Eating healthy on a budget doesn’t have to be difficult. Last night, while helping one of my kids rehearse lines for an upcoming theater production, I kept my hands busy preparing a number of 100 calorie snack packs out of various fresh healthy ingredients . . .
The Benefits of Make Your Own 100 Calorie Snacks
In our household at least, I’ve noticed that if I purchase something that needs any preparation at all, it has a tendency to sit in the fridge untouched. So, If I get a great deal on an item, yogurt, for example, I portion it into single serving sizes and put them in the fridge. Fair game for whoever gets to them first.
In the time I’ve been doing this, I’ve noticed several things.
Food that normally has a tendency to go to waste, doesn’t. (For example, the last 1/4 of a cup of yogurt in the bottom of the container.). It no longer goes to waste because it portioned evenly.
The kids eat a serving size. I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage, “His eyes were bigger than his belly”. When the kids get home from school, they’re ravenous. When the snacks are prepared and ready, they have a tendency to eat the correct amount, rather than doubling portions out of hunger, (thereby reducing the amount Thrown away.)
They don’t mind eating healthy. It may seem strange, but when they open the fridge and get a choice of 10 different 100 calorie snack packs, they don’t mind munching fruits and veggies instead of chips, cookies, etc.
In searching for decent containers, we found these awesome plastic deli containers. They’re dirt cheap, can be frozen, microwaved & tossed in the dishwasher. Not only that, they are the perfect size for creating your own 100 Calorie Snack packs. At 37¢ each, they’re completely worth it!
100 Calorie Snack Pack Ideas
- 1/2 c. Lowfat Yogurt (sprinkle with frozen blueberries, or with cinnamon, or nutmeg for variety)
- Large Hard-Boiled Egg
- 1 Orange, peeled and divided into segments
- 28 Grapes
- 29 pistachios
- 1 3/4 cups raspberries
- 1 c. Blueberries
- 1 c. Mango Chunks
- 1 3/4 c. Cantaloupe Chunks
- 1 3/4 c. Popcorn
- 6 Dried Apricots
- 3 small slices Dried Mango
- 1 1/4 c. Blackberries
- 2 Medium Kiwi’s Sliced
- 15 strawberries dipped in 1/4 c. Cool whip (lite) (you can make your own)
- 60 Pepperidge Farm Baby Goldfish Crackers
- 25 EatSmart Café Fries
- 1 Small Baked Potato w/ 1/2 c. Salsa & 2 Tbls Fat-Free Sour Cream
- 12 Back to Nature Sesame Ginger Rice Thins
- 12 Quaker Quakes Cheddar Cheese Rice Snacks
- 40 Rold Gold Classic Style Pretzel Sticks
- 5 Nabisco Nilla Wafers
- ½ cup low-fat cottage cheese with 5 strawberries
- 3/4 c. Fruit Cocktail in light syrup
- 3/4 c. Bran Cereal
- ½ mini bagel with 1 ounce smoked salmon
- 45 steamed edamame (green soybeans)
- 12-15 natural almonds
- 2 tablespoons each of mashed avocado and chopped tomatoes stuffed in 1⁄2 mini pita
- 1 hard-boiled egg with 1 slice Melba toast
- 1/2 cup of sugar-free gelatin, any flavor, and two tablespoons of low fat whipped topping.
- 15 chocolate-covered raisins
- 10 dry roasted cashews
- 1/4 cup of fat-free Ranch dressing to 1 cup of mixed fresh veggies such as zucchini, red bell pepper, celery, carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup of applesauce and 1 piece of toast cut into four sticks (for dunking, of course!)
- 6 saltine crackers or 2 graham cracker squares with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter or fruit jam.(One of my favorite snacks as a kid- saltines & grape Jelly… mmmmmmmmmm!)
- 1/2 cup of fat-free ice cream
- Easy Parfait- 1/2 cup of low-fat pudding layered with two crumbled vanilla wafers and a dollop of low fat whipped topping to garnish the top.
