Snacks have gotten really bad reputation throughout the years with their high calories and fat content. Most foods that have been labeled snack foods live up to their reputation, like chips, chocolate bars, and soda. Vending machines are loaded with these unhealthy snack options that can cause someone to detour their diet plan if not prepared.

Well today I want to introduce you to an amazingling healthy snack that will be sure to curb your afternoon hungry pains while satisfying your taste buds.

I am proud to introduce Pretzel Crisps: Irresistibly crunchy, Naturally thin, and Deliciously gourmet… A low calorie, non-fat snack that comes in all different flavors to meet the needs of those who crave salt foods and those that crave the sweet ones.

Thanks to Lucky Taste Buds, I received 6 bags… that’s right, 6 bags of Pretzel Crisps! I have been in carb heaven and my friends are started to as well. . . I finally gave in to sharing my lovely snacks.

Compared to the normally loaded calorie and fat snacks you find in your office vending machine, these ideal healthy snacks are only 110 calories per serving, 0 grams saturated fat, and 0 grams cholesterol.

These pretzels come in an assortment of flavors including Tuscan Three Cheese, Toasted Cinnamon, Classic, Supreme (like an everything bagel), peanut butter and chocolate, White Chocoalte and Peppermint, and Chocolate…

Even the Peanut Butter and Chocolate and Dark Chocolate flavored Pretzel Crisps contain heart-healthy dark chocolate, 0g trans fat and only 140 calories per serving.

Here’s a great recipe to try out while snacking away on Pretzel Crisps:

SPINACH CHEESE DIP

- 1 pkg. chopped spinach

- 1 c. salad dressing/ fat free mayonnaise

- 1 pkg. vegetable soup mix

- 1/2 c. grated fat free cheddar cheese

- 1 c. low fat sour cream

- 1 can water chestnuts, chopped fine

Cook spinach about 2 minutes and squeeze dry. Add to sour cream and mayonnaise; add water chestnuts and soup mix. Cut top of loaf of rye bread and scoop out the center, leaving 1/2 inch shell. Save bread for dipping. Put spinach mixture in shell; replace top and wrap in foil. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Question

What’s your favorite snack food?

What Pretzel Crisp Flavor would you enjoy the most?

I love Hungry Girl for her unique recipes and belief of getting more for what you eat. She has come out with thousands of different recipes that will allow you to eat more while eating less calories, fats, and carbohydrates… it’s perfect for people like me who love to eat

Hungry Girl has come out with several different books on recipes as low as 200 calories to your favorite recipes that have been altered to lower the caloric content. Some of her cookbooks include:

200 under 200

Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in

1-2-3: The Easiest, Most Delicious, Guilt-Free Recipes on the Planet

Happy Hour: 75 Recipes for Amazingly Fantastic Guilt-Free

One of my favorite foods I have fallen in love with recently are boneless buffalo wings, especially from Chili’s Bar and Grill. But who would have thought that those little guys could contain 910 calories and 58g of fat!!!! WOW! These little guys need to be handcuffed and sent straight to jail. But have no fear, Hungry Girl is here!

But have no fear, Hungry Girl is here!
Here is a great Buffalo Wing recipe that only contains 175 calories and a whooping 1.5g fat. I could have 5 servings for the place of one at Chili’s! Way to go Hungry Girl

HungryGirl’s H-O-T Hot Boneless Buffalo Wings

Ingredients

8 oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast, cut into 10 nugget-shaped pieces

1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original), ground to a breadcrumb-like consistency in a blender or food processor

1 oz. (about 14 crisps) Pringles Light Fat Free Potato Crisps, Barbecue (or another fat-free BBQ-flavored potato chip)

3 tbsp. Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce

dash onion powder

dash garlic powder

dash cayenne pepper

dash black pepper

dash salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Crush potato crisps completely and, in a small dish, mix with cereal crumbs. Add a dash of each of the seasonings and mix well. Place chicken pieces in a separate dish, and cover and toss with Frank’s RedHot. Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray. Give each chicken piece a shake (so it’s not dripping with RedHot), and then coat it evenly with the crumb mixture. Lay the battered nuggets on the baking pan. Place in the oven, and bake for 10 minutes. Then flip the wings over, and return them to the oven for 10 more minutes, or until outsides are crispy and chicken is cooked throughout. MAKES 2 SERVINGS

Thanks to Hungry Girl, you can have your cake and eat it too!

What are some of your favorite Hungry Girl Recipes?

Diabetes is a growing concern as millions of Americans are being diagnosed each year.

