Low Fat, High Flavor Snacks - sides

Low Fat, High Flavor

Certified nutritionist and author of Slim and Scrumptious Joy Bauer, shares delicious tips and recipes for creating fattening foods without sacrificing flavor.

Skinny Foods
If you're looking for creative ways to enhance your weight-loss efforts, try these diet-friendly foods that offer phenomenal calorie bargains.

Air-Popped Popcorn: One cup of air-popped popcorn without any added butter or oil has only 30 calories!

Water Chestnuts: Sliced water chestnuts have a super satisfying crunchy texture a lot of dieters crave after giving up potato chips and other snack foods. You can munch your way through a whole can for just 50 calories.

Salsa: With less than 20 calories per 1/4 cup, salsa is a dieter's best friend. Bottled or fresh, salsa makes a terrific, low-cal dip for crunchy veggies, like baby carrots and celery sticks. It's also the perfect diet-friendly condiment for sandwiches, burgers and baked potatoes -- use it as a flavorful replacement for mayo, sour cream, butter and other fattening toppers.

Grape Tomatoes: One cup of grape tomatoes clocks in at only 30 calories. These bite-sized nibbles are sweet, colorful and ideal for snacking since you can pop them in your mouth one at a time.

Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt: A 6-ounce container of plain nonfat Greek yogurt has around 100 calories and 15 to 18 filling grams of protein, which ismore than double the protein content of traditional nonfat yogurt. Jazz up plain yogurt with chopped fruit, vanilla extract or a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

Atomic Fireballs: Yes, it may be ironic to see a nutritionist touting a nutrient-less sugar bomb, but these fiery treats are the best calorie value in candy! One extra-large fireball has just 40 calories and will last for a long time because it's rock-hard, so you can't just chomp through it like you can with other hard candies. Plus, their intense heat curbs your urge to snack on other foods.

Naturally-Flavored Seltzer: Naturally-flavored seltzer is simply carbonated water with a shot of fruit flavor. It doesn't contain sugar, artificial sweeteners, food dyes or anything else! It's completely calorie-free, fizzes like soda and comes in flavors like lime, orange, pomegranate, vanilla and white chocolate.

Egg Whites: Egg whites are pure, high-quality protein and just 17 calories each, which makes them the ideal ingredient for a low-cal breakfast with high-fill power.

Vegetable Soup: Studies have shown that by starting a meal with a fiber-rich bowl of broth-based vegetable soup, you can reduce your total meal calorie intake by 20 percent. The soup takes the edge off your hunger and fills you up quickly, so you end up eating less of your main entrée.