- 1 Medium apple cut into slices and spread with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter
- a 2″ slice of Angel Food Cake
- 12 small Pretzel Twists
- 1/2 c. Unsweetened Applesauce
- Jicama & Honey Mustard dip- 1 1/2 cups of jicama peeled and sliced, (this is a root veggie that has 6 grams of fiber per cup!) eat it mixed in 1 Tbs Greek Yogurt, 1 Tbs Mustard, 1 tsp honey
- Cocoa dusted almonds (12)
- 10 Lg Shrimp boiled in lime juice and sprinkled with chili powder
- Pumpkin Yogurt (1/2c. plain yogurt 1/4 c. pumpkin puree, 3 drops stevia, 1/4 tsp cinnamon) or Maple Pumpkin Yogurt 1/2 c. plain yogurt, 2 TBS pumpkin puree, 1 tsp maple syrup
- Watermelon Salad – 1 c. fresh spinach, 1 tbs balsamic vinegar, 3/4 c. diced seedless watermelon
- Rice Cake smothered in almond butter
- Coconut covered kiwi slices- slice 1 kiwi and top it with a TBS of shredded coconut
- 1 Fig newton spread with a tsp of peanut butter
- Spiced orange- an orange sprinkled with cinnamon Now that you’ve cut your calories, check out the workouts we recommend . . .
on Where to Buy:
Unfortunately, the extra small ziploc containers were discontinued in favor of a larger size. We recently went to reorder them and discovered they weren’t available, so we opted for these 8 oz deli containers instead, they’re freezer safe, dishwasher safe, stackable, microwavable and still the perfect size.
i save square baby food containers, the stage 2 & 3 are usually 1/2 c. each and make the perfect container for snacks. They stack nicely in the fridge.
We use them for puddings, jello, applesauce, yogurt, or dip (no double dipping.) Great for each child to have their own and great portion control.
glad makes 1/2 cup containers. Great for Jello, yogurt, and pudding for lunch boxes.
i was getting ready to post when i saw djksin’s post, lol. i pay people who don’t use the gerber baby food containers, 5 cents each. i look at it like recycling pay.
i love these containers for my 100-150 calorie snacks and have been doing this for several years.
i have a lot of family members who come through and these are a quick grab & go. thanks for the additional snacking ideas. 🙂
Here are 10 of my favorite homemade 100 calorie snack ideas:
plain yogurt, 2 TBS pumpkin puree, 1 tsp maple syrup
fresh spinach, 1 tbs balsamic vinegar, 3/4 c. diced seedless watermelon
if you want a low calorie snack most dry cereals are low calorie, for as much as you get to eat. try mixing a couple together for a trail mix type snack. most are around a hundred for a ¾ cup to 1 cup even the sugary ones.
:smile1:
thanks , i am printing this out.
my go to low cal snack is popcorn, instead of using butter i spray with a little butter flavored cooking spray olive oil would work also but i do not like olive oil. toss in garlic and a touch of parmesan. i admit i do use real butter once in a while.
thanks for the article since i forgot i already had the ziploc cups. i am using them to put 100 calories of Chex Mix and bran cereal.
For myself who have a lapband (surgical device) to lost weight, i need some protein. This is what i eat:
1 small size of yogourt with 4 to 8 almond
6 stick of celeri with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
3/4 cup of oat wheat with peanut butter
i like making turkey pepperoni slices crispy in the microwave then scooping up laughing cow cheese with them. if i remember right 14 slices and a wedge of cheese is less than 150 calories.
raw veggie sticks. jicama, carrots, celery, red bell pepper. make a whole big bowl and pkg these in those little containers and stack them in the fridge to bring to work
i use the ziploc cups to store homemade pudding. i usually make chocolate when i need a fix without adding a lot of unwanted calories and other junk.
these are some of our favorites:
-make a low fat hummus and fill snack cups with 3/4 cup and have fresh veggies portioned out in snack size baggies.