Diabetes is defined as a lack of insulin production. Insulin is vital to the breakdown of glucose (sugar), used for energy in the body. Diabetics are constantly having to monitor sugar levels and watch what they eat to prevent detrimental health problems down the road.

Today we have a guest post from Suzanne over at Diabetic Diet Recipes. Suzanne is an avid blogger, geared towards raising awareness on healthy eating habits and its associated benefits to support those living with diabetes on a daily basis. Today she will be talking about cucumbers and it’s associated benefits with Type II Diabetes… Please Welcome, Suzanne!

Will you be cool as a cucumber? Not merely is the cucumber known for it’s power to cool off the body, it has additionally been seen to help with jaundice, diarrhea, epilepsy, sore throat, conjunctivitis (redness of the eye) and swelling of extremities.

Many times you should try to deseed the cucumber as the body can have trouble digesting the seeds. It is possible to deseed them yourself easily by cutting them in two and utilizing a spoon to take out the seeds or in order to eliminate this step it is possible to buy cucumbers that are already seeded.

Fresh cucumbers are easy to add to salads and for an easy salad just toss diced cucumbers with sliced red onions, red tomatoes and your favorite all-natural, low-fat balsamic vinaigrette. This is a fast way to make a refreshing salad that reaps some great benefits of cucumber.

Anti-diabetic Advantages of Cucumber:

Beta cells present in the pancreas produce the hormone insulin.Cucumber is found to have a hormone necessary for beta cells in the insulin production. Moreover, the Glycemic Index of cucumbers is found to be zero.

Why Cucumbers have not a glycemic index listed? Does this signify they don’t raise blood sugar?

No !. It means that under the “rules” for the concept of the glycemic index, it is too hard to get an accurate number. This is because you’ll need to eat a very big amount of the food to get 50 grams of carbohydrate at once to be tested. Usually, the lower the amount of carbohydrate in a vegetable and the more fiber it has, the less the rise in blood glucose will be.

The carbohydrates are primarily responsible of the raise of the glucose level.But the carbohydrates contained in the cucumber are easily digestible in a diabetes patient’s stomach.

Advice for Preparing Cucumbers:

Unwaxed cucumbers do not need to be peeled but need to be washed before cutting. Cucumbers are generally sliced, diced or cut into sticks.

Just a few Quick Serving Ideas:

- Use half-inch thick cucumber slices as petite serving “dishes” for chopped vegetable salads.

- Mix diced cucumbers with sugar snap peas and mint leaves and toss with rice wine vinaigrette.

- For refreshing cold gazpacho soup that takes five minutes or less to make, simply purée cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers and onions, then add salt and pepper to taste.

- Add diced cucumber to tuna fish or chicken salad recipes.

Cool Cucumber Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

- 3 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch slices

- 1 carrot, peeled and shredded

- 1/2 red onion, sliced paper-thin

- 1/3 cup minced cilantro

Dressing:

- 1/2 cup rice vinegar

- 2 tsp. honey

- 2 tsp. Reduced-sodium soy sauce

- 1 1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

- Pinch dried red pepper flakes

Preparation per 8 servings:

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Marinating time: one hour

1. Combine the cucumbers, carrots, red onion, and cilantro in a large bowl.

2. Combine the dressing ingredients. Pour dressing over cucumbers, cover, and refrigerate for one hour. Salad may be eaten with a fork.

Nutritional Values per Meal: 1/2 cup

- Calories: 25

- Calories From Fat: 10

- Total Fat: 1 gram

- Saturated Fat: 0.1 grams

- Cholesterol: milligrams

- Sodium: 50 milligrams (without added salt)

- Total Carbohydrate: 5 grams

- Dietary Fiber: 1 gram

- Sugars: 3 grams

- Protein: 1 grams

When life gives you rotten bananas, make banana bread ! ! !

There’s nothing better than having a bunch of rotten bananas… it gives me the excuse to make banana bread!

But lets face it, banana bread is usually loaded with sugar, butter, and oil. Just check out the nutritional content of Starbucks Banana Bread: 390 calories, 15 grams of fat, and 33 grams of sugar… and that’s one little slice!

This is why I love baking! With just a few tweeks to any recipe one can make a great low calorie treat!

Here is a non-fat, no-sugar banana bread recipe that is will turn those rotten bananas into great use.

