[Aimra]

I'm trying to lose some much needed weight. I adopted a vegan lifestyle 3 weeks ago, for various reasons, and am doing great IMHO. I'm trying no to eat a lot of junk food/sweets. This, for some reason, has been really easy to stop eating sweets. I guess because so many of them aren't vegan and I've told myself I can't have them.

At any rate, I find myself wanting salty things and nuts instead. I crave salted, in the shell peanuts, sunflower seeds, and almonds all the time. The only problem is that they're so high in fat. I wish I could find some more healthy alternatives to fill this craving.

Suggestions please!

 

[evilvegan]

Remember that the fat in the nuts is a good fat, one that your brain and body needs. Try eating unsalted roasted nuts in a small, "snack" size serving to help with your cravings.

 

[ketivnilloc]

fat is not bad! i hate these people who avoid calories from fat. fat is important for you.

 

[nigel]

Sometimes acids can give you the same satisfaction that salt does - vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, etc.

Celery and other raw vegetables can help to fill you up without fat.

A lower fat dry snack is roasted lentils. Soak some lentils overnight, then drain and toss with whatever seasonings you like - salt, pepper, chili, cumin, saffron - add a few drops of oil and mix, then put them on a pan in the oven at 400 or so, stirring every 15 minutes until they are dry and crunchy. You can do the same thing with soybeans.

BTW - don't look now, but there's a guy with glasses standing behind you!

 

[Marie]

That's easy. Stop eating meals and snack instead.

 

[Aimra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nigel

A lower fat dry snack is roasted lentils. Soak some lentils overnight, then drain and toss with whatever seasonings you like - salt, pepper, chili, cumin, saffron - add a few drops of oil and mix, then put them on a pan in the oven at 400 or so, stirring every 15 minutes until they are dry and crunchy. You can do the same thing with soybeans.

Sounds like a great idea. I will definitely try that!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nigel

BTW - don't look now, but there's a guy with glasses standing behind you!

Huh?

 

[Aimra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ketivnilloc

fat is not bad! i hate these people who avoid calories from fat. fat is important for you.

I'm not all scared of fat. I just don't want to overdo it. I'm not talking about a little bit of fat. I have a binging problem and I need to find foods that are more safe to get a little crazy with.

For example, the other day I almost ate an entire package for in the shell peanuts. There were 7 servings and 13 grams of fat in each serving! Now if that was all I ate that day it wouldn't be bad but it was not.

And I'm talking about a serious weight problem here. I'm not looking to get rid of a few vanity pounds. There could be serious health risks involved if I don't do something soon so I'm trying to cut back on things and get more active.

 

[4EverGrounded]

IMO, the salt in those roasted, salted nuts is a much larger problem than the fat is. Switch to raw or low-salt varieties (raw is better, though). Salt is addictive and it makes a person retain water, making it harder to lose weight.

Snacks like roasted nuts are good, as are snacks like PB and apples, hummus and celery, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots in tofu ranch dressing, various fruits... the possibilities are endless. Adding in extra spice to your snacks also will help that snack crave. Jicama and cucumber spears with a spicy-sweet chili powder sprinkled overtop (and a squeeze of lime) is addicting in its own right and quite refreshing, too. Lately, I've been snacking on yellow squash chips with sprouted bean mix that has at least 2-3 cloves of garlic in it (in addition to the rest of the spices I put in).

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Aimra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4EverGrounded

IMO, the salt in those roasted, salted nuts is a much larger problem than the fat is. Switch to raw or low-salt varieties (raw is better, though). Salt is addictive and it makes a person retain water, making it harder to lose weight.

Snacks like roasted nuts are good, as are snacks like PB and apples, hummus and celery, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots in tofu ranch dressing, various fruits... the possibilities are endless. Adding in extra spice to your snacks also will help that snack crave. Jicama and cucumber spears with a spicy-sweet chili powder sprinkled overtop (and a squeeze of lime) is addicting in its own right and quite refreshing, too. Lately, I've been snacking on yellow squash chips with sprouted bean mix that has at least 2-3 cloves of garlic in it (in addition to the rest of the spices I put in).

Hope that helps a bit.

Great point about the salt. I knew those peanuts had it in for me!

I did not know there was such a thing as tofu ranch dressing. Hmmm. I love baby carrots dipped in ranch (but once you put ranch dressing on the carrots, or salad for that matter, what is the point?!?). I'm sure the tofu ranch is much better for you? I will have to investigate this further.

You see, I am a muncher and I need to have more healthy things to munch on around the house.

Thanks for all of the ideas!

 

[4EverGrounded]

Tofu ranch is muuuuch better than the milked version. This is the recipe I use, but you can cut the oil down or sub some out with water if you want. You do need a bit of oil for the emulsification but play around with the proportions to see what works the best for you. I like this recipe better than the [vegan] mayo/[vegan] sour cream with dip mix concoctions because there's no funky ingredients to worry about. It's just spices, liquids and silken tofu, all whirred up. Easy-peasy... and nutritious.

