10 Healthy Snacks - 200 Calories or Less!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser, but all opinions expressed are my own #LoveV8Protein #Collective Bias

I have shown you how I pack lots of bento lunches, how I make my own salad bar and salad for the week, and some of my favorite recipes, but I haven't shown you what I like to eat for snacks.

As part of my Weekly Food Prep I also pack up a bunch of snacks that my family and I can grab and take with us wherever we need to go. It makes sticking to a healthy diet so much easier that way -  once or twice a week I prepare our snacks, and then the kitchen stays cleaner during the day, our portions are under control, and we are less tempted to buy food that's not good for us.

I keep a running list of good ideas for healthy snacks, and when I find something that tastes good, is healthy, and easy to prepare - it goes on the list. I don't generally keep track of calories, but it just happens that most of my favorite snacks are near or under 200 calories 🙂

So here are 10 of my favorite picks for healthy snacks ( in no particular order):

1. cottage cheese and pineapple - I have this often, and it is under 200 calories if you keep the portions to ½ cup. So I have ½ cup of cottage cheese topped with ½ cup of pineapple - yummy!

2. 1 cup vegetables and 2 tablespoons hummus - This is great when you want something savory and crunchy. When I'm working on a project I like to eat a really crunchy snack - I guess I think better when I chew hard, ha ha!

3.  a grab-and-go protein shake - It's been hard for me to find  pre-made protein shakes that I love, and have the healthy ingredients that I'm looking for. These V-8 protein shakes really fit the bill! The ingredients really go above and beyond what I would expect from a protein shake. The protein sources are milk, soy, pea, brown rice, and quinoa. It is sweetened with honey, brown rice syrup, and a little sugar. But did you know these shakes contain sweet potatoes and carrots?

 

All those added healthy grains and vegetables really boost the nutritional content. Each shake contains a good serving of vitamin A, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin C, iron, vitamin K ( how often do you get vitamin K from a snack?), some B vitamins, and folate. They also have 12 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber. These good-for-you choices taste great, and are quite filling for only 190 calories!

They come in three flavors - vanilla, chocolate, and chocolate raspberry. We sampled the vanilla and chocolate, which everybody really liked. In fact, my son was reading the label as he was drinking one and he said, "Hang on, did you know there are sweet potatoes in this? How can they do that and not even make it taste like vegetables?"

 

We're looking forward to picking up some of the raspberry-chocolate flavor next time. If you go to Wal-Mart looking for some of these shakes, you won't find them in the food aisles. These are brand new products, found in the health and beauty aisle, near the pharmacy:

4. a good quality protein bar - I like keeping a few protein bars on hand so my family and I can grab one when we need a healthy snack. It's so helpful to have non-perishable snacks available in your purse, glove box of your car,  or desk drawer to eat when you're busy. V-8 makes some really good ones, and they are also in a great healthy calorie range - 210 calories. Their nutrition stats are similar to the shakes - they contain carrots, sweet potatoes, brown rice, and soy. They are just loaded with nutrients, too - 10 grams protein, 5 grams fiber, and vitamins A, E, C, and B. They also have an impressive amount of zinc, folate, and iron!

 

My husband and son really enjoyed these bars, which come in Chocolate Peanut Butter, Oatmeal Raisin  (shown in photo) and also Chocolate Pomegranate with Cranberry, which we haven't tried yet. You can also find them in the health and beauty aisle along with the shakes.

Of my 4 children, 2 of them are still living at home - one son is gluten-intolerant ( like me) and one son is not ( like my husband). These bars were just right for the two of us that don't have food restrictions, because they do contain barley, which is a gluten ingredient. But I feel really good about sending off my son and husband in the morning with some of these bars to have for  snacks at the office. These super nutrient-packed bars are the little indulgence they'll need every day to help them stick to their health goals.

You can learn more about these awesome V-8 products on their website: loveyourv8protein.com , or visit their Facebook page  or follow them on twitter ( I did!).

5. frozen grapes and cottage cheese - Have you ever tried frozen grapes? They are one of my favorite snacks! They're like eating little tiny popsicles, and they're so fun to snack on - perfect for a hot summer day, or for when you're feeling under the weather. I just pop them off their stems and put them in freezer bags so they're ready when we need them. And because they are kind of time-consuming to eat, I feel satisfied with only eating about ¾ cup. I pair them with ½ cup of cottage cheese for the protein, but sometimes I have string cheese with my grapes 🙂

 

6. a mug of vegetable soup -  Sometimes I just crave something hot and savory for a snack, and vegetable soup feels like the perfect thing! I love homemade soup, but it's also good to keep a few cans of soup that you like on hand (this is another good idea for something to keep at the office).  I look for soup that is broth based, contains a lot of vegetables, and beans if possible. If you can't find soup with beans,  just add some canned beans - it's so filling that way, and you can still keep the calories right around 200.

 

 

7.  apple with Protein Peanut Butter - I like to slice up a medium sized apple (or use half of a large apple), and put it in a snack sized container with some lemon juice or Fruit Fresh. Then I mix up some of my Protein Peanut Butter: 2 tablespoons peanut butter ( or almond or cashew butter), 1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt, and 1 and ½ teaspoons of vanilla protein powder. I add a little water until it's the consistency that I like. You can also leave out the protein powder, but our family likes it better with it left in.  This is a Honeycrisp apple, which is my favorite apple in the whole world!

 

 

8.  celery with protein peanut butter -  If you want to shave off even more calories, have the same snack with celery instead of an apple. You can even add some raisins to make ants on a log!

 

 

9.  chicken and steamed vegetables -  This might seem like a strange thing to have for a snack, but I really love it! It's all about listening to your body and finding a healthy alternative - and sometimes I find I want something hot and filling, with a little seasoned salt. Maybe it's just me, I don't know. To satisfy this kind of craving, I grill up some chicken breast about once a week when I do my weekly food prep, and bag up some frozen veggies in individual freezer bags. I like to eat my chicken cold, and my veggies hot, so I microwave the veg and top them with seasoned salt - try it, you'll like it!

 

 

10. peach, mango, or apricot sorbet -  I saved this dessert-type of snack for last - it's fantastic! You simply take a can of fruit ( in juice, not syrup) and put it in a blender along with equal amounts of frozen fruit. There are certain kinds of fruit that blend up with a very creamy texture like ice cream when frozen. The ones I've found that do this beautifully are peaches, mangos, and apricots (bananas also make great ice cream, but I've never used them in this sorbet before). Just blend it up and serve immediately - it will serve more than one person, so share this with someone who loves a sweet treat 🙂 The fruits I used in the photo are canned peaches and frozen mangos:

 

These are just a few of the wonderful healthy snacks you can make to satisfy your cravings and still maintain a healthy diet. If you like these snack ideas, it might be nice to save this info on Pinterest so you can come back and look at the ideas when you just want something but don't know what you're in the mood for - I'm sure I'll come look at my own list here as well.  The photos can help you decide what you're in the mood for!  🙂

This post was added to What I Ate Wednesday