Top 10 Snacks For Losing Weight - Pre-Made Pantry Pleasers!

Christmas is over and for most of us that means its back to the daily grind. Along with that routine comes the reality of trying to stick to our new years resolutions. Of which, the top ones happen to be losing weight and quitting smoking. Luckily for me I quit smoking years ago but the fact still remains that I always need to re-focus my health goals at this time of year. The overeating, over drinking and general holiday binging can make it a chore to get back into my now tight fitting jeans and out of that lazy couch potato feeling.

As mentioned in my previous weight loss article, there are many strategies on how to lose weight and get back into shape. But for me, trying to cut out the chocolates, candy and other over indulgences from the holidays can leave me with some serious sweet cravings in the new year and can be one of the hardest habits to break. But with some determination, exercise, balanced meals and general routine, weight loss doesn't have to be a chore.

There are many great tasting snack foods on the market today that cater to the health conscious consumer. We no longer have to rely on styrofoam tasting rice cakes or other bland diet foods that leave us craving more calories. With some guidance and general awareness we can choose from a variety of great tasting low fat, low calorie, low carb foods. To help me stay on track I keep my pantry stocked with some essentials that help me from falling off the wagon. All of us need some fat (good fat) to stay healthy and its not the end of the world if we eat something sweet every once in a while. The key is to stay focused, committed and lead a healthy balanced lifestyle that includes getting enough sleep, exercising several times a week, eating enough protein, fruits and vegetables, and drinking lots of water.

From sweet to savory, here are my pantry pleasers for the dieter in your family! Remember to always read the labels on all foods to determine what is appropriate for your weight loss plan. You can also visit most of these company websites to get a full report on the ingredients and contents of the snacks outlined below.

My Top Ten Favourites:

10. Kraft Thinsations With only 100 calories, they contain zero trans fat, zero cholesterol and 2.0g or 3.0g fat per 23g pack. I love these little snack packs and they come in several flavours including Oreo, Chips Ahoy and Honey Maid. Yummy!

9. PatsyPie Baked Goods

I stumbled across these goodies in my local grocery store. All PatsyPie goodies are artisan baked and are hand made with no preservatives, zero trans fat and contain no gluten or wheat. I love the almond biscotti and the fact that each biscotti is only 95 calories and 2.5g fat. This company also makes cookies, brownies and muffins which are all gluten-free.

8. Sunny Crunch Chewy Granola Bars Very tasty. These bars (30g each bar) come in several flavours including low fat banana/raisin, blueberry, raspberry and ginseng/blueberry. They weigh in at 110 calories per bar with 1.5g fat, 22g carbs and 2g protein. A good filler if your starving!

7. Chapman's Frozen Yogurt. - The Best Thing Since Ice-Cream.

This stuff just doesn't taste like yoghurt to me. It actually tastes like ice-cream! Its healthy but still creamy and rich. It is naturally flavoured and contains the least amount of butterfat at 4%. Chapman's Frozen yogurt has 60% less fat than their Original Ice Cream and comes in a wide variety of great flavours. You have to try Chocolate Cappuccino. For a 1/2 cup you get 100 calories and 1.5g fat. They also carry sugar-free and lactose-free products. All their products are to die for.

6. Nestle Skinny Cow If you can't get Chapman's products where you live then Skinny Cow is the next best thing. From ice-cream sandwiches to sundae's, Skinny Cow are 98% fat free and fantastic. For one sandwich you eat up 140 calories and 1.5g fat. Their fudgsicles are even less and are udderly incredible!

5. Christie Rice Thins

For a savory snack attack try Rice Thins. They come in several flavours including sesame, cheddar, original, multi-grain and recently, sweet and salty. They have lots of flavour and for 12 crackers you inhale 90 calories and only 1g of fat. I love the sesame variety. They go great with a little bit of cheddar and some apple slices!

4. Frito Lay Sun Chips These baked chips have some serious crunch and come in Original, French Onion, Garden Salsa, and Harvest Cheddar flavours. They have 18g of whole grain per serving and again have zero trans fat and contain 100 calories per bag.

3. Orville Redenbacher's Light Popcorn This microwave popcorn is 50% less fattening than its buttery flavour counterpart and contains 150 calories and 5g fat for half a bag. Not bad when you compare it to regular popcorn. If the light butter flavour just isn't flavourful enough for you then you can try adding flavour seasoning. ClubHouse just came out with some awesome toppers. Try Ragin' Cajun or Dill Pickle sprinkled over your popcorn. Just remember that for every 2 teaspoons you add 25 calories, but zero fat!

2. Baked Cheetos Packs

I could sit on the couch and inhale a bag of regular Cheetos no problem. However, this is not advisable. So the next best thing is to try one of their 100 calorie baked packs. You can buy them with 5/box. You won't have to worry about eating a bag as they only contain 4g fat and taste just as good as the regular full fat version.

1. Quaker Crispy Tortillaz

Not quite like a regular tortilla chip but these are about as close as you're gonna get. Quaker offers a large variety of sweet and savory flavours with zero trans fat and great flavour. These litte rice cakes pack a punch. Approximately 8 cakes (Salsa and Sour Cream flavour) amount to 60 calories and 2g fat. Much better than sitting down to a bowl of nacho's, sour cream and guacamole.

As you can imagine, there are many more snacks now readily available on the market today. These are my favourites. Don't forget to read labels regularly and remember that even with low fat snacks, moderation is still key! So eat well and happy snacking!