 

[Aimra]

Wow. Thanks. I have some silken tofu at home right now. I think I have most of the other ingredients as well. Looks easy enough. Thanks again.

 

[4EverGrounded]

You're welcome and enjoy.

 

[owalkerjillo]

my favorite snacks are fruits and veggies including apples (80 calories in a med.), peaches (40 calories in a med.), carrots and broccoli sticks in hummus (about 40 calories in a cup of broccolo, 50 in 2 tbs of hummus, and 25-30 in a cup of carrots) and grapes (40 calories about a cup)

hope that helps

(ps.. all those calorie numers were off the top of my head so they may be wrong. however, if you google "calories in grapes" or something, it should come up with it for you

)

 

[random_feast]

For blood sugar regulation, I've been recommended to eat six small meals per day. Your meals don't have to be huge, and if you're a snacker (I never used to be, really) it works out really well.

If nuts are an issue, there's also frozen grapes, air-popped popcorn with natural oil spray, nutritional yeast, and garlic powder -- or salt and pepper -- or chipotle, and a lot of recipes for bean or legume based "corn nut" type of recipes. Some are healthy; others not so much. We made a spray bottle for olive oil out of a travel-size plastic trigger-handle bottle from Target. I suppose you could thoroughly wash out a former hairspray bottle and get the same effect, but ours was, like, $1.50 or something.

It would be interesting to know why your body is craving salt so much. I read something somewhere that said it was due to protein cravings, but I'd hate to spread misinformation without at least citing the researcher.

(...she says as eats a whole cup full of peanut-butter granola...)

 

[sandybeachbums]

How about baked chips with bean dip? I use the Amy's black refried beans for dip. They are a little spendy, but they make the best dip.

I find that eating spicy foods really works well for helping me eat less. I like those dried spicy pepper flakes. I toss them on all kinds of stuff. They are a must for spaghetti, chili, and pizza.

Are pepperocinis vegan? I haven't bought any since going Vegan. But, they are really yummy like spicy pickles. If I eat one on the side of my sandwich or pizza I will often eat a lot less.

You can make that lentil recipe with chickpeas....very yummy.

Potato wedges are really good. I just take a potato or sweet potato and sometimes one of each. Well, with my kids sometimes we use 5 or 6. But, you just slice it up (peel it first if you want) and pile them up on the pan. When you get a layer then you drizzle them with some oil and toss them around. You don't actually need a lot. You just need to cover the pan, so they don't stick. Season with salt or Spike. We use Spike instead of salt. You can throw on some other stuff, too. When they are close to done you can cover them with some chopped garlic. Just make sure it's an obscene amount.

Bake them in a hot preheated oven. The preheating is important. I think that's key. I've been trying to make them for years and I think making sure the oven is hot is important. I would love to make them without oil, but I've never been able, too. I bet if you cut them in really big wedges with the skin on that you could spray the pan and the wedges with oil and bake them that way. I bet the skin wouldn't stick.

We eat ours with ketchup and/or hot sauce. We usually just call this a meal, too. I'm not sure if others would approve, but it's really good snacking during a movie. My kids love it.

Slice up a couple of limes and drizzle them on stuff. It's really good on rice or curries. I totally believe that eating some acid stuff it helpful with fighting salt cravings.

If you keep craving nuts maybe you could mix them with something. Like get some good high fiber cereals and make your mix mostly those with just a smattering of the nuts. My kids love this. We pick out a few things. We include salty, sweet and such.

 

[Aimra]

Thank you so much you guys. I feel so lost with all this nutritional stuff!! You're suggestions have been so helpful!

 

[owalkerjillo]

mmm kettle corn is a lovely sweet treet that (all the brands i've seen at least) is vegan and fairly low in fat/cals.

good luck

 

[sandybeachbums]

Cracker Jacks are 120 cal a box I think and they come in portions. I'm a little better when stuff is packed individual.

 

[codemonkey]

Another great snack is edamame. You can buy edamame pods frozen and then you can just nuke them up and throw a little salt on them.

In case you don't know, the actual pods aren't edible. You put the pod in your mouth and pop the little beans out with your teeth and then throw the pod away. It's fun and delicious.

 

[Aimra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by codemonkey

Another great snack is edamame. You can buy edamame pods frozen and then you can just nuke them up and throw a little salt on them.

In case you don't know, the actual pods aren't edible. You put the pod in your mouth and pop the little beans out with your teeth and then throw the pod away. It's fun and delicious.

Hmmm.. A friend of mine from high school (who was "vegetarian" but ate chicken/fish) used to eat those a lot. I may try that. It sounds interesting enough.