100 Calorie Substitutions

The 100 calorie substitutions idea is pure genius! Research shows that most of us do not excel at estimating portions. Even experts are off by up to 40%. Plus, we have supersized food portions, and have no clue of what an actual serving is. College students asked to bring in medium sizes of foods, bring ones that are 3 to 5 servings.

Who knew that many bagels are 4 or 5 grain servings? We’re portion challenged! The biggest complaint of these snacks is they are made with poor ingredients. Luckily, they provide few calories, and if paired with your meal, pure genius if you need a treat!

Everyone has jumped on the 100-calorie bandwagon! I will provide a separate list of healthy snacks, and show some of the more-healthy 100 calorie snacks on that list. This is my list of go to junk food ideas for substitutions to some of my favorite foods! There are so many varieties available, but these are the ones I keep on hand to eat when my sweet tooth flares.

Keep variety of these snacks low, because the greater variety you buy, the more you will eat. If you buy six different varieties of 100 calorie snacks, you will eat several bags per day, and maybe gain weight. Try buying just one type per week. There are usually six bags per box, a treat for almost each day!

I often hear, "100 calorie snacks are worthless, because I eat several bags!" I disagree. They are proportioned into correct serving amounts. They allow you to recognize that you eat giant portions of snack foods, and that could be leading to your weight problem.

If you must eat an entire box of 100 calorie snack packs, you might evaluate if they are a trigger food, and it might be better to admit that this type of food does not work for you! Do not practice food baby talk!

My Favorite 100 Calorie Substitutions are:

Salty:

1. 100 Calorie Jolly Time Healthy Pop Mini Bags of Popcorn - you get 3 cups of food plus fiber. This one will fill you up. Best choice of all!
2. 100 Calorie Sunchips - Great for lunches!

Sweets:

1. 100 Calorie Lorna Doone Shortbread, Cookie Crisps
2. 100 Calorie Keebler Calorie Right Bites, Fudge Shoppe Grasshopper
3. Quaker Mini Delights, Chocolatey Drizzle - 90 calories
4. 100 Calorie Chex Snack Pouches - Chocolate/Caramel (Great movie Snack)
5. 100 Calorie Fudgesicle or Healthy Choice Premium Fudge Bars
6. 100 Calorie Sandies Right Bites Shortbread Cookies

These snacks have just 100 calories, and are proportioned. There are entire sections of the market devoted to them. They contain little fiber, will not fill you up, or leave you satisfied. In my book, they are really not a great healthy diet habit, but are great for a food that you love and can’t live without.

There are many healthier snack substitutions that are just as tasty as these 100 Calorie Substitutions, that will cure your hunger. Try 1/2 a cup of fat free cottage cheese, paired with fresh strawberries, and sprinkled with stevia or monk fruit, for around 100 calories. It will cure your hunger!

A bag of 100 calorie cookies will leave you looking for another bag! Check out the Snack Substitution List!