I have been guilty too many times of waking up in the morning, laying down on the couch, and starting an all day binge watch. Consequently because of this I also start my all day snacking. My new goal is to find better, more healthy snacks to eat while Netflix asks me if I am still there watching after four hours of Friends.
Air Popped Popcorn
Popcorn is a very low calorie, healthy snack when cooked and prepared the right way (ie not smothered in movie theater butter). Buying a bag or two of air popped corn should get you through a few days of binge watching. To add more flavor and texture to the popcorn you can add your own favorite trail mix or some dark chocolate bites to get a perfect sweet/salty balance. You can also add your own seasoning such as Romano cheese or oregano.
Baked Chips with Salsa or Guacamole
Baked chips have a huge added bonus over fried chips because of one ingredient: oil. Oil can make potato chips really saturated with fats and unhealthy for you. Oven baked chips eliminate this oil while still giving you a nice, crunchy crisp. If you don’t want to eat plain chips adding some salsa or guacamole can be the perfect healthy addition.
Nuts
The possibility you have with nuts is endless. There are peanuts, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, cashews, and all of them good for you! They contain the good saturated fats your body needs as well as fiber, fatty acids (the good kind), and vitamins.
Buckeyes
I will never be able to get over the timeless classic of combining peanut butter and chocolate and Buckeyes are essentially that: peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate. Now you could just eat a bunch of Reese’s, but making your own Buckeyes eliminates all of the processed sugar and saturated fats that are so bad for you. If you’re going to make your own, make sure the recipe you’re using doesn’t have two or three cups of powdered sugar, but something more simple such as honey and vanilla like this recipe uses.
Fruit
My favorite thing to snack on is fruit, but honestly it can get a little boring sometimes just eating it plain. Generally when I eat apples or bananas I’ll add some peanut butter with them. You can also chop up apples into bite sized pieces in a bowl and add some butter (a tablespoon or two, unsalted) and brown sugar or honey.
Another fruit that I spice up actually requires no additional ingredients. If you take a handful of grapes (red or green) and put them in your freezer, you’ll get a sweet, cool treat for summer that’ll explode in your mouth with fireworks of flavor.
As for berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc) I’ll wash them and put them in a bowl and drizzle some honey on them for a deliciously sticky treat.
Protein Based Ice Cream
Hats off to you Halo Top for making me not feel so bad for eating an entire pint of ice cream in one sitting. However I do not recommend doing this often because (depending on the flavor) the pint does still hold a lot of sugar, sodium, and carbs. Instead give yourself a scoop or two and add some fruit, or if you’re feeling so inclined, go for a milkshake.
Summer is the ultimate binge watching season to catch up or start your new favorite show. Now when you’re looking around your kitchen for something to eat, instead of grabbing that bag of air and oily chips, you can grab a healthy snack and feel a little better about hitting the “next episode” button.