Seven Non-Sweet, Satisfying Snacks

This is a guest post from Stephanie Black. Steph has worked with Foodtrainers in many capacities, most recently as a researcher for my alleged second book. You can find Steph on Insta and twitter @stephgetsfood.

February, the month of heart shaped candy — oops, I mean the month of love — has come to an end. I am a chocolaholic to my core (“Chocolate” was my Bat Mitzvah theme…), but even I am ready to take a break from sweets. Speaking of “breaks,” Spring Break is around the corner, making this the ideal time to start cutting back on sugar. With that said, here are seven non-sweet yet satisfying snacks that this chocolaholic swears by.

1.    Cottage Cheese with Sriracha: During my dietetic internship, a fellow intern told me about this combo. I was skeptical at first, but now it is my absolute favorite snack. For extra health points, opt for Good Culture probiotic cottage cheese

2.    Simple Mills Crackers: these flavorful crackers need no partner/topping. They’re made from almond flour so it’s a crunchy snack with staying power (not easy to find). Just make sure to portion out your serving ahead of time to avoid over-crackering. And these can be purchased online from the Foodtrainers' shop.

3.    Epic Jerky: Between their bars and bites, this jerky brand is one of the few that I trust to taste great without converting my body into the Dead Sea. Honorable mention to VT Smoke and Cure and New Primal jerkys.

4.    Snack Pizza: These fiber-filled crispbreads serve as the perfect vehicle for any healthy topping. Foodtrainers’ current favorite is combining organic string cheese and Applegate pepperoni for a snack pizza-yes! Check out this post from Carolyn for some more Orgran inspo.  

5.    Creative crudité-it’s a good idea to have a container of cut veggies on hand at all times. To spice up your veggie snack, cut up jicama and top with a squeeze of lime and pinch of cayenne. OR buy a bottle of this (a great way to spice up margaritas too…Lauren added that, I am trying to stick to the subject!). 

6.   Pickles If you’re not already on the fermented food train, hop on board. Be sure to choose pickles that are fermented (not all pickles are). We’re fans of Bubbies brand but there’s a whole world of fermented veggies it’s hard not to find at least one kind you’ll love. 

7.    Bean dip move over hummus, have you seen the Go-Dip snack packs? These, no sugar added, gluten free, kosher, vegan (yes!) beauties are super flavorful bean dips with puffed nori chips. These are great for travel, post workout or any time really.

Stay calm, and non-Sweet snack on.

What are your favorite, non-sweet snacks?

The one thing nutritionists eat at holiday parties

Yesterday, Well & Good posted an article revealing what nutritionists eat at holiday parties.

 My “one thing” listed was Scotch. As you can see below, I mention Scotch but there’s also food involved. I thought I’d share my unedited answer, lest you follow the Scotch diet.

Generally, I’m running out the door, after my last client, to the party or event.

My pre-party taxi snack involves our Foodtrainers’ nutcase(shameless I know but I have one in every purse) filled with anything from All Good Provisions goji trail mix to Himalania dark choc chia seeds. I also sniff peppermint essential oil as a quick pick me up and appetite suppressant.

At the party, I’m a one and done drink girl. My winter spirit of choices is Scotch and I have it “neat” as it’s easy to nurse that way. I’m allergic to wheat so party food choices are limited which is totally fine. I try to pick a few items and stick to those. The whole pupu platter approach never ends well. I’ll pick from shrimp cocktail, sashimi, crudité and usually some cheese situation. “Lipstick-sized” is our Foodtrainers ’cheese rule though I often have two lipsticks.  Finally, if I didn’t have dark chocolate something en route to the party, I’ll end my night with that.

Happy Holidays, just because it’s a festive time of year doesn’t mean you should be strategy-free.

Superbowl Challenge and Recipe

Most years, I have more interest in the food than the football on Super Bowl Sunday. But we love the Broncos; our dog is named Bronco so I’ll be watching. And according to statistics, so will most of you. This concerns me, I have heartburn just thinking about Super Bowl food where team healthy is the biggest underdog around.

Instead of suggesting what to skip, Carolyn and I decided to make a crudité plate that could compete. No sad, wet baby carrots and a hummus container can do that.

If you need some crudité coaching, check out our #CooCoo4crudite video

Crudite Starting Lineup

Here is the recipe for the dip we mention in the video

Super bowl Spicy Tahini

¼ cup Tahini

2 Tbs lemon juice

2 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs Apple cider vinegar

¼ tsp. Sunny Bang probiotic hot sauce

¼ tsp. Wakaya turmeric

Himalayan salt and pepper to taste.

Complicated Instructions: mix/whisk together & amp up spice, salt & pepper if needed.

*I’ve made with coconut oil but you need to increase the heat if you do so.

*Any hot sauce or salt will do, we used our MVP incredients.

I think our crudité can compete but can you beat us? We’re veggie voyeurs, please post your plates with the hashtag #coocoo4crudite on Instagram or Twitter. If you’re not that social, email us your cool creations and we’ll see who wins this crudité competition (and the game).

Will you be watching the game? Which football foods do you plan on eating? What do you think is the secret for crudité that can compete/interesting veggie plates?

And of course some pregame