These are Better than Rice Cakes

I lamented a couple weeks ago about the trials of replacing my usual snack foods, cookies and chocolate, with  rice cakes and rice cookies and rice chips – Oh, my!

But I have found a few things that actually taste good and aren’t that bad for you.

1. Special K Bars – I loathe the cereal, but their new cereal bars are tasty. I particularly like the Chocolatey Pretzel and the Bliss Mocha bars. These things are small, but they have enough chocolate in them to stop that afternoon candy bar craving. And at only 90 calories each, even if you do accidentally (Ahem) eat two, you’re still 30 calories, 11 fat grams and 9 carbs below a Hershey bar.

2. Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese Nips – You can get your cheezey, salty, crunchy fix with these. A serving only has 130 calories and 3.5 grams of fat. A suggestion – take the time to actually count out 31 crackers, and put them in a bowl or you’ll eat the whole box. Not that I’ve ever done that. (Smiling sheepishly.)

3. Consorzio Fat-free Dressing – I love this dressing. I have the Mango flavor, but there’s also Balsamic, Raspberry and Strawberry vinaigrette. It’s from Michael Chiarello who I guess is some kind of famous chef from Nappa Valley. Apparently I don’t watch the Food Network enough. Besides being fat-free, there’s only 10 calories in a tablespoon of this stuff. I mean, you’ve made yourself a healthy salad before only to smother it in 400 calories of blue cheese dressing, right? It can also be used as a marinade. If you want a slightly thicker, albeit it higher calorie dressing, the bottle suggests mixing it with some olive oil. Me? I just take mine straight.

4. Pico De Gallo – OK, so this isn’t like some kind of brand new find. But it’s good. If you’ve never had it, it’s like salsa, only fresh, not canned. It’s probably in your deli section somewhere. If you’re really ambitious — I am not — you can make it yourself. It would be delicious made with some fresh garden tomatoes this time of year. (Send me some if you are that ambitious.) The bright flavors — cilantro, onion, jalapeno, tomato — really satisfy. Pared with light tortilla chips, it’s a really healthy snack. Or you could just eat it by the spoonful, like a Pico De Gallo salad. It’s that good.