7 Smart Snacks for Diet Success

7 Smart Snacks for Diet Success

Think you can't snack when you're trying to lose weight? Think again. These healthy, low-calorie snacks will satisfy your diet cravings and help you reach your weight-loss goals.

For many women, dieting equals food restriction. Snacks? They usually get eliminated in the name of saving calories. But snacking when you're watching your weight is actually a good idea. "[When dieting,] people often wait too long in between meals, so by the time they
eat, they're so hungry, their portions or choices are out of control.Snacking helps keep you satisfied and wards off cravings. Here, seven low-calorie snacks to help you with your diet goals:

Homemade Trail Mix

Diet-friendly snacking doesn't necessarily have to be low-fat. What's more important: Portion size. A homemade trail mix of walnuts, mini chocolate chips, and raisins is a snack that's satisfying (thanks to the sweetness and fat) and healthy for a dieter if portion sizes are kept in check. "Mix a palm full of walnuts with a pinch of chocolate chips and a pinch of raisins -- it's not always realistic to measure.

Recommended serving size: about 1 ounce of walnuts and about a teaspoon each of raisins and chocolate chips
Calories: about 250

Apple Slices with Lowfat Cheese

Packed with fiber, water, and antioxidants, fruits and vegetables are great choices for diet-friendly snacking. But the standard banana or carrots and ranch dip can get old quick. Instead, try a sliced apple with a lowfat cheese wedge, like Laughing Cow Light. Having a little extra fat is good in a snack because it sustains you longer.

Recommended serving size: 1 medium apple with 1 Laughing Cow Light cheese wedge
Calories: about 105

Graham Crackers with Peanut Butter

Feeling in the mood for cookies? While one standard Oreo or Chips Ahoy won't likely derail your diet, it's tough to stop at one. That's where a good substitute comes in. Two graham cracker squares spread with light peanut butter is recommended. You'll get a mix of sweet and salty flavors, plus a protein and fat boost from the peanut butter, which will keep you full till your next meal.

Recommended serving size: 2 graham cracker squares with 1 tablespoon light peanut butter
Calories: 155

Tomato Soup with Baby Carrots

A mini-meal snack is a good idea when dinner is a long way off. The combo of tomato soup and baby carrots is not just filling; it also gives you lots of body-healthy nutrients, like potassium, cancer-fighting lycopene, and beta-carotene. Try a microwavable soup cup that you can stash in your car's cup holder. (Concerned about sodium? Pour about a quarter of the soup down the drain and dilute the rest with water.)

Recommended serving size: 1 Campbell's Soup at Hand Tomato Soup and 1 cup baby carrots
Calories: 190

Frozen Tamale Pie

Believe it or not, a calorie-controlled frozen meal can be a great afternoon snack! Amy's Mexican Tamale Pie, for example, is chock-full of great carbs (in the form of beans and polenta) to give you energy; protein, to keep you satisfied; and veggies, to contribute antioxidants and vitamins. What's more, it's low-fat and filling!

Recommended serving size: 1 Amy's Mexican Tamale Pie
Calories: 150

Egg Salad

If you need your snack to have real staying power, go for a combo of good protein and a little bit of fat. A homemade egg salad is a great choice. Chop up one whole egg and one egg white, then mix with a tablespoon of reduced fat mayonnaise. The high-quality protein in the eggs will fuel your body for hours, while the fat helps slow digestion, so you'll feel full and energized longer.

Recommended serving size: 1 whole egg and one white plus 1 tablespoon reduced-fat mayonnaise
Calories: 145

Canned Mandarin Oranges with Light Whipped Topping

For a sweet fix, try mixing mandarin oranges canned in their own juice with a couple tablespoons of light whipped topping. The oranges give a great hit of vitamin C and other antioxidants, and the light whipped topping gives the snack an indulgent feel (a feeling you often miss when you're watching what you eat). This is a good substitute for ice cream when you're dieting.

Recommended serving size: 1/2 cup canned mandarin oranges with 2 tablespoons light whipped topping
Calories: 50

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Aileen// try this healthy diet snacks.  You dont need to sacrifice a lot in your eating habit.
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/snacks/low-calorie/diet-snacks/

How Can I Tell if a Recipe is Healthy?

How Can I Tell if a Recipe is Healthy?

Here is what you should look for when evaluating a recipe.
Healthy Ingredients

The healthiest ingredients are whole fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, healthy oils like olive oil, walnut oil, grape seed oil, and rice bran oil. Nuts, legumes and soy are healthy ingredients, and so are whole grain breads, and pastas. Meats and poultry should be lean whenever possible, and low fat dairy products are good too. I really like recipes that include several healthy ingredients, rather than just one or two. For example, Wild Rice with Cranberries and Apples is a great healthy dish with a great balance of whole grains, nuts, and fruit. Serve this with a lean chicken breast for an incredibly tasty and healthy meal. Pork with Cabbage and Apples is another example of a great recipe with several healthy ingredients.

Leave Out Unhealthy Ingredients

Unhealthy ingredients include sugar, processed foods, saturated and trans fat, white refined flour, and products made with refined white flour. Evaluating a recipe can be easy. For example, a recipe that calls for processed foods like luncheon meats, processed cheese-products or high fat products like mayonnaise isn't healthy and should not become a recipe you use very often.

Sometimes evaluating a recipe is more difficult. Spaghetti and meatballs seems like a healthy meal, but a large portion of the meal is pasta made from refined white flour and the meatballs may have a lot of saturated fat in them. On the flip side, the spaghetti sauce itself is very healthy with lots of tomatoes that give us vitamins and lycopene. Garlic, peppers, herbs seasonings and mushrooms are healthy ingredients you might find in a spaghetti recipe.