Non-Fat, Sugar-Free Banana Bread Recipe

Ingredients

* 1 ½ cup flour

* 1 teaspoon Stevia

* ½ teaspoon baking soda

* ½  to 1 teaspoon cinnamon

* 1 tablespoon sugar free maple syrup

* 2 egg whites

* 3-4 (rotten) bananas

* ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

*To add in some healthy fats, throw in some walnuts*

Directions

* Pre-heat oven to 350

* Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, Stevia, baking soda, cinnamon)

* Mix liquid ingredients into dry ingredients (syrup, egg whites, bananas, applesauce)

* Pour into greased pan and bake for 50-55 minutes until golden brown

Sprinkle Stevia on top and Voilà… a delicious, moist Non-Fat Banana Bread

Approximately 110 calories in 1 slice (makes 10 slices)

What do you do with your rotten bananas?

Breakfast and Dessert are my two favorite meals of the day, so why not combine them together? Nothing says breakfast better than something sweet and tasty… right?

Crepes… they sound intimidating, don’t they? Well have no fear, these little guys don’t bite and friendly for all types of meals, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.

Crepes are similar to pancakes, however they are paper thin and used as a wrap for all types of fillings . . . They are better than any fluffy pancake out there.

Here is a delicious Low Calorie Crepe Recipe that is to dye for and without all the guilt

Low Calorie Apple Cinnamon Crepes

Crepe Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

1 cup flour

2 egg whites

½ cup water

Directions:

* Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl

* Preheat a large skillet with non-stick spray

* Pour 3 tablespoons onto skill and move pan around to make a large circle with the crepe till it is paper-thin

* Cook each side till Golden Brown

(32 Calories per serving)

Filling

6 apples

2 tablespoons stevia sweetener

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon to taste

Fat Free Cool Whip

Directions:

* Core and skin apple and cut into make pieces

* Combined stevia sweetener, water, vanilla extract and apples in skillet an cover for a few minutes till apples are soft and brown

* Cover apples in cinnamon and toss

* Remove apples from skillet and mix with a dab of cool whip

(30 Calories per serving)

Place apple cinnamon filling on half of the crepe and wrap that little guy up. I use a little bit of “I can’t believe it’s not butter” spray to give it a little extra kick… butter always makes food taste better!

Bare with me, I don't have the greatest camera

It’s Bon Apetite Time… NomNomNomNomNom!

There are so many different ways to fill a crepe. Here are some other low calorie crepe filling options:

Dessert:

- Fat Free Cool whip mixed with coco powder, stevia, strawberries, and bananas

- Smuckers Sugar Free Jam

- Sugar Free Pie Filling

Breakfast:

- Egg Whites, laughing cow cheese, and lean turkey bacon

- Better N’ Peanut Butter and Smuckers Sugar Free Jelly

Lunch & Dinner

- Broccoli and Cheese

- Meat and cheese

- Cooked spinach, laughing cow cheese, and mushrooms

- Crumb Boca and Salsa

Question Time

Have you ever tried crepes & What is/would be your favorite filling?

Just the name “Lettuce Wraps” sound like they would be a healthy option when going out to eat… but be careful. Some restaurants like to douse lettuce wraps in tons of oils, sauces, and fats.

Just check out the P.F. Chang’s Lettuce Wraps (one of my favorites) … 630 calories and 12g of fat. I’m afraid to know how much sodium is in these little guys.

Cooking at home is great for several reasons, but I mainly love the fact that I can control the amount of sauces, oils, and fats that go into food preparation.

Here is a great healthy, low calorie lettuce wrap recipe that will leave you satisfied without all the calories and fat!

Ingredients

2 cups Boca Ground Crumbles lightly seasoned with salt and pepper

½ cup diced onions

1 cup diced celery

¾ teaspoon garlic powder

8 oz sliced water chestnuts-drained and coarse chopped

6 scallions sliced thin on the diagonal

¾ cup snow peas

½ cup diced mushrooms

½ cup shredded carrots

Handfull of toasted almonds

Roasted garlic teriyaki sauce and or Low Sodium Soy Sauce

½ head iceberg lettuce, cored, quartered, and peeled into individual leaves

Directions

* Heat a large skillet or wok with a generous amount of Cooking Spray

* Add Boca, onions, celery, and garlic powder. Cook till the onions are golden brown

* Mix in water chestnuts, snow peas, mushrooms, and carrots

* Add enough Garlic Teriyaki Sauce to coat Boca Ground Crumbles and Veggies to your liking

Done!!!!!

Spoon into lettuce leaves and top with almonds, roll up and Bon Appétit`

ps- Only a few more days left of the VitaTop Giveaway!