Over the years I have varied up my snacking some - trying to switch from large snacks like rice cakes, pretzel rods, and cheese doodles, to more manageable dry cereals, nuts, and bite-sized cookies. I try to keep my snacking somewhat balanced throughout the day - my work snack drawer containing a mix of salty, sweet, and savory, as well as some go-to granola bars for the days that a simple snack just won't do. Fruit is a staple. The Dollar Tree is my friend for bargain friendly snacks to keep my snack drawer stocked up.
This week’s challenge was to find a couple of new and slightly healthier snacks to curb cravings between meals. I won’t commit to going strictly health-food guru, but I can make some improvements.
Ham and Cheese Roll Ups
Quantity: 3, cut into bite-sized
pieces
- ham
- cream cheese
- dill pickles
1. soften cream cheese on the counter for a bit. pat 3 ham slices dry with a paper towel. Do the same to 3 dill pickle spears.
2. spread a knife of cream cheese over the ham, add 1 dill pickle to each slice, and roll-up. Cut into bite-sized chunks (approx. 3-4 per roll) For less messy cutting, put rolls into the fridge for 1 hour, then cut.
This snack was an accidental Pinterest find that Facