Healthy Snacking with Pretzels!

A new year is here and that means a lot of people have made that same old resolution again...to lose weight, to eat healthier, to make better food choices etc.  Is that you?  Can you do it this time?  Can you stick to that decision?

Making better food choices, eating healthier and losing weight all involve making healthy snack choices.  Even if you eat healthy meals and exercise, all is lost if you make unwise snack choices.  So what can you do to ensure your goals are met and kept?

Whatever snack you choose, remember to watch portion sizes.  Don't sit down with a whole bag, box or container of your chosen snack.  Remove a portion, place in a bowl, plate etc and then eat it.

Speaking of portion sizes, make sure you read the labels and find out exactly what a portion size is suppose to be.  Also, compare labels while you are still in the store to pick the best option out there.  Check fat content, calories and nutrition content to get the most "bang" out of what you eat.

If you crave salty sort of snacks that you would find in the chip aisle, look for baked versions of your chosen snack.  There are baked potato chips, tortilla chips, and other baked favorites as well.  And remember, pretzels are always a baked option!  Also, when in the chip aisle, look for whole grain options of your favorite chips.

There will always been occasions when you splurge on snacks and go outside your normal diet guidelines.  Try to plan ahead and make sure you eat very carefully throughout the rest of the day to make up some calories.  You may even want to follow up the next day skimping on calories, again, to help make up for that big splurge.

So I mentioned pretzels earlier.  Pretzels make a great healthy snack option.  I love Snyder's of Hanover Pretzels. 

They have some great pretzel options for your various snacking moods. They even have gluten free choices and organic varieties.  My 2 year old loves the chocolate covered varieties!  Loves them.  And I have to admit, I also love chocolate covered pretzels.   All my children love the pretzel sandwiches.  Pretzels with peanut butter smeared inside...definitely a winner!  The flavored pieces are pretty AMAZING!!!  I like the honey mustard best.  My 13 year old loves the buffalo wing ones.  The other children love the cheddar cheese ones. When we visit the snack aisle we could really leave with a cart full of these!  I could eat and eat the butter snaps.  Not like your regular pretzels, these have a great buttery taste to them.  Trust me, its great. 

Like I said, I enjoy honey mustard pretzels.  Here is a recipe to make up your own in case you can't find Hanovers at your store. 

• 1/4 cup margarine or butter
• 1/4 cup honey mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• several dashes bottled hot pepper sauce
• 10 cups small pretzel or large sourdough style pretzels broken into pieces 
•  
• Melt margarine or butter in a small saucepan. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in honey mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and hot pepper sauce. Place pretzels in a foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan  .Pour mustard mixture over pretzels; toss gently to coat. Bake in a 300 degree F oven for 25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Spread on foil; cool

I  also like to make Peanut Butter Chex Mix with Pretzels in it.

10 cups cereal (Chex, Cheerios, etc)

2 cups pretzels

2 cups raisins

3 cups nuts (peanuts, almonds, etc)

⅔ cup natural peanut butter

½ cup unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 250^o.  Mix cereals, pretzels,  peanuts, raisins, and nuts in a large oven-safe bowl or roasting pan.  Melt peanut butter, butter, sugar, and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat (or in a microwave-safe dish).  Stir constantly and heat until bubbly around edges.  Pour over cereal mix and stir.  Bake for 15 minutes.  

Everybody snacks but snacking doesn't have to mean the end of your healthy habits!  Remember  Snyder's of Hanover for some great healthy pretzel options!  

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I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Snyder’s of Hanover blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.