What are some of your favorite inexpensive snacks?
Have you ever noticed that the sale price on name brand potato chips at $2 a bag (8-10 ounces) are 20 to 25 cents an ounce, or $3.20 to $4.00 per pound? Now, hey, I get it… they’re pretty darn good… but “betcha can’t eat just one” was a Lay’s Potato Chip slogan for a long time and a definite truism. I won’t get into the nutritional data behind chips nor will I present that the healthier Baked Lays products are not only more expensive but can’t be called “chips.” Baked Lays are referred to as “crisps” because, well, they are not even made with potatoes. (source: www.eatthis.com)
Whatever your preference, they are far from being inexpensive. The more snack foods like chips or crisps that go into our grocery carts, the more our shopping trip totals climb… and I’m talking quite a bit!!!
After being diagnosed with diabetes almost ten years ago, my doctor suggested a revamp to my diet and specifically noted reducing sugar and other carbohydrates. He suggested a five to ten pound weight loss. I knew that snack foods were not going to help to achieve that objective and had to ditch the Payday bars on payday, the sugary soft drinks and knew that I had to sever my intimate relationships with Sara Lee and Little Debbie (no more three-ways).
What I noticed, almost immediately, was a substantial drop in our $100 a week grocery budgets and that the doctor’s weight loss suggestion and dietary “dismisses” were giving healthier and less expensive dishes… forty six pounds worth of weight loss over several months that I have kept off.
In order to maintain blood glucose levels and weight loss, it became important to eat smaller portions of food and snacks more frequently. Here are a few snacks that fit my “diet” plan that are as easy as 1, 2, and 3 ingredients:
Hard Boiled Eggs or Egg Dishes; Yogurt (I prefer Light & Fit); Oatmeal; Fruit (fresh or canned); Salad Kits; Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwiches; Popcorn (air popped, not movie theater); Tuna Salad Sandwiches; and even 1/4 pound of shrimp with a squirt of lemon can be put on a plate for less than the price of a bag of potato chips and provide more energy, lower cost and more nutrition.
((Note: I shop with lists and if snacks don’t make it on my list, they don’t make it to my home, although I can still eat five or six times daily and have still lost weight and avoided diabetes medications and insulin)).
What are your healthier and/or frugal 1-2-3 snack attack solutions? Here’s an article from Eat This, Not That with 50 “best healthy snacks for weight loss” ideas…
