Grape tomatoes, every other "favorite" is no way guilt free !

Homegrown tomatoes!!! Of course I may pay for those with a good ol' canker sore, down the line!

Peach, nectarine, or red seedless grapes.

And this one isn't completely guilt free, but....Wonka's Gobstoppers.

DonnaR/CA

Air popped popcorn with a little olive oil and salt.
Deanna

Tomatoes, chilled cuke slices with either salt or red wine vinegar & pepper.

Spiced nuts (I make a lot of different flavors). I don't feel guilty about them because though they have fat, it's a good fat and they also have substantial food value.

Olives, pickles. Any kind of fruit.

nuts (roasted, unsalted), dry fruits, baby carrots...

I cooked six slices of bacon and ate it with two slices of bread and some mustard the other day and felt no guilt whatsoever. You will dance on my grave but it was good!

I bet it was good! I could eat a half pound but not guilt free. I don't obsess about much but I do need to stop snacking
so much. I just like crunching on something while I read.

Beef jerky, nuts, cottage cheese...not together.

Any kind of fruit or veggies with fat free yogurt dip. I also like dry roasted nuts or dried fruit.
Clare

ooooh, they all sound good. One of my favorite is also No-Sugar Oatmeal cookies. It's yummy and delicious!

Cantalope, pineapple, strawberries, and raw cauliflower for me. I love nuts too, pecans, almonds, and cashews are at the top of the list for me.

David

Watermelon, red bell peppers, snap peas, celery, rice cakes, carrots, jicama, apples, cantaloupe, tomatoes, peaches, oranges. I'm sure there are other things but those top the list regularly.

Today at the store, I selected the nicest of all the packs of smoked bacon, which were on sale at a good price. But I was afraid I would do as jimtex did and I put it back. I'm not that suicidal.

Edamame is very satisfying and completely guilt free. With edamame I can pace myself while watching week-end sports whereas I can put away chips and dip by the bushel in the same time frame if they are within reach.

Jim

Air popped pop corn with a drizzle of EVOO and a couple of sprinkles of Brady Street Cheese powder/spice from Penzeys.

Fresh tomatoes with fresh basil, a little shredded parm or a few chunks of mozzarella and some vinaigrette

Jamie's Minestrone Soup (all veggies!)

And I make a mean bean salad!

All fruit & veggies (except avacados)

I agree with the "all fruits and vegetables" statement. My favorites are fresh Michigan sweet cherries, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, apricots, and apples only in the fall, before they go into cold storage. I like raw carrots, cauliflower, kohlrabi, celery, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes.

Sometimes I dip the celery into hummus and sometimes I add peanut butter, and sometimes I'll wrap lightly steamed asparagus in a slice of turkey breast.

I eat microwave popcorn sometimes, or popcorn or rice cakes. Edamame is good, sometimes and so are pickled beets. I make an all vegetable soup and have a cup of it if I'm really hungry.

Ashley likes the sugar free jello, but I don't eat jello, so that's out for me but it might be an option for you.

I often find that I don't really want a snack, I just want a big cold glass of iced tea to sip on.

Annie

Peanut butter on graham crackers. Loaded with nutrition and fibre. Who cares about calories?

Annie, you're right about the tea. Often, when we think we're hungry, what we really are is slightly dehydrated. A big ole glass of iced tea or water will take care of it.

Since moving to the Valley, and having to live with the dry heat, I've learned just how much liquid we can need without even knowing it.

That's why so many diets require you to drink so much liquid. It's easier to stick to them if you're well hydrated.

I have a hard time separating being hungry from wanting to eat
but I am working on it. I'm going to make a drained yogurt dip today and eat it with jicama for my snack.

Baby carrots in my fridge right now bought for snacking. Easy to reach in a grab some. Dry cereal is another regular snacker. I'll munch cheerios quick as potato chips. At the grocery store I tell myself "no chips for fatso" and push right past that section. If I don't buy them I won't eat them.

Lost four pounds last month while I was laid off work. Durning that time I ate two pounds of bacon! Stacked high on buttered toast. I don't have cholesterol problems and total calories for the day count more then where they came from.

: )
lyra

bumblebeez, I often ask myself whether I'm really hungry. If I can't tell myself that I am, I'll sip that iced tea because what I really want is just....something. The tea gives me something to do with my hands and something to swallow and seems to to the trick a lot of the time.