When you find a recipe that confuses you, just alter the recipe a bit. Make your meatballs from ground turkey meat and use a whole grain pasta, or decrease the serving size and add a big salad on the side.

Cooking Methods

The cooking method used in a recipe is very important. Deep-frying is probably the least healthy of the cooking methods, especially if the oil is used more than once. Pan frying might be a little better, but still not so good if you use a lot of oil and batters on your foods that absorb a lot of oil. Sauteing in a bit of olive oil or canola oil is better, and roasting in an oven is better yet. Boiling vegetables will not add any extra calories, but you will loose some of the valuable nutrients when you drain off the cooking water. Microwaving is a great way to cook vegetables because it is quick so not many nutrients are lost.

Here are a couple examples of recipes prepared with different methods. Potatoes are a nice source of vitamin C and fiber if you leave on the skins. A medium sized baked potato only has about 100 calories and is a healthy food when cooked in this manner. A french-fried potato is not so healthy. The fat used to deep-fry the potato is not healthy, and the potato absorbs a lot of oil, so the same size potato that is french fried has many more calories and fat. If you like french fries, try slicing the potato into strips and lightly coat the strips with olive oil. Bake them on a baking sheet until they are tender.

Another example of good verses bad cooking methods would be this example with a chicken breast. Baking a chicken breast in the oven with some salsa or chicken broth is a healthy way to prepare the chicken. If you take that same chicken breast, coat it with a batter and deep fry it, that piece of chicken becomes an unhealthy, fattening food.

Always look for healthy ingredients. Avoid unhealthy ingredients or find healthier substitutes. Choose recipes that let you bake, roast, microwave or saute your foods.

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http://nutrition.about.com/od/recipesmenus/f/healthyrecipe.htm   

Double Broccoli Quinoa

Double Broccoli Quinoa

3 cups cooked quinoa*
5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems

3 medium garlic cloves
2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 big pinches salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream

Optional toppings: slivered basil, fire oil (optional)**, sliced avocado
crumbled feta or goat cheese

Heat the quinoa and set aside.

Now barely cook the broccoli by pouring 3/4 cup water into a large pot and bringing it to a simmer. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for a minute, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking. Set aside.

To make the broccoli pesto puree two cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, 1/2 cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.

Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with about 1/2 of the broccoli pesto. Taste and adjust if needed, you might want to add more of the pest a bit at a time, or you might want a bit more salt or an added squeeze of lemon juice. Turn out onto a serving platter and top with the remaining almonds, a drizzle of the chile oil, and some sliced avocado or any of the other optional toppings.

Serves 4 - 6.

*To cook quinoa: rinse one cup of quinoa in a fine-meshed strainer. In a medium saucepan heat the quinoa, two cups of water (or broth if you like), and a few big pinches of salt until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa fluffs up, about 15 minutes. Quinoa is done when you can see the curlique in each grain, and it is tender with a bit of pop to each bite. Drain any extra water and set aside.

**To make the red chile oil: You'll need 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes. If you can, make the chile oil a day or so ahead of time by heating the olive oil in a small saucepan for a couple minutes - until it is about as hot as you would need it to saute some onions, but not so hot that it smokes or smells acrid or burned. Turn off the heat and stir in the crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside and let cool, then store in refrigerator. Bring to room temp again before using.
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Aileen//
- i love broccoli. i will try this healthy broccoli menu.

Right Diet for Men’s Health

Diet for men is no longer a laughable fad. Men around the globe are so serious about it. Not because they want to look better or sexy, more because the kind of work that is being done today. Be a nice guy for the girl, great father for your child and an excellent worker. Though the same is expected from a woman, the quality expected from man is far better, even by the women themselves. The energies required to be there all the time have made man realize that’s it just half an hour per day and just four days a week.

Men today are more prone to many ailments including heart attack. Therefore, it has become vital for men to hit the gym on a regular basis. Diet for men should be good enough to give him atleast 1800 calories per day.

The following men health suppliments guidelines should help you find a balanced diet for a man like you:

Men's Health - Vegetables and Fruits:

Vegetables and fruits are good for health for various reasons. But the best reason is - they are the best providers of dietary fiber that is so important in digestion. Apart from this, they are natural, easy to find and can be eaten after being cooked or boiled or fried or just like that.

Also remember that man as an animal first relied only on vegetables. Of course that doesn’t mean that one has to act like a primitive man to eat healthy food. Vegetables and fruits should be taken in atleast five to twelve servings per day.

Carrots, potatoes, leafy vegetables, broccoli, salads and all types of fruits can be taken. However the usage of pesticides and other artificial products in agriculture has turned them to create some toxins for health. As long as no one type of vegetable is repeated over different servings throughout the day, any vegetable is fine.

REMEMBER melon and grape fruits are different set of fruits. Each of it should be taken separately.

Men's Health - Grain Products

Grain products are excellent resources for complex carbohydrates and sometimes fats. The body requires these carbs and fats to provide requisite energy for the complex actions that a body performs. However the body utilizes the carbohydrates first for the energy and then uses the fat to give energy.

Hence it is advised that a proper balance of carbs and fats are taken. Also the calories provided by these grain products should be enough to satisfy the bodily actions. If they are in excess, the body starts becoming obese. Breads, cereals, pasta, rice, wheat are all great products for carbs that you need. Make sure you take them in over five servings per day.

Men's Health - Dairy Products

Dairy products provide excellent protein that the body needs. Protein supports the bodily activities like metabolism, respiration, digestion and thus excretion. Milk, cheese, yogurt are good examples and take them in over two-four servings per day. It should make you healthy, absolutely.

Mens Health - Meat

Meat is also a good provider of health and energy. Fish is the best, then the other forms. However, you can always use something vegetarian to get what you obtain from meat. Take 2 to 3 servings of fish, eggs or I suggest beans and peanut butter every day.