In case you are new here, my name is Stacey and I am a very picky eater. So much so I even wrote a blog explaining that here. For the quick notes, I don’t eat any vegetables and barely any meat. Also no fruit. How am I living? Barely. That’s how. I’ve been this way my entire life. And if you also are curious, I struggle with weight loss. While I’m sure what I eat is part of the reason. A big thing for me is that I over eat and don’t know portions. And by that I mean I do know portions but I tend to just eat untill I feel over full instead of say pausing or drinking water while I eat to better help digestion. And when I say I don’t know, I do, I just don’t follow them. Same as at night. I probably shouldn’t be stuffing my face at 8pm with chocolate and chips and ice cream but here we are. These are some picky eater snacks that I really do try to reach towards instead of the sweet treats though. Even if I have a lot of slip ups as I try to prevent emotional eating.
Nuts and seeds are somethings I do enjoy. Though, like anything else, I am also picky about those too! Nuts I am not entirely picky about though. I do love walnuts, almonds, sometimes hazelnuts, pecans are great too. As for seeds sunflower ones are delicious. However I hate peeling them from the shell so only un-shelled sunflower seeds in this house. At least for me. The tough part with nuts and seeds, though, is you should always measure it out. I say this because a handful can be totally different calorie wise as apposed to the suggested serving. For me , I love sunflower seeds in my pasta. It makes it a bit more calories and a bit bulkier for my stomach. I do however measure it out, whether it be a few table spoons or maybe a third of a cup. Measuring is important because you don’t want to have all your daily calories in that one portion. When I eat nuts also their calories are higher, I do give myself a little grace due to the nature of the calories that they are. I’d rather the calories from nuts or seeds then a bowl of Lay’s Regular Chips.
Popcorn is a solid snack for a picky eater. I personally prefer the salty and sweet also known as kettle corn bags of popcorn. You can get super healthy and either pop it in a pan/pot or you can use an air popper, for me though typically I just grab a bag and throw it in the microwave. Mind you also, a lot of the times I will add butter and some sort of seasoning as well so really how healthy is it after all that. Though for the quantity I would like to think it’s better then a bowl of chips that is like 27 chips vs 4-6 cups of popcorn. I do sometimes try to skip the butter and just use seasoning, being mindful of the sodium content, or I sometimes slip the seasoning and do a bit of butter. So much so I’ll get my husband to even put the butter on due to the fact he always takes far less then I would for myself. For some reason I am always far more generous with myself and adding those things to my popcorn!
Crackers are a staple that I too like to have in the house, whether it’s simply soda crackers for munching with butter and cheese or even in soups. Or some of the different crackers that are good for the kids too. Though when I eat them in the day I tend to over serve myself a portion as the “kid tax” because you can bet they are going to be sitting right beside me in hopes that they too get some to snack on also too. So my once 1 serving is a half of a serving because they helped to eat it. Crackers are also a great alternative to chips because they are more than likely baked, and you can choose from just regular crackers to one’s with seeds or special grains too. There is also tons of flavors and different ingredients so you really are able to do so many variations and so you dont feel like you will get sick of the same kind. Plus boxes aren’t overly large either so you won’t have them go stale before you finish.
Junk food is something I will never say no to. I also have a feeling not a lot of people will. So whether or not I am a picky eater I will always love junk food. Especially for snacks. Whether it be a lot of junk food, a little bit, something gummy or chips or chocolate. My problem is that I am also addicted to sugar regardless of the form. I do talk more about that here too. I need to be more mindful though. Some things that I do for this is actually measuring out the junk food that I want to eat. Instead of taking the bag of gummy bears I’ll count out the number for a serving. Or instead of taking the bag of chips or dumping them into a large bowl, I’ll count out the serving size. Mind you it’s not as accurate as weight but I literally don’t have room or time to add another step to any routine of my life.
At the end of the day though, a picky eater most certainly snacks. It just may not be your typical snacks of veggies or fruit with dip. Or yogurt (which I also don’t enjoy either!) But other things that are good too! And some solid staples that I do enjoy that are a bit better too are things like granola bars, Rice Krispies squares, cereal bars, they are always handy to have. The issue for me is making sure I grab one instead of many. But as an alternative to a chocolate bar they are a great snack too!
Stacey J. Girard 