It's Day 2 of the Female First's Countdown to Festive Fabulous Diet Week and you may begin to feel the snacking urge getting the better of you. Here are some quick ideas to curb your craving for a nibble without blowing your sexy Christmas waistline.
Sweet Treats:
Sugar free jelly- eating a few cubes of sugar free jelly is great if you have a craving for kiddie sweets. There's less than 10 calories per 100g so they are much less sinful than a bag of cola bottles.
Meringue- these are fab for those with a sweet tooth. They are crunchy and tasty but are made with lots of air so are really light on the tummy too. Check out this gorgeous recipe:
Meringue Kisses
Ingredients
2 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper;
set aside.
2. In medium bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed,
beat egg whites until frothy; add cream of tartar and salt. Beat on
high speed until stiff; beat in sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Add
vanilla; fold in chocolate chips.
3. Drop batter by heaping teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet.
Place in oven. Turn oven off; leave cookies in oven 5 hours.
Each serving (2 cookies) provides: 80 optional calories.
Per serving: 80 calories, 1 g protein, 3 g fat, 15 g carbohydrate, 3 mg calcium, 20 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 g dietary fibre.
Jaffa Cakes- are brill for cake lovers. They are only 46 calories each and the thin layer of chocolate makes them sweet enough to satisfy your craving.
Popcorn- you don't have to be at the cinema to enjoy some popcorn and with around 400 calories per 100g it's nowhere near as naughty as you think. Don't forget popcorn is light so a couple of handfuls is usually around 100-150 calories.
Sin-free Savoury
Olives- not everyone is a fan of olives but they are great for diets. You can nibble on a tub of 10-15 olives throughout the day and still on;ly get through around 100-150 calories. They're practically sin free.
Crisps- possibly one of the hardest cravings to beat but Female First is here to help. Making your own low fat nachos is easy! Get a flour tortilla and cut if into crisp shape triangles, spray with some low calorie cooking spray and whack in the oven until they're nice and crispy. You can even add some spices for extra flavour. Serve with low fat hummus or greek yoghurt dip for a great TV munch.
Veggy Sticks- OK so it's not a big shock that vegetables are low in fat but cut up lots of juicy carrot and crunchy celery and serve with this home made salsa and you will have a great healthy snack.
Mango and Black Bean Salsa Dip
Ingredients
1 large mango, chopped
1/3 cup red onion, chopped
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Combine mango, red onion, black beans, cilantro and jalapeno in a medium bowl. Squeeze lime juice over mixture. Stir well, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Chickpeas- are great for nut-lovers. Just open a tin and eat them cold and they taste just like peanuts but they don't have the high salt and fat content.
Do you have any healthy snack ideas you want to share? Or just let us know how your getting on with your own diet in our Festive Fabulous Forum
Tilly Harris -Female First