Microwave Popcorn – We find the “100 calorie pop” is perfect for one person and occassional split a bag at night before dinner. Though it’s not the protein content that I would typically look for in a food, the amount of chewing and time that it takes to eat 50-100 calories make it appear to much more food than it is.

South Beach Diet Cereal Bars – We found a great deal on these at the military commissary (24 bars for $10). They are 140 calories with 10 grams of protein. It has 5 grams of fat and 9 grams of net carbs, but it tastes like a candy bar. In contrast to the popcorn above it’s a dense 1.23 ounces. Few foods beat it for portability and speed to eat. I have a friend who is a busy doctor and keeps them handy because she might only get 2 minutes here and there to eat during the day.

Slim-a-Bear ice-cream sandwiches – At 100-calories per sandwich, these are a perfect substitute for the full fat ice cream. You wouldn’t want them to be your whole diet, but you feel completely guilt-free after eating one.

Fruit – Nature’s candy is an easy choice here. We keep apples and oranges around all the time because they have a good shelf life. Occasionally we will have bananas, but they go bad in a couple of days.

Whey Protein Shake – I’ll blend some whey protein and milk and have a shake every now and again as a snack. It’s not very portable, and it’s not going to taste as good as the South Beach Diet bars or Slim-a-Bear ice-cream sandwiches, but the thought of 25-30 grams of protein makes my analytical mind excited. Occasionally, I toss in some frozen berries for more anti-oxidants – other times I will use a Splenda-based low-calorie chocolate syrup for taste. Another similar idea is to use a Carnation Instant Breakfast package instead of the whey protein.

I find that most of these healthy snacks stay under 200 calories. They give me a variety of choice depending on my mood: popcorn for when I want to pick at something, cereal bars when I need something on the go with no preparation or refrigeration/cooking necessary, and ice-cream sandwiches for cravings.

When you want a healthy snack what do you go with?

Today, I’d like to bring you a new breakfast. Like the other breakfast, this is cheap, healthy, and quick – but it’s not hot. As a bonus, I’ve found that I can buy everything at Trader Joe’s. There are only five ingredients. This breakfast will take you a total 210 seconds a week to prepare – that’s 3.5 minute for you math majors.

A cheap and healthy breakfast:

1. Gather ingredients – Trader Joe’s High Fiber Cereal (Fiber One is a good, but more expensive substitute), Kashi GoLean Crunch, sliced almonds (or chopped walnuts), dried cranberries (feel free to substitute banana chips or other dried fruit as well).
2. Mix ingredients – See, this is easy…
3. Store in a container… …for use later on in the week
4. Add Milk… … when you are ready to eat.
5. Eat… … preferably with a spoon.

You’ll notice that this healthy breakfast is high in fiber from the cereal. It has bit of protein from the milk and almonds. This cereal has some antioxidants from the cranberries (or dried fruit) and almonds (or other nuts).

The most important part is that it’s really good – I look forward to eating this every day. I am going to switch off between this breakfast and my old breakfast, but try to mix in an orange or apple as mid-morning snack. I feel healthier just having a plan in place.

I used to stay away from oranges – peeling them became a chore that I didn’t want to deal with. However, we recently got a citrus peeler and now I eat a couple of oranges a week. It’s not enough fruit, but I’ll take any improvement over my earlier habits.

• Turkey burgers, no buns, some pinto or baked beans, and a quick starch (Ramen noodles for me) or vegetable (asparagus for her) – I should ditch the Ramen noodles, and add something like corn or a veggie that I like (which is limited)
• Turkey/Hamburger Helper – Probably not the healthiest dinner, but it’s quick and tasty. Made with ground turkey makes it decent. For some meals we add frozen onions and peppers or a can of mushrooms.
• Chicken nuggets – same sides as turkey burgers, but with breaded chicken

That’s pretty much our diet there. We might occasionally add another item, but it’s fairly rare. The good thing is that we are getting good sources of protein and some fiber.

Last night I found a website that might change all that. Meals Matter has some meal planning tools, shopping list, tools and recipes. They have a food profile that you can fill out. It’s nearly exactly, what I’m looking for, but it the food profile isn’t very detailed. There’s not an option for maximizing proteins in my meals. There’s no option for limiting carbs. In short, it’s worth checking out, especially since it’s free, but it might not be the perfect solution.

I’ve added them the form of a whey protein shake. I have had streaks in the past where I’ve made one everyday and streaks where I just couldn’t stomach it. I think I found something helpful though. Wal-Mart has some tasty sugar-free chocolate syrup. Combine that with vanilla protein powder and some milk and it’s a good way to add some quality protein to your diet.

(Yes, I hate those posts that point to other posts too, but I feel this one really does have value.)

On Wednesday night, I decided that I’d surprise Energi Gal with a healthy meal. I had some boneless, skinless chicken breast defrosted. I sliced it into strips. Next, I took some bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and a touch Montreal Steak seasoning and mixed in a bowl. I cracked an egg and scrambled it up with a fork. Lastly, I dipped the chicken in the egg and then in my breading mix making the best breading I’ve ever had. For side dishes, I made some baked beans, some broccoli (for Energi Gal, her favorite) and green beans (for me – broccoli is evil to my taste buds). The whole thing took less than 20 minutes. I was especially happy that we had a filling meal without potato, rice, or pasta.

Do you have any favorite healthy meals? Feel free to leave a comment here or e-mail them to me and I’ll devote a whole post to it.