-About 4 tbsp low far Ranch dip with fresh veggies portioned out in snack size baggies.
– A whole snack container of Sugar free jello -made with fresh fruit.
-Home made chex mix with peanuts-about 1/2-3/4 cup
-Celery stuffed with Laughing Cow Cheese-Light. It won’t fit in the small snack size containers but will fit in a sandwich zip top bag or
stuffed with natural (no sugar added) peanut butter.
-sliced apple with 1 tbsp natural (no sugar added) peanut butter
-Low fat cheddar cheese slices
-Light cottage cheese and veggies…
frankly, most of my 100 calorie snacks work well in a Snack size Ziploc bag. But everybody stole my snack ideas! ;-( jk
when i crave chocolate, i add some chocolate syrup to my coffee. it’s 2 . TBS for 100 Calories I don’t use close to 2TBS.
i make a ranch dip that calls for plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream. i portion it into serving cups and keep cut seasonal veggies, sometimes mixed other times individually, in snack baggies together in the fridge. the family can grab a bag of veggies and dip on the run.
i use left over black beans to make delicious bean dip. heat the beans, put them in the blender with a little plain yogurt and whirl it into some delish dip for tortilla chips.
i love iced coffee for a snack. i add ice cubes to a cup of hot coffee with a tablespoon if sugar free coffee syrup and two tablespoons of sugar free non dairy creamer. yumo!
3 cups of air popped popcorn equals 100 calories… That’s quite a bit but remember, no butter!
Wow, I had forgotten about air popped popcornGrrrrr. I will have to check Amazon to find an air popper.
I usually add one of the following to unbuttered (or slightly buttered if I’m feeling bad) popcorn:
Old Bay Seasoning
Apple Pie Seasoning
Pumpkin Pie Seasoning
Ground Cinnamon
I know there are several others that I have forgotten. Learned these from Hungry Girl (have to give credit where credit is due).
my kids have a bad habit of opening a box of cereal and only eating half. when i get several boxes, i dump them in a big tupperware bowl, pop some corn and make our own trail mix. stores put items they want sold at eye level.
so i out the chips and salty snacks on the top shelf of the panty and my homemade snack mix on the middle shelf eye level for the kids.
it stays in a sealed tupperware container and the snack mix stays fresh. i don’t buy sugary cereal so the base is not a sugary mix.
we also have a rules. the kids can eat what ever you want…if it involves opening a can, you get one a day. if it is microwave pasta, you get 2 a week.
if it is comes out of the fridge crisper, you can have as much as you want whenever you want without asking. I will even open a bottle of salad dressing every now and then for a dip, but it usually goes to waste.
1/2 cup of jello jellton and 2 tablespoon of whip cream
i like kale chips lightly seasoned with italian seasoning and parmesan cheese.
love that pretzels are so low cal. add a bit of mustard and i am good for a couple of hours!:piggy:
1/2 cup of cottage cheese with about a tablespoon of fruit preserves is always tastes really good to me, also, half a bananas, or a piece of toast with some peanut butter is really good too. Celery with peanut is great as well, especially since celery is one of those few foods that takes more calories to eat then it actually provides.
My favorite low calorie snack is the cutie tangerines, they are sweet and also are great in vanilla shakes to make an orange julius!
love these tips on snacks and the storage containers!
wow – just read all these ideas since being new to budget 101.com – Can’t wait to use many, many of these ideas
I never thought about putting seasonings on my popcorn. I will definitely have to start trying some of these ideas. Thanks for sharing.
😀
OMG I am a diabetetic and you just rocked my world. I never know what to eat. Your so right open fridge look in see nothing close door don’t eat.
I am not suppose to do that so these ideas just blew mymind. Ty ty ty so…….. Much
Use half pint (1 cup) glass canning jars to reduce waste.
Great ideas! Thank you all!