Snack Attack (and a Giveaway!)
June 10, 2009 by Erin
It’s 3 o’clock in cube-land. You’re in the post-lunch lull, bored. You’re no longer interested in that Excel spreadsheet you’ve been slaving over for an hour, and you just need a break. More specifically, you need a snack break. The vending machine is calling your name. Loudly. What do you do so you don’t wreck your waistline? So you don’t get that sugar spike quickly followed by that horrendous crash? Hitting the machine once every now and then won’t wreck your life, but planning your snacks ahead will keep you from scarfing those plastic chocolate Donettes or satisfying your sweet tooth with a pack of M&Ms.
Here are a few snacks that have landed on our FBG desks recently, and we had to share.
Dole Fruit Gels
These 70-calorie babies from Dole are the perfect treat for my post-dinner sweet tooth or my afternoon lull. They come in strawberry gel with pineapples or cherry with mixed fruit. I was partial to cherry and Jenn favored the strawberry, so try them both and pick your fave. They’re sugar-free and sweetened with maltitol (a corn-based sweetener), but the mixed-in fruit gives it the perfect amount of sweetness. You still get 5 grams of sugar and 1 carb per serving, but for a dessert or snack, it’s a great sweet treat. It would be great if they were more natural or had fewer ingredients listed, but a 70-calorie “dessert” that my hubby likes is a winner in my book. (He sniffs out sugar-free and fat-free like a blood hound.)
LUNA Cookies
Like my hubs, I often don’t do well with sugar-free and fake-out type products. I’m the type that would rather buy the full-cal version and just eat less of it than have a terrible-tasting knockoff. And when someone tells me that cookies are whole grain and have all sorts of goodness in them, like tons of folic acid and vitamins, I kinda figure they’re going to taste all hippy-granola. But oh, how I loved me these LUNA cookies. I’m not sure how LUNA managed to sneak in all of the whole grains, fiber, and protein and still manage to be delicious, but they sure did.
First, the cookies. LUNA’s cookies come in three kinds: peanut butter chocolate, chocolate mint and berry pomegranate. The cookies are 130-150 calories, with nine whole grains, 3-4 grams of fiber and 2-3 grams of protein. Plus, they’re moist and delicious. My faves were the mint and peanut butter, but the berry pomegranate was good too; it tasted like an oatmeal cookie with berries. My only complaint with the cookies was that they were bar-shaped, not round like cookies. A minor complaint, I know, but I like my cookies round for the full cookie monster experience.
I also tried the White Chocolate Macadamia bar, which has 190 cals, 8 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber. It was definitely more granola bar—both in shape and in taste—than the cookies. Jenn seemed to really like these and their macadamia flavor, but I don’t know if I can accurately judge them because I so burned myself out on those yogurt-covered granola bars several years ago and I couldn’t stop comparing these to those. I’ll stick with the cookies even if they aren’t round!
Sonoma Crisps Baked Fruits
If you want a little crunch in your munch, I’ve got the treat for you. If you’re like me and sometimes crave food solely for the texture, Sonoma Crisps will be a perfect go-to snack for the crunchy category. This crispy snack is made with baked fruit—no oil included—for a final product that is fat-free, high in fiber and low in calories.
The Apple Sticks come in three flavors—original, cinnamon and golden delicious—and come in 70-calorie bags with 2 grams of fiber. Each bag contains the equivalent of 1.5 apples. The snack looks like little French fries and have the crunchy texture of stale fries (not in a bad way!). They taste really natural, and you can tell the difference between all three varieties. Jenn and I liked cinnamon the best.
While the apples are good, the Raisin Crunch was my fave Sonoma Crisp product by far. The raisins are inflated (don’t ask me how, I have no idea!) to make them light and crunchy. I’ll say that again: They taste like raisins but are crunchy! I thought this was too cool. They are great as a snack, but I’ve also dropped them in salads for added texture and crunch. At 60 calories a bag, the raisins also have protein, fiber and iron.
While carrot sticks and celery are always a healthy treat, sometimes a snack-pack, cookie or crunchy treat is what you’re craving. And with these suggestions, you really can’t go wrong. What are your go-to afternoon snacks? —Erin
If you want to try the Dole Fruit Gels for yourself, comment below of email us at contact@fitbottomedgirls.com, and we’ll send you roughly a year’s supply of coupons for them! All you have to do is live in the U.S. or Canada and tell us how you’ll use them!
Okay those fruit gel things at the grocery store, quite frankly scare me. LOL
I do keep raisins in my desk for a quick sweet snack in the afternoon, in the miniboxes so I'm not getting too much or if I absolutely need something salty and crunchy I have annies cheddar bunnies in the individual sized packs.
Usually 2pm is when I get the urge to eat something.
I am a real cookie person too but might have to check out those Luna ones! I love cookies!
Puffins cereal (I found it in the organic foods isle.)
The peanut butter flavor has a nice crunch and just enough sweetness to satisfy. I mix it with the original because that isn't quite as sweet (fewer calories) and has more fiber.
