Snax

Now that I'm getting loads of extra exercise, I find myself even more in need of snacks to keep me from either passing out from hunger, or snarfing down every bit of food in sight because I think I'm really hungry.

I try to look for healthy snacks, of course. Low fat, high protein, make you feel full, don't crank up my calorie count for little gain, etc.

The snack food industry isn't much help, though. They like to stick little labels on their items to make you think that they're all good for you, but often you're getting something that's only marginally better for you than the worst Mickey D's Super Size meal. They say things like "No Trans Fats!" and "Organic!" They use lots of green ink to make you think you're somehow helping the environment by buying their plastic-wrapped snack instead of the other guy's plastic-wrapped snack.

Responsible snacking, as you can see, is hard work.

Here's a list of some of my favorite snacks that I have found to be reasonably satisfying for a variety of reasons. They also have drawbacks, but they're snacks, so ... Nom!

Apples: quick, easy, cheap, crunchy, sweet, filling. Cut 'em up in the morning, pop 'em into a baggie and have 'em ready. Trouble is that they're sugary carbohydrates with some fiber and vitamins but pretty much no protein. And maybe you want something a bit more toothsome than apples.

Home-made Oatmeal-Applesauce Bars (recipe). I created this recipe by stealing some other recipe and doctoring this until I got what I wanted -- protein-rich, dense, not overly sweet, but still cake-like so it felt sinful. Trouble with these is you have to actually spend time making them, then wrapping them up into little individual sized portions to pop into the brief case. And I often find I can't eat just one ...

Granola Bars: You can buy 'em at the store, so no time spent in the kitchen, and you can find the whole-grain, higher protein, lower-fat varieties quite readily. Trouble with these is they're chock full of sugar. They pretend it's the good-for-you sugar, like from cane instead of corn, or fruit instead of corn, or sugar instead of corn (you get the idea), but it's still way more sugar than the healthy, weight-conscious peep really wants. Of course, you could make your own, but, well ...

Energy Bars: These can almost, but not quite, replace a whole meal. Well, theoretically. They've got pretty much everything you need as far as macronutritients, calories, vitamins and minerals and presumably contain a few things that are supposed to boost your energy levels. The Kashi GoLean variety is my current fave, mostly because I got a huge box of them at Costco and I have to use those up, but the flavor's not bad. Downside to these is that their consistency and flavor is reminiscent of Space Food Sticks ©. Remember those? Oddly flavored sticks of stiffened goo that were supposedly the same stuff that the Apollo Astronauts were eating? Food of the Future? The Kashi sticks have a bit more crunch and better nutritional value. Oh, and they're larger.

Chocolate: Sorry, but sometimes you just gotta have a candy bar right out of the vending machine. Expensive, bad for you, no nutritional value, enabling the big corporate machinery that is exploiting the working man in the third world, contributing to acid rain and deforestation, but, dammit, it tastes good. My current fave is KitKat (nod to Paula).