Healthy Snack Ideas

Given a choice, I’d snack on sweets. These donuts, made fresh at the local farmers’ market each Saturday, are more than tempting. The only reason I can resist them week after week is that they’re not dipped in chocolate. While dark chocolate is relatively low-fat and full of mood-altering chemicals that mimic the euphoria of falling in love, all the cocoa-y goodness in the world isn’t going to counter-balance deep frying dough in lard. My jeans feel snug just thinking about it.

My sweet tooth isn’t much help in addressing Jolie’s question. Last week, she offered a caramelized onion version of roasted chickpeas and wondered if I had other healthy snack ideas. Confessing baker’s block, I turned to my health-conscious readers for help. As always, you came through. And no one recommended those tasteless rice or corn puff disks that have all the culinary flair of styrofoam.

Here’s a summary of the suggestions that rolled in.

• Diva on a Diet shared her recipe for low-fat spinach dip. She dips raw veggies, whole grain crackers or pita chips and even uses it as a pasta sauce.
• Clever Dana McCauley suggested turning the roasted chickpeas into hummus. Not a bad idea at all. If this appeals follow the roasted chickpea recipe up to the pan frying and then jump over to my tahini-free version of hummus to finish things off.
• Cheryl recommends fruit with peanut butter, but admits she’d rather be munching on popcorn. If savory popcorn tempts you, Monica Bhide has a great recipe for lemon and cilantro popcorn on her Modern Spice Promo video. I think Guava Bellinis are low-fat, too.
• Anonymous likes the fruit and dairy combo. She mixes defrosted frozen fruit with low-fat yogurt or low-fat cottage cheese with strawberry jam.
• Passionate Eater munches on trail mix laced with sunflower seeds. She also recommends roasted Japanese peas.
• Cari Snell of Can I Get the Recipe must be on the same wavelength since she emailed me a recipe for wasabi peas. I haven’t tried it yet since I couldn’t find wasabi powder, but if there’s enough interest, I’ll give it a whirl.

Have we missed anything? Give us a shout out your favourite guilt-free snack isn’t on the list.