Code Name Snacker |

Code Name Snacker – Almonds

By Randi, on September 25th, 2010

I am back with another addition to Code Name Snacker. This time I am here to tell you about Almonds.

courtesy of whole-body-detox

First of all lets tackle almonds. They are heart-healthy snack. They are packed with vitamin E and mono-saturated fats. They also contain calcium, protein, fiber and tons of minerals like magnesium, phosphorus and zinc. Last but not least they are also naturally cholesterol-free. I mean really what is there to not like about almonds?

Since they are so good though and so tiny it is often very easy to go overboard. I mean how many times have you purchased a canister of any type of nut and had one, two, maybe even three handfuls. Kinda defeats the purpose don’t you think?

Lately I have been trying to be a bit more conscious of my portions when it comes to my snacks. Usually as soon as I buy my almonds I sit down and grab my Ziploc bags and separate them into 100 calorie servings (about 12-15 almonds). It’s extremely aggravating sometimes but totally worth it when I don’t have to worry about over-eating.

Recently I stumbled on these little beauties.

bluediamond.com

Blue Diamond 100 calorie pack almonds. Seriously I felt like the heavens opened up. “Oh the time I will be saving’ I thought to myself. How much easier can it get? I purchased a box (about $4 for 7 individual bags) and stashed it in my desk. I ate one everyday as my afternoon snack. My favorite so far is the Dark chocolate version. Yummy almonds dusted with dark chocolate equals a party in my mouth! Blue Diamond Almonds offers other flavors that include Low Sodium, Bold Wasabi & Soy Sauce, Sea Salt, Cinnamon Brown Sugar, and Natural.

I recently printed out some coupons for Blue Diamond almonds so if you’d like to give these 100 calorie packs a try on the cheap head to the Blue Diamond website.

Until Next time.

~Randi

Code Name Snacker: Wasabi peas edition

Code Name Snacker: Wasabi peas edition

By Randi, on August 25th, 2010

So this will be a new addition to the blog. Codename Snacker

That’s Me!

I don’t know about ya’ll but I am a snacker. Unless I am super busy (meaning I have no time to think about anything but what I am doing at that very moment) somewhere in between my main meals I will have a hankering for something, anything. Sometimes I want sweet, sometimes salty, sometimes maybe chewy, or crunchy. Sometimes it’s anything and everything. Most of the time I will just drink water or even green tea to get rid of it because I feel like I may just be eating because I am bored.

Other times it’s just my body speaking to me. When I first started out changing my eating I adopted the meal,snack,meal,snack approach for my daily eating regimen . I credit this for helping me pretty much get through the beginning without any real issues. I was never hungry so I never had over-eating moments because I let myself slightly starve sometime during the day. Because of that though my body is accustomed to eating that way.

Usually I have 1 morning snack and One late afternoon snack. Occasionally I will have a evening snack (not dessert) but that doesn’t happen often. Basically I am the queen of snacks.

This series will focus on various snacks that you can add to your snack list (if you don’t have one,get one. It’s a life saver) and try overtime. For now I will go down my own list to share but maybe in the future I will actually try some new things.

So for the first edition I give you:

Wasabi Peas

Wasabi Peas are commonly found in the scary bowls on bars (don’t act like you don’t think about how many peoples hands touch that stuff) and in yummy bowls at parties. Most people don’t notice them until they taste their spicy punch in their mouth.

Well I am here to introduce you to this yummy low cal snack. First of all they are a Japanese snack. Secondly (thirdly and fourthly) they are spicy, have great wasabi flavor along with CRUNCH! I mean how can you not like them (well unless you don’t like spicy food but still I’d encourage you to try them.) The spiciness is actually a plus because after a while you really won’t want to eat them anymore. Also you won’t be putting handfuls of them into your mouth either unless you want tears streaming down your face.

Generally these little devils are made with ingredients like peas, rice, sugar, salt, wasabi powder, and oil. On my bad that I get from my grocery store about 1/3 cup is equal to 125 calories. There is also about 1g fat, and 3g of fiber. Let me tell you 1/3 cup is more than enough for me. They also have about 6 grams of protein. So as far as being a balanced snack they come extremely close. These are extremely portable if you have a small ziploc container or you can do like I do and scoop them into a small snack bag.

You can buy wasabi peas at any Asian market or in the Asian section of the supermarket. I believe I have seen them both at Trader Joes and Whole foods. If you cannot purchase them from anywhere near you check out Amazon.com.

If you do try these or have tried them before please leave a comment to let me know how you liked them.

Stay tuned for another Code Name Snacker!