HEALTHY SNACKS

WEEKEND CHEATS

Buy Not Just Abs today for a long, variety filled list of favorite, healthy cheat foods

I consider natural peanut butter a good cheat - high in protein, and most of the fat is unsaturated. Crazy Richard's and Arrowhead Mills. Ingredients - Peanuts for Crazy Richards, Valencia Peanuts for ArrowHead Mills. That's it - nothing added. Particularly, no salt. LOVE THEM. Crazy Richard's is in many grocery stores by me such as Weis, Giant, Safeway, or where I used to live, Shop-Rite. ArrowHead Mills is in some of those stores, not as many as Crazy Richard's; Giant sells it, but at too high a price. It's a little cheaper in the health food stores such as Roots or Whole Foods. Yummy on rice cakes with All Fruit. Sometimes, I'll have a spoonful before the gym.

I can't even remember what Jelly tastes like, this is so much better tasting, not to mention, healthier! Seedless Strawberry is my favorite flavor. Comes in many others though. Love it with my peanut butter on rice cakes or sometimes mixed in with any hot cereal. All major grocery stores usually have All Fruit and/or Simply Fruit. Health food stores have other brands of all-fruit spreads.

White American Fat Free Singles cheese slices. I've been impressed with the store brands on these due to the lower price and not bad ingredients. Shop-Rite had very tasty slices with relatively decent ingredients. Under $3 compared to the major brands at $4 and higher. Weis store brand is pretty good too. I use on weekends in scrambled egg whites/one yolk, melted on top of lean beef or turkey burgers or turkey meatloaf (recipe in the book) or added to my Salmon sandwich.

Milton's is the best bread I've tasted. Absolutely love it for when I have my weekend Salmon sandwiches, lean beef cheese burgers, when I have with bread and when I want toast on the weekends. I like it better though untoasted, very soft and tasty. Sometimes, I just smother some Smart-balance Light on the bread and have it alone. Trader Joe's carries Milton's bread.

These Morning Star Grillers Prime veggie burgers are one of my new favorites. Giant for around $3 or $4. Really very tasty and hearty. I'll have on the weekends due to higher sodium content. Usually just on a plate with ketchup, sometimes as an actual burger on my favorite Milton's bread and fat free cheese slices. These have higher amounts of protein than most veggie burgers I've seen at 17 grams per patty. Two burgers is a nice 34 grams of protein for the meal.

I get these Salmon Patties at Trader Joe's. I'll have alone or on Milton's bread as burgers on weekends. Higher sodium content food such as these I limit to weekends.

As I say in the book, just have to have my weekend popcorn and these are the two major kinds I have. Smart Balance I used to get in Shop-Rite. Then, I couldn't find it wher I live, so I always had to travel to the health food stores to get Bearitos. I ended up emailing Smart Balance and asked them to get it into stores by me. Now, Giant, Safeway, Food Lion and Shoppers sell it. Weis does too, but only the buttery salty ones, not the Low Sodium-Low Fat version. I usually add flavor (especially to Bearitos) by using a huge bowl, pouring a little canola oil and sprinkling No Salt and shaking it to distribute evenly. If I really want a buttery taste, I melt Smart Balance Light and use it instead of the canola oil.

An example of one of my healthy cereals and soymilk. This cereal is very good, I don't even need to sweeten it - it's sweetened slightly with cane juice and it's all organic.

Lately, I've taken a liking to Trader Joe's dried Apricots. Good snack, juicy and filling.

Once in a blue moon on a weekend, I have an urge for bacon with my eggs. I like Turkey Bacon with all natural ingredients, no nitrates. I get Wellshire at Trader Joe's.

I mention Bolthouse fruit juices in my book; at that time, they had fruity flavors such as strawberry/banana as well as a carrot juice. They later came out with Perfectly Protein, which consists of vanilla chai tea and soy protein. I love it - it's delicious. Can be added to weekend shakes for a touch of vanilla bean or just enjoyed by itself.

I like to throw Wasabi Peas in my vegetables at night sometimes. These are from Trader Joe's, but they can be found at most health food stores in circular tub-like containers.

I like these Quaker Salt Free Rice Cakes and Wasa crackers for a snack alone or with my healthy peanut butter and fruit spread.

I mention these Physique Cookies in my book. They are yummy -- and packed full of protein and carbs. On the weekends, I sometimes eat a whole one for a meal, like lunch. If I'm having in between meals, I cut in half. I like to refrigerate them, then heat for 20 seconds in the microwave. My favorite flavors are Banana Walnut, Chocolate Fudge Oatmeal and any with Peanut Butter. They are such a treat and can be purchased at gyms and health food stores for just under $3.

These cookies are very good too on weekends and can be found in the Vitamin Shoppe for under $3. Tri-O-Plex has great high protein bars and cookies in several different flavors with no bad ingredients. I love all the ones with chocolate as well as the pictured White Chocolate Chip Macadmia Nut Cookies. While the Physique Cookies are one big cookie, these are two smaller ones. I also refrigerate these, then warm up in the microwave.

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