Plus, the microwave kinda creeps me out and I'm trying to stay away from it. Might you know a good way to fix a yummy kettle corn from kernels? I don't have a popper, but I might buy the stovetop kind next week!

Wow, all these ideas are great! Makin' me hungry!

 

Hummblebee, I have found an organic microwave popcorn that uses palm oil instead of butter. It is pretty good, but I can only find it at one store. So they are out there. But popcorn is easy. All you have to do is heat some oil in a pot and then put in the popcorn kernels. Any bag or bottle of popcorn kernels should give you directions. Then eat it plain or add any topping you desire. Tobasco sauce is great on popcorn.

 

I agree totally on the primal strips they are sooooooo good!!! specially the teriyaki flavor!