5 Healthy Snacks to Get You Bikini Ready
Stop -- put away the crackers and cheese spread! Part of prepping your tiny heiny for the swimsuit season is cutting back on fatty, over-processed snacks with empty calories, and filling up on wholesome, healthy snacks. Start getting yourself bikini-ready with these 5 splendid, simple, and skinny snacks for summer!
1. Watermelon Nachos Crunch on a plate full of watermelon "nachos" and revel in the health benefits (and low calorie goodness). Giving you a delicious dose of vitamin A (30% per 2 cups of watermelon) and vitamin C (25% per 2 cups), watermelon "chips" offer way fewer calories (80 calories per 2 cups) than salty tortilla chips (292 calories
per 20 chips).
Ingredients:
12-16 1/2-inch thick watermelon triangles with 3-inch sides
2 cups (500 mL) Greek vanilla yogurt
1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla extract
Few drops almond extract
1 cup (250 mL) dried cranberries
1 cup (250 mL) white chocolate chips
1/2 cup (125 mL) sliced toasted almonds
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground cinnamon
Directions:
Arrange the watermelon triangles on a serving platter, set aside. In a small bowl, mix yogurt with extracts and drizzle mixture over the watermelon to give the appearance of nacho cheese sauce. Sprinkle dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, and almonds over the yogurt and dust with cinnamon. Makes 6-8 servings.
2. Apple Sandwiches Make an "apple sandwich" for your next snack to give your body a hefty helping of fiber (there are 4 grams per medium apple) and vitamin C (one medium apple provides 14% of the daily value). Research shows that the antioxidants and pectin in apples are beneficial in promoting weight loss -- what better reason to skip the PB&J sandwich and opt for this apple one instead?!
Make apple sandwiches
Related: The 50 best recipes under 100 calories
3. Grilled Peaches The perfect Saturday snack or dessert isn't a bowl of ice cream, it's a batch of these beautiful grilled peaches stuffed with almonds. Peaches are full of potassium (one medium peach has 285 mg), vitamin A (one medium peach has 489 IU), and vitamin C (one medium peach has 9.9 mg). Plus, a diet study by the International Journal of Obesity shows that almonds are proven fat burners.
Make grilled peaches
4. Strawberry Mango Kiwi Salsa
Who says you can't have your snack and enjoy it, too? This sweet salsa featuring strawberries (full of vitamin C and potassium), mangoes (full of vitamin A), and kiwis (full of potassium) is a healthy snack that doesn't skimp on flavor! Enjoy with multigrain chips for a sweet and salty nosh - just make sure you read the "serving size" amount for the chips so you don't overdo it on the calories!
Make strawberry mango kiwi salsa
Related: 17 recipe tweaks to make meals healthier
5. Blackberry Popsicles Sometimes you need a snack that will last and last … and last. These beautiful blackberry popsicles give you long minutes of noshing! Bonus: Studies show blackberries are ripe with phytoestrogens that help women relieve common symptoms of PMS, like bloating and food cravings!
Make blackberry popsicles
- By Brooke McLay
Follow Brooke on Babble
For more ways to eat yourself into bikini shape, visit Babble!
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