Six Quick, Healthy Filling Snacks

 

Hello HHL Readers!  My name is Melissa and I am a NYC-based blogger, fitness enthusiast and lover of the delicious food NYC has to offer.  After some time away from blogging, I’m back and excited to share my fresh perspective on fitness, health and nutrition.  Follow me over at FitnessNYC, if you like reading about fitness studios, workout plans and food — both healthy and indulgent! I’m honored to be guest posting on Ashley’s blog, and today I’d like to share with you some of my favorite quick, healthy and filling snacks.

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First up are my mini-meal snacks, which are great when I get home from work famished and I know dinner isn’t until 8pm or later.  The three options below are easy to assemble and very satisfying, and they all have fewer calories than your average nutrition bar to boot.

Steamed Vegetables with a Sprinkle of Parmesan

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I always have steamed vegetable mixes in my freezer.  When I’m cooking a meal, I almost always use fresh produce, but I find that frozen vegetables are great in a pinch and perfect for a quick, hearty snack.  I just fill a small or medium bowl with whatever frozen vegetables on hand, sprinkle on whatever grated cheese I have on hand, and toss in a few red pepper flakes. Three minutes in the microwave and I have a snack that will keep me full until dinner every time.

Tortilla Melt

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Another quick snack that always takes the edge off my hunger is a tortilla melt. I just put a corn tortilla in a skillet and top it with some cheese and salsa (and some TJs cowboy caviar in this case) and warm it up on the stove until the cheese melts.  I find this far more satisfying than a handful of chips and salsa.

Apple and Celery Stuffed Dates

FullSizeRender (1)FullSizeRenderWhen I have a sweet tooth, nothing satisfies like a fresh date.  To make it even more of a treat, I like to stuff the dates with apple, celery and nut butter to add volume and texture.  It’s sort of a grown-up version of ants on a log.

When I’m at work, I reach for grab and go snacks that require no preparation.  Here are my top three go to options:

Pistachios

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I love pistachios. They’ve always been one of my favorite nuts, so I keep a big back at the ready in my office desk.  I find these are the perfect option when I’m kind of hungry, but also kind of bored.  It takes a while to remove the shell, so unlike most nut snacks, they aren’t gone in a matter of seconds. An ounce of pistachios is 49 nuts, which is twice the amount of many other nuts, so they are a great volume option.  Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever taken the time to unshell 49 pistachios in one sitting.

Nu-Gu Fiber D’lish Bars

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Lately, I’ve been loving these bars when I need something to satisfy my sweet tooth. They are chewy, sweet and packed with fiber.

String Cheese

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String cheese is one of my favorite on the go options because it’s available almost everywhere, drug stores, bodegas, convenience stores, it’s my go to when there aren’t a lot of healthy options and I need a small snack.

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What I Ate Wednesday

Happy Wednesday friends! Today was a busy one as Bo and I were up bright and early finishing some projects and errands around the house before heading into our respective offices for the day. I’m so excited for my baby shower which is in Brooklyn this weekend but welcoming people into our home also means making as much progress on the nursery as possible and having a clean house.  After work I headed to XTend Barre Brooklyn for a challenging barre class. Even though I adjust a few of the moves, I find that by the middle of class I’m still shaking and sweating. I love how challenging and cardio intensive this barre studio is versus other barre classes. So now, here I am, blogging and eating dinner at 8:50 after a long day. My goal is to put this post up and then head into a bubble bath before reading in bed.

For tonight’s post, I thought it would be fun to share a What I Ate Wednesday since I actually have a picture of everything I ate today! Once upon a time, I used to share my meals on this blog almost daily but these days it’s a rare occurence. Since so many people have asked me what I’ve been eating during pregnancy, today’s post will help answer that question. If you guys like seeing my meals and food, let me know and I can definitely get back to sharing more often.

As I mentioned, this morning started off early with a 5:30 alarm. Bo and I sipped coffee while working on our projects around the house and I ate half a banana. When I arrived at the WeWork office at 8:30 I ate breakfast. Today’s breakfast was a bowl of Siggi’s Dairy plain yogurt, ground flax seed, blueberries, cinnamon and Purely Elizabeth granola enjoyed with a decaf skim latte since I’d already had my one cup of coffee at home earlier.

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Around 12:30 a bunch of us headed to Cava Grill, one of my favorite lunch spots in the Union Square area.  The restaurant celebrates Greek and Mediterranean food in a quick-order setting; perfect for those on-the-go lunches. I love that you can build the bowl from start to finish with lots of unique ingredients and flavor combinations.

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This bowl kept me full until 5pm when I snacked on a Chocolate Coconut RX Bar and a lime LaCroix water while I finished up a few emails and meetings at the office. By the time XTend Barre ended at 7:30 my stomach was growling so much so that I grabbed an apple that I had in my bag and snacked on this while I ran stopped in Sephora and Trader Joe’s to grab a few things on my way home. Now it’s almost 9pm and I’m finally eating dinner.  The name of the game for tonight’s dinner was fast and easy.  I grabbed a large glass bowl and combined lots of leftovers (tomatoes, green beans, potatoes) along with some lettuce and vegetables I bought at Trader Joe’s before topping it with their packaged, cut chicken and my favorite dressing, Trader Joe’s Parmesan Ranch.

