Snacks, Like Men, Gotta Have ‘Em

So I have elected to remove the word “diet” from the title of this self-indulgence also known as my blog; self indulgence which, for once in my life, does not involve inserting enormous calories in my mouth. I removed the “d-word” because I am beginning to think I like eating healthy, that I like the way I’m feeling, and really, really like having control over a Cool Ranch Dorito. I’m afraid if I leave the word “diet” in my ramblings I will begin to hate the way I am eating.

I have participated in diets that did not allow snacking. Mega-fail, but  a learning experience. I eat snacks and enjoy them, at least daily if not three times daily!  I have been paying attention to the snacks I eat. I pay attention to the time of day I eat them in relationship to what I am doing, the time I last ate, and what made me think I was hungry in the first place. I pay attention to how long it is before my first food thought after I have a snack, why I have that food thought and what kind of food thought it is. Is it a food thought related to how good my snack tasted? Is it a food thought because my stomach growled or my hands felt shaky? Is it a food thought because I want to do something? Did I think of eating because I saw someone else eating? I believe all these things determine whether I just think about the food, or jump right on it? I love thinking about food; sometimes I think myself right out of eating it. Maybe it’s laziness on my part; sometimes by the time I finish this lengthy analysis of the state of my hunger, I’m too tired to get up and get something. LOL@ my lazy fat ass! It’s just like right now, while I am typing this; I think I might be hungry, but I’m putting it off until I know for sure. I am doing that by doing more food thinking. I’m convinced by the time I finish this will honestly hungry, but I’m not yet!

I have composed a list of snacks I enjoy. Not everyone will like these snacks but I find they suit me and satisfy the desire I have to snatch a brownie away from a co-worker and devour it all in one bite.

The first in my list are snacks to eat just because you  have to have one; the ones you have to have because everyone else is having something or because you need to feel like you ate something you shouldn’t have:

A bag of Pretzel M and M’s

Strawberries dipped in SF chocolate syrup

Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich

A Peppermint Patty (the big one)

Sweet n Salty bar

A milkshake made with SF chocolate, skim milk and ¾ c FF ice cream (3/4 because a serving is ½ J)

½ a single serving bag of chips

An orange sucked through a peppermint stick (the soft kind that’s all sugar)

I always keep a 100 cal pack of cookies on hand, but only one pack per day, and don’t pack these as one of my “planned” snacks; that takes the fun out. But I only eat these if I  have to because I want what that bitch is having and she weighs 102 pounds

Healthier fair : I eat these to “tide me  over”:

Cereal (not sugary) with skim milk eaten out of a 9 oz plastic cup

½ a sandwich

Fruit, water filled

1/2 banana (total one per day)

Yogurt with less than a tsp of chopped nuts for crunch

Key lime or lemon ice box pie (ok kidding…..flavored FF yogurt with two graham crackers and add SF FF cool whip)

100 cal packs of salties or sweeties

SF FF vanilla pudding with half a banana (left over from earlier snack, remember?) with 4 reduced fat vanilla wafers OMG! Is that banana pudding????

Turkey bites and an oz or so of cheese

Skim milk 1 cup with an apple

Mini moon pie

Cereal bar

Teeny tiny muffins made of angel food cake topped with a tsp pie filling, cool whip or SF FF chocolate pudding (only if I have felt like a butterless Paula Deen over the weekend, gotten a wild hair, and cooked)

Strawberry shortcake: strawberries on a little shortcake thingy (60 cals or so) with SF FF cool whip on top.

This is by no means a complete list of snacks. No food is off limits but just as with men: Size matters. Period. If you have a big snack, then reduce your next meal a little; if it’s a little one, don’t.