I still haven't tried the Luna cookies– I've been suspicious that they won't actually taste like cookies and will thus disappoint my innter cookie monster. But sounds like I should!
I love the Dole cups. I keep them at home for a quick snack at night and take them to work for a tasty treat in the afternoon.
Sugar Free Fruit Gels Sound like a delicious snackie!
Interesting gel thingies! Never heard of them before but I'd love to try them.
I've had luna bars before but never the cookie, and the bars are tasty. I feel the same way about the shape, though
The Dole Fruit Gels sound great! I would like to try some "creative combos" and mix them with greek yogurt or cottage cheese!!
I have always loved jello and have not had it in a long time.
I'm in grad school 8 hours a day and use snacks to keep me awake. Those look awesome!
duuuude I love those dole gels!
They are delicious but never thought about them as a dessert. Yum! Thanks for the idea1
thanks for the giveaway
those fruit gel looks awesome
Love those fruit gels-would put them in my kids lunches but the luna bars I would keep them all to myslf and hide them in my night stand – yummy
raisins would be good in my cookies and my salad
Fruit gels for some reason kind of remind me of cafeteria lunch–in a good way!
Great idea for a give-away!
how does your husband feel about the Luna products? my boyfriend refuses to even try a bite of anything Luna soley based on the fact that it says "nutrition for women" but i know he would love these mint cookies!
Never tried fruit gels, but they look great and I would love to try them.
love the luna cookies!
I've never tried the Dole sugar free gels before, but i'd love to! I love that they don't use white sugar to sweeten them!!!
I love Dole's fruit in the gel, but I've never tried the sugar free version. Maybe I need to upgrade (or is it downgrade) my snacks! Plus "inflated" raisins? Sounds so sci fi – but I haven't seen these before. I wonder wher I can nab them in my area.
The luna chocolate mint cookies sound like they are definitely worth a try. Thanks.
Rebecca: I totally scarfed everything down myself, so he didn't even get a chance to try them. I know he would have liked them though because they really are tasty. Maybe try to sneak one to your bf without the packaging? Once he tries it, he won't care what it says!
I haven't tried the dole cups,but they sound good.I do love jello.Most healthier snacks are beyond my means right now ( I'm not working ),so if I could find one that I can afford it'd be great.Coupons would be good since I don't have a printer for my computer.
I love cookies so will definitely check out the Luna Cookies. I am in Clinic (I am a nurse) in the afternoons and about 3pm, I could use a healthy pick me up. All of these sould great.
My teenage daughters are always looking for an afternoon snack when they get home from school. We keep fruit in the house, but they always head for the refrigerator rather than the fruit bowl! The Jello cups sound perfect.
Sounds like I have some new items to try. I am always looking for new ways to keep my food interesting so I can stick with the healthy eating lifestyle. Thank you for helping me find them. Updating my grocery list now.
I love those fruit gels! They're the perfect snack for those mid afternoon munchies! I've never had them in the evening for dessert, but they would make a much better alternative to ice cream.
I am excited to learn of these healthier snack choices. I look forward to adding them to my favorites list so my sweet tooth doesn't bite me in the bottom!
I have never tried those fruit gels, but I would be willing to give them a try. I love fruit of all kinds and have no problem adding somithing else to my snack.
These are great for the afternoon pick me up. I take them in my lunch almost everyday !
I am constantly on the go and have a bad habit of picking up something "quick" but might not be so good for me. These gel cups would be a perfect snack.
I keep a stash of healthier little snacks in my car. Barbara's Snackimals are So filling. I also keep other little snacks and 100 calorie pouches of some treats where I wouldn't dare open a whole package alone. Keeping snacks close and always available saves both $ and butt-space!
I love those fruit gels, and I put them in my sons lunch too. They are a sweet treat that don't blow my daily calories.
These all sound like great snacks. Can't wait to try them.
The crunchy raisins sound fantastic! I think adding them to a salad is a great idea and I can't wait to try it!
This sounds like a perfect snack! I've been working on myself and am down 17 lbs (yeah!) but have a ways to go so these snacks would be awesome! Would love to win them!
I've had these gel snacks, and I like them! I would love to get coupons for them, because the reason I usually don't buy things like this is the price.
I didn't realize Dole had sugar-free fruit gel cups. I've bought the other ones for my daughter for school lunches(and snacked on them when she wasn't looking) I'll have to try these…and hope the maltitol doesn't upset my stomach.
I would love to try the Dole fruit gels! I think they would be a good snack after my morning of swimming laps. It would hold me over until lunch time. Thank you so much!
love Luna bars, and would like to try the cookies. Always looking for good snacks to keep around my desk and in the car, always on the go. I love jello and make it weekly.
Crunchy raisins totally intrigue me. I have just found your site. Thanks for the review. __Karen
Those crunchy raisins sound wild — I'll have to try the Luna cookies, since I'm a cookie lover. I also would like to try the fruit gel things, as I really enjoy both fruit and jello. Thanks for the opportunity.