How to Eat Healthy With a Case of the Munchies

Shannon [Tropical Eats] — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:35:08 +0000

::Rumble, rumble::

Uh oh, you know what that sounds is– it’s the dreaded case of the late afternoon munchies! You shift awkwardly side to side in your chair, trying to control the viscous noises coming out of your stomach. You gaze desperately into the distance and instantly lock eyes with a lonely bag of Peanut M&M’s inside the vending machine. Sigh. If only Spring Break wasn’t two weeks away…

Fear not friends! Here are a few of my favorite healthy alternatives for snacking. Feel free to overindulge.

Quaker Rice Cakes with Naturally Nutty Cinnamon Cherry Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jelly smeared on top. Rice cakes are always so versatile and its fun to add different toppings! Checkout Meghann’s Almond Butter and Carrot rice cake here.

ProBar Fruition are always a great, healthy way to snack! Last month, I was lucky enough to win these bars from Christy and Lynn over at The Actors Diet. For the Cran-Raspberry flavor, it was love at first site.

For all of you chia seed lovers out there, ProBar Fruition bars are definitely for you. Fruition bars are made with a delcious combination of oats, chia seeds, organic fruit chunks, and cashews. Here is some more information on chia seeds from the ProBar website:

What exactly are Chia Seeds?

“Chia has been used as a superfood by Native Americans for centuries. Nutrient dense, antioxidant rich and loaded with essential fatty acids, chia seeds deliver a wealth of nutrients in a small package. Chia Seeds have the highest known whole-food source of Omega-3 acids, which promote cardiovascular and mental health.”

Sometimes while watching lectures, I find myself eating vicariously out of my Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal box. Kashi is ruler of all healthy cereals in my book. Honey Sunshine contains 7 whole grains, 6g Fiber, and has no artificial sweeteners. Instead, the golden yellow puffs of Honey Sunshine are gently brushed with all natural wildflower honey.

These tiny, edible rays of sunshine are delicious! Munch munch.

When it comes to snacking, Seneca Crispy Apple Chips are my guilty pleasure. The Apple Chip flavors come in Original, Cinnamon, Caramel, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Sour Apple. Out of the six yummy flavors, cinnamon and granny smith are my favorite.

Enjoy your healthy snacking!

What are your favorite ways to snack other than protein bars?

10 Minutes To a Healthier You

Shannon [Tropical Eats] — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:45:00 +0000

Hello friends. Can you believe it’s almost Friday? Time sure does fly when you’re having fun (or busy with schoolwork). This week I’ve been dedicated to giving myself an extra ten minutes to make healthier meals. With a busy college schedule, we can always get thrown off of our nutritious eating plan. If you find there just isn’t enough time to exercise, take 10 extra minutes out of your day to make a healthier meal. Hope this tip works for you too!

Vanilla Protein Powder Pancake with Smucker’s Sugar Free Syrup and fresh strawberries

Stonyfield Farm Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt helps me study. Honey is my new favorite flavor!

Every weekday at school, a group known as the Hare Krishnas, serve an amazing lunch in the courtyard. The Krishna lunch is mainly known for its almond salad dressing– which is the best thing you will EVER taste. Click this link for the recipe.

Tuesday’s Krishna lunch: cabbage, potatoes, and broccoli in tomato sauce, brown rice & sesame seeds, salad with almond dressing, and Mounds Bar Halava for dessert.

At the grocery store the other day, this Tasty Bite Punjab Eggplant meal popped out at me. Being the food blogger that I am, I decided to give it a whirl.

The back of the box states that, “Punjab Eggplant is made using all natural, fresh ingredients hand-picked on our farm.” It is also vegetarian, vegan, kosher, gluten free, contains no MSG or preservatives. Another bonus is that it only takes 90 seconds to heat up.

To spice up this meal even more, I mixed in some chickpeas, tomatoes, and melted cheese. This Tasty Bite meal was amazing and packed with so many delicious flavors! My only warning: only try this meal if you’re a fan of spicy foods. This eggplant dip definitely delivered the heat! If you do like spicy ethnic foods, then go buy this right now.

Quaker Rice Cake with Peanut Butter & Co.‘s Cinnamon Raisin Swirl and Smucker’s Strawberry Jelly

Time to read a few chapters for class. Saturday I’ll be going to our first football game of the semester. I can’t wait to see our Tebow in action! Go Gators!

**Vitamuffins sent me a 5% off coupon code: tweet09

Tropical Eats » rice cake

How to Eat Healthy With a Case of the Munchies

10 Minutes To a Healthier You