Cheap, Healthy Snack ideas (not fruit)?

katkin

What about little jars of salad?

I have to watch my weight due to medicines too and love these, they make lovely treats / snacks. You can layer the veggie mix with a little homemade coleslaw made with low fat yoghurt or some chopped egg, mixed beans, chopped cold meats or tuna etc for protein.

pigpen

katkin.. they look very pretty! I wouldn't eat them anyway but definitely couldn't eat these

katkin

^
I find half the battle with healthy snacks and food is in the presentation of it. If it looks lovely and "special" its so much more appealing and tasty!

It may mean more washing up and prep-work but it's worth it

WantToBeSE

Those look lovely Katkin, my son would love these!

juliettet

Can you puree the soup? Pack full of lentils or split peas? Slice very thin root veg and bake with olive oil for crisps? Just thinking here. The popcorn is a great idea. Low fat soft cheese on raw veg would give a fat feel in the mouth that would fill him. Very difficult for you.

Kanichen

Protein and fats will keep him fuller for longer.

Jerky/Biltong/Boiled eggs as snacks? Jerky is good as its not quick to eat.
Rice cakes (avoid the sweet ones)
Grilled chicken
Avocado (yes its fat but its good fats)
Total fat free greek yogurt is fat free and sugar free and has a decent amount of protein. Some don't like it plain but mix it with 50g of berries (buy frozen - much cheaper) and suddenly you have gorgeous yogurt that you can even freeze and feels like a treat. Or if you are someone that uses protein powder add a scoop of that for different flavours - yummy.

Also to try and preempt the weight gain why not suggest HIIT workouts. If you search youtube there are loads. Basically you only need to do 20 minutes of high intensity exercise a day to burn fat, its 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off for 20 minutes. Anything that raises your heart rate counts, so star jumps, running on the spot, skipping etc etc. All easy stuff to do in the privacy of your own home

WantToBeSE

juliettet wrote: »

Can you puree the soup? Pack full of lentils or split peas? Slice very thin root veg and bake with olive oil for crisps? Just thinking here. The popcorn is a great idea. Low fat soft cheese on raw veg would give a fat feel in the mouth that would fill him. Very difficult for you.

Unfortunately, soup is definitely a no no. He just hates the texture of soup or liquidy foods in general.

Kanichen wrote: »

Protein and fats will keep him fuller for longer.

Jerky/Biltong/Boiled eggs as snacks? Jerky is good as its not quick to eat.
Rice cakes (avoid the sweet ones)
Grilled chicken
Avocado (yes its fat but its good fats)
Total fat free greek yogurt is fat free and sugar free and has a decent amount of protein. Some don't like it plain but mix it with 50g of berries (buy frozen - much cheaper) and suddenly you have gorgeous yogurt that you can even freeze and feels like a treat. Or if you are someone that uses protein powder add a scoop of that for different flavours - yummy.

Also to try and preempt the weight gain why not suggest HIIT workouts. If you search youtube there are loads. Basically you only need to do 20 minutes of high intensity exercise a day to burn fat, its 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off for 20 minutes. Anything that raises your heart rate counts, so star jumps, running on the spot, skipping etc etc. All easy stuff to do in the privacy of your own home

Thanks The yogurt is a good idea,I'll try that out.
I will suggest exercise videos, but have a feeling he wont agree to it.
He likes to walk with me, but i work every morning, on my feet all morning. So the last thing i feel like doing as soon as i get home at lunch time is going out for a walk. My feet are normally hurting when i get home.

Nicki

Dried fruit is packed full of calories and easy to overeat and popcorn won't do much to kill hunger and is Moreish.

I know this isn't the solution you necessarily want but I would give him much more protein with his meals, reduce his carbs and try to discourage any snacking between meals. After a few weeks on the medication he should acclimatise to the appetite changes and in the meantime more protein should stop him being hungry.

I started on pregabalin 3 months ago and was warned my weight was likely to blimp (people have been known to put on 30lbs in 3 months!). I was really hard on myself for the first few weeks not to snack between meals and really upped my protein - protein with every meal and starchy carbs with only one meal in a day, usually lunch. Even though I can't exercise due to mobility problems I have ended up dropping 8lbs over those 3 months and no longer feel hungry or have the urge to snack between meals. I know it is hard with kids and with ASD kids particularly but this could be a strategy to try as if he gains its of weight that will just add to problems later (particularly if his medication is to control challenging behaviours which will be even harder to control if he is bigger and stronger if the drugs don't work as well as you hope).