Ask Lemmy

Bumps on a log (celery sticks with peanutbutter and raisins)

Im right here with you, I've recently been replacing all the candy snacks I have with various rustic snacks. I'll have like, 6 cheese curds and salami slices, 3 dates instead of my peanut butter cups, I 've been really into Japanese style peanuts, peacans just on their own.

When it comes to quick and not unhealthy meals, I found out I can make cheese rice in my rice cooker. Follow the usual rice cooker instructions, just add a cup of shredded cheddar, a tbsp of butter, garlic, salt, pepper, and if you want it extra rich replace 1/3 of the water with milk.

If you're air frying any veg, I highly suggest mixing your seasoning in a little oil and vinegar, then tossing the veg in it. That half assed vinegarette feels really fancy and if helps get an even coating of seasoning. Balsamic brings sweetness, all the others bring sour. You can even make it in bulk, put it in the fridge, and if keeps basically forever.

If you do ramen a lot, toss some frozen veg mix in with it while it's boiling, then replace half the packet with a splash of soy sauce, and some garlic. It's less and somehow so much more.

Recently I've gotten into "soy meat" it's dried, crumbled, tofu that's a really popular meat substitute in Mexico. Pound of beef equivalent for 97¢ at the local Hispanic grocery. Since it's dried and functionally flavorless, you can mix you up a slurry of spices and the stuff will sponge it all up. Toss it in a pan and it comes out the exact same texture as ground beef, but you can make it taste like everything from plain beef to Italian sausage, maple cured bacon, even smoked pepperoni. I've taken to adding it to chilli, sloppy joes, pasta, not only because it halves the cost of meat, but because it can add such an amazing depth of flavor and it seems to naturally correct acidity.

Hope some of this helps. I personally fell for the idea that eating right had to be miserable for so long and now it's like, why is this not the standard? This is so fucking good!

I've been dabbing into intermittent fasting for the last couple months.

It's not really a snack, but my doctor recommended that before I break my fast, to drink warm lemon water. So I do,

I run my tap until it's hot as it gets, and squeeze half a lemon of juice in a cup, and fill it with that warm water. The first one was rough, I didn't like it. But after a short time, I really like them now and just drink one or two, or sometimes three times a day. The warm water helps my tummy feel full and the lemon nearly tastes sweet at this point. My doctor said it makes thw fat cells "move". So move it!

For meals,I stopped buying butter, and cook everything from scratch. Sometimes I'll just roast a sweet potato or squash and eat that. Roasted veggies are under rated. The take like 20-45 mins depending, but I like I can do it in the air fryer or toaster oven. Olive oil and spices its a win.

Years ago, I lost 100 pounds in a year. I ate, whole prepared foods, but didn't really cut anything out. I used a smaller plate. I just ate less. I still would have bread and butter, just less. And, it still worked for me. Take whole or real food meals you like, and just have a smaller plate. This is easier if you use an actual, small plate.

I also made everything spicy as hell, by the end of the year I was chopping raw habeneros and putting them on like, a ham sandwhich. I don't eat deli meats anymore, but making any food spicy will intuitively help you to slow down. Eating slower makes a huge difference. I also often would eat meals with chopsticks, that will also slow your eating habits.

Edit, to add, homemade popcorn in avocado oil, with a little salt, black pepper, nooch and cayenne pepper is amazing. You can eat a whole bowl and its only like 300 calories. I make mine on the stove in a dutch oven, but you can put a 1/4 cup of kernals in a lunch sack paper bag, fold it up and microwave it too! Its guilt free snacking.

Grapes, apples, nuts

"Healthy snacks" are an edge concern - I snack on whatever the fuck I want, because that's not the prime driver.

Every meal is the prime mover. Balance that for you, and you'll be closer to where you want to be, and less interested in bad snacks.

When I'm eating right I'm not interested in the bad-for-me stuff nearly as much.

It's also important to change how you eat.

Do you tear open a box/bag of something and gun it down in front of a screen?

Try making yourself actual meals. Use napkins and silverware and non-paper plates. Make a protein, a carb, and some greens. Sit at the dinner table, not in front of the TV.

Even if it's just a snack you can present it nicely. Cut the apple up and lay it out with bits of cheese.

Make the meal seem special.

Fruit, I guess that's my favorite healthy snacks.

In winter, bananas. In summer, watermelon. If I'm craving something sorbet like I snack on frozen berries.

Nuts are also another good one but they're not low calorie.

Banana with brown almond butter (that one that is 100% almonds).

Do air fried chickpeas count as healthy? Goes great with some spicy seasonings :3

Bags of baby carrots are nice.

Also those cans of fruit with no sugar added. I call those adult fruit cups.

Medjool date and a coffee. Perfect dessert.

Mandarins

They are easy to peel and unlike banana peels, its peels are relatively dry and smell nice, you can keep them comfortably in your pocket until you find a trash bin.

Many people is mentioning nuts. Yes, they are healthy but they are very calorie dense.

Nuts are pretty healthy. I usually have a bag of various nuts nearby. If you like it put in some raisins or cranberries or other dried fruit.

And of course fresh fruits are king. A banana takes almost zero effort.

Fruit. Nobody has ever gotten fat from eating too much fruit.

Cucumber dipped in tzaziki with sriracha

A glass of water with a bit of apple cider vinegar in it. It takes the cravings and it improves digestion and lowers blood sugar levels.

Also consider taking psyllium, it's a prebiotic and helps with all sorts of things. It makes me feel more full and helps with digestion.

I eat dark chocolate with at least 70 % cocoa. You don't feel like eating too much of it, but it tastes good and helps on the cravings.

Apple slices with peanut butter

Dried apricots are my favorite and are rich in fiber and vitamins. Other dried fruits are good too, but personally I like apricots the most.

My favorite is frozen mango. I like to eat them as a quick cold snack straight from the freezer.

Another one is raw carrots with hummus as a dip.

• Do oatmeal cookies count?

• grapes, raisins or nuts mixed with raisins

• golden sultanas are the best, but i like them best when mixed eith nuts or some other types of dried fruit.

• Bircher, AKA overnight oats made by soaking yoghurt, oats,p & fruit in apple juice and refrigerating over several days

Anything fermented or pickled is a delight to eat and you can make them at home very easily as long as you're sanitising your jars in boiling water between each use. A youtuber/tiktoker(?) Called Kirsten Kaminski is how i learned about this stuff. She has a cookbook if you're interested.

Would definitely recommend pickled onions, they're absolutely stupendous.

Air dried cauliflower i wouldn't go near but i would try it as a pickle or ferment food.

Nuts, mini carrots, berries, just a bottle of water sometimes goes as a snack (the water inside the bottle, not the bottle itself)