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I am definitely craving something sweet tonight so I think I’ll have small bowl of banana, half of banana and some chocolate chips before heading upstairs. I know that sounds like a random combination but right now it sounds delicious!

Have a great night!

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FOOD & WORKOUT JOURNAL – MAY WEEK 4

Hello, hello! I hope you guys are having a great day.

As promised, I want to share my food and workouts with you as part of my renewed focus on my health and well being. Just a reminder, I find that tracking my food and workouts as well as sharing them with you on the blog helps hold me accountable. I am not counting calories or points this time around, just focusing on eating primarily healthy, natural foods. When it comes to workouts, keep in mind that I am currently recovering from a strained hamstring and bruised cuboid which have limited my workouts.  Luckily, last week was the final week of low-impact workouts and now I have the all clear from my doctor and physical therapists to ease back into running and high intensity workouts!

Week two was another great week and I’m now down 5 pounds total so far (3 pound week 1 and 2 pounds week 2).  I am tracking my workouts daily, but only tracking my food Monday morning through Friday afternoon. While it may not work for everyone, I find that allowing myself the freedom and flexibility to enjoy on the weekends helps me. I am also limiting alcohol to Friday and Saturday, with a goal to have no more than five glasses during the course of the weekend.  You will also see that I am a creature of habit. This week my dinners were a bit more random due to our schedule but overall it was nice to go into the weekend looking forward to wine and delicious meals versus feeling bloated and off-track from the week. I wasn’t working from home most days last week so my lunches were primarily eaten on-the-go.

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  • Monday
    • Breakfast: Coffee w Unsweetened Almond Milk, Fage 2% yogurt, 1/4 cup Purely Elizabeth granola, strawberries, chia seeds and flax seeds
    • Lunch: Salad (spinach, grilled chicken, egg whites, celery, tomatoes, carrots, red peppers, salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon, and red wine vinegar)
    • Snack(s): Apple with almond butter drizzle (~ 1 tablespoon), 1 cups Puffins
    • Dinner: Grilled swordfish, grilled corn and tomato salad and grilled asparagus
    • Water: 10 glasses
  • Tuesday
    • Breakfast:Skim latte, Fage 2% yogurt, 1/4 cup Purely Elizabeth granola, 1/2 banana, 1/2 c strawberries, chia seeds and flax seeds
    • Lunch: Salad (spinach, 1 egg + 1 egg white, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, balsamic)
    • Snack(s): Apple with almond butter drizzle (~ 1 tablespoon)
    • Dinner: Grilled garlic and lemon boneless, skinless chicken thighs, grilled asparagus, side salad
    • Snack: 1/2 c Puffins + 10 chocolate chips
    • Water: 10 glasses
  • Wednesday
    • Breakfast: Iced coffee, Fage 2% yogurt, 1/4 cup Purely Elizabeth granola, 1/2 banana, chia seeds and flax seeds
    • Lunch: Salad (romaine, 1/4 avocado, grilled chicken, tomatoes, red onion, peppers, hummus, lemon juice) and Health-Ade Kombucha
    • Snack: orange + 1 serving almonds, unsweetened iced green tea
    • Dinner: Homemade grilled chicken sandwich with letuce, tomato, pickles, barbecue sauce served with  grilled asparagus and 2 pickles on side
    • Water: 8 glasses
  • Thursday
    • Breakfast: Coffee w Unsweetened Almond Milk, Fage 2% yogurt, 1/4 cup Purely Elizabeth granola, 1/2 banana, chia seeds and flax seeds
    • Lunch: Salad from NYC deli (Spinach, grilled chicken, edamame, tomato, carrots, cucumber, celery, green peppers, salt, pepper, olive oil & balsamic)
    • Snack(s): orange + 1 serving almonds
    • Dinner: A few shared appetizers, Veggie burger + 2 pickles and a Brooklyn Summer Ale enjoyed outside with friends
    • Water: 11 glasses
  • Friday
    • Breakfast: Coffee w Unsweetened Almond Milk, Fage 2% yogurt, 1/4 cup Purely Elizabeth granola, 1/2 banana, chia seeds and flax seeds
    • Lunch: Salad from NYC deli (romaine, red onions, red peppers, green peppers, tomatoes, grilled chicken, feta, lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar)
    • Snack: apple and almonds in car, unsweetened iced green tea
    • Water: 11 glasses

FullSizeRenderWorkouts

  • Monday – Row House Chelsea
  • Tuesday – Mixed Level Bar Method at Bar Method Brooklyn
  • Wednesday –  Row House Chelsea
  • Thursday – Mixed Level Bar Method at Bar Method Brooklyn followed by physical therapy
  • Friday – rest day
  • Saturday – 2 mile run followed by squats, push-ups and planks
  • Sunday – 2 hours kayaking on the Batten Kill River

So there you have it! After two week I’m down five pounds and hope to lose one pound per week, on average, until I am back at my healthy weight and my Summer clothes fit again.

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