Annie

A quart of Hagendas butter brickle ice cream with a dozen Oreo cookies.

I don't have guilt issues. ;-)

bumblebeez: My test for hunger is if my stomach is growling, I am hungry.
I eat fruit and lots of it, I eat until I feel sastified.
I also eat about 6 times a day. Three meals and snacks in between. I sometimes make and/or buy chex mix snacks - measure it out and slowly enjoy it with a glass of tea or soda. Also fat free microwave popcorn is a good snack with a sugar free soda. I also vary the sodas: colas (different kinds), gingerale-mixed with fruit juices or occasionally a little Bartles and James magarita or whatever in a clear soda (that's rare however) I drink lots of different teas. Tea with half lemonade--yum. Ruby Red Chai from Trader Joe's is a good hot tea. Orange and Spice and Constant Comment by Bigelow. I also will add left over fruit juice I have used for cooking. Example: pineapple juice, apricot, peach, cranberry: all good in tea and use mostly tea so the juice calories don't add up too much. I use splenda to sweeten my drinks. I drink Crystal Light teas and add brewed tea to it.
I also make lots of hummus. I have a really good, easy recipe. I put it on wasa crackers. Be sure to check the calories-they vary.

salsa fresca with baked tortilla chips. Or any kind of salsa with the baked tortilla chips( aka cardboard)

Dried fish, especially haddock and wolf-fish. Contains lots of protein and zero fat.

Also tomatoes, cherries, apples, carrots, radishes, and nuts, especially pistachios and cashews.

No guilt?
Plain celery without salt, or that sugarfree jello...but I jazz it up with grated lemon rind. But that's only when and if i am serious about shedding pounds.
Love edamame but too much gives me a tummy ache..
Wonder how Jell-o shots would be with that sugar free stuff....
Guilt free? Almost!

From Annie: The tea gives me something to do with my hands and something to swallow

Not enough time with Elery, eh? Yeah, I know, you put that in there just for me.

Lyra: I've been guilted out of buying those baby carrots by this forum. Please give me permission to start them again!

Garlic dill pickles are pretty good, but I most often brew a cup of strong black tea and add a splash of whole milk.

In the summer I like fresh fruit, ice and a bit of sugar in the food processor whizzed until smooth. I suppose it's called a slushy, slurpy, granita mish mash or non dairy smoothie but it's so good. I always have them in martini glasses too. Sometimes with redi whip on top.

netla, I like to munch on Japanese dried cuttlefish and salted, dried little fishies (I'm not sure what they are, mini sardines or anchovies??) I've never seen dried haddock, and have no idea what wolf fish is...but I'd likely enjoy it. I can't get my cuttlefish anywhere around here and must wait for a trip to the Bay Area (and hope I remember to buy it).

Jessy, what's the matter with the baby carrots? They're cute, tasty, sweet, and you don't have to peel them. I mean, yeah, they are more expensive than plain old carrots, but if having a bag at the ready will encourage you to eat them, go for it.

I just remembered another delicious, guilt free munchie. I roast Indian pappadams over the burner rather than frying them and just munch on them as is or dip them into a chutney or yogurt raita. The mint-cilantro chutney is almost without calories, and the pappadams are high in protein (for a chip), very low in fat, crispy, and they come flavored with scallions, pepper, or cumin seeds.

It's a bit tricky getting the technique down for roasting them over the burner...you've got to hold them with tongs and turn them this way and that so that they bubble up evenly without burning. But cooking them that way instead of deep frying makes them a terrifically healthy but satisfying snack.

Yes, Jessica, I was baiting you. LOL

However, Elery left Friday morning and I won't see him for three weeks, so you may be closer to the truth than you think!

Annie

Annie and Jessy,

BOTH OF YOU TO YOUR ROOMS!

Pretzle sticks. Cheerios. Carrots. Cheese sticks. Cashews.

Then again I still have a nursling, so I eat what I can get my hands on when I need to and feel no guilt whatsoever.

I also keep a tall glass of decaf tea or lemonade going. I can put away the better part of a gallon in 24 hours.

I know some of you will find this disgusting but when I'm just wanting something to eat...not really hungry...just want to snack...I like a triangle of that Laughing Cow cheese stuff with exactly 5 Ritz crackers. I always feel satisfied & haven't killed the calorie bank for the day.

But, my favorite guilt-free eats...

1/2 Banana sliced onto a pretty plate topped with 1 carton of Yoplait Chocolate-Raspberry Mousse-Style Yogurt, then drizzled with about a teaspoon of Hershey's syrup. Fat-free & under 250 calories. Yummo!

/tricia

A can of really good sardines. There are some horrible ones out there, though, and you really do get what you pay for.

My favorites are King Oscar cross-pack sardines in olive oil (the smaller the fish, the more delicate the flavor) unless I can find the ones packed in pesto.

What fat is there is mostly unsaturated, lots of omega 3's there as well. High in protein, lots of taste and nutrition for the calories.

With the olive oil packed ones, I drain the excess oil on to the top of the dog's dry food. She loves it, and I love the sardines.

Popcorn with cayenne pepper. Also pickles, olives and Greek salad peppers. yum!

I love so many of the treats that have been mentioned: popcorn, edamame, rice cakes and fruit. With it being so warm out, my current favorite snack is frozen grapes. They're like little popsicles you can eat by the handful! Just wash the grapes, spread on a cookie sheet and freeze. In a couple hours, you're ready to snack!

Rachelellen, dried cuttlefish? Wow, I haven't had those in a long while. In our country, Vietnam, when we go to a movie, that's what we snack on instead of popcorns. The smell is as addictive as popcorn and one must have it when go to a movie.

Humm... need to put that on my grocery list! At least, I don't have to travel far for it. I live close to an asian market. Lucky me =)

Yes. I love the stuff. I had many Asian friends in Junior High and High School, and they got me eating all sorts of things that would be considered unusual or strange by folks not brought up eating them.

It's funny when you think about it. People who would think nothing of eating beef jerky might balk at eating what is essentially fish jerky.

I like the plain kind and the kind with chili pepper. The kind that is sweetened is o.k., but not my favorite.

I learned to store all flavors in screw-top jars to hide them from my cats.

I have a new favorite guilt free munchie! I had way too much eggplant on hand the other day and started experimenting. I've always liked hummus, but the texture tended to be a bit grainy for me. I also like a variety of eggplant dips, but often the texture is a bit slimy. So I sort of combined the two. I'm sure others have done the same thing, but this came out very tasty, and served with fire roasted Pappadoms or vegetables for dipping, it is pretty low in calories and fat, and has significant food value as well!

Eggplant-Bonzo bean dip

1 can garbanzo beans (15.5 oz)
1 T zaatar (optional)
4-6 cloves
1 T olive oil
½ t red pepper flakes
1 pound Japanese or Chinese eggplant
3 T tahini
½ t salt
1 T black sesame seeds, toasted & lightly bruised in a suribachi*
1 T white sesame seeds, toasted & ground to a paste in a suribachi.

Drain & rinse the garbanzo beans. Slice the garlic and saute lightly in the olive oilÂyou just want to take a bit of the raw flavor away, not brown it. Roast the eggplant over an open flame or in a broiler until the skin chars, then let it sit in itÂs own heat until cool enough to handle comfortably. When you poke them at this point they should be quite soft. Peel them without worrying if some blackened flakes remain on the meatÂin fact, if they peel too well I often keep a bit of the blackened skin on purpose as it adds a nice smoky flavor.

Put all the ingredients except the sesame seeds into a food processor and puree until smooth. Stir in the sesame seeds, taste and correct for seasonings.

*A suribachi is a Japanese style, pottery mortar and pestle that has ridges inside the bowl of the mortar that makes grinding things like sesame and spices easier. ItÂs a real pain to grind the sesame seeds in a normal mortar, so if you havenÂt a suribachi, youÂre better off grinding them in a mini processor or spice mill. You have to be careful with the black sesame, as it needs to be only a bit bruisedÂground enough to release the aroma but not turned into a paste. If you canÂt find black sesame, white can be used interchangeably, as it wonÂt affect the flavorÂthe black is just pretty.

Milk Chocolate M & M's. And I don't feel the least bit guilty.

Ann

Cheez-it crackers and popcorn popped in coconut oil with lots of real butter and salt. No guilt for me --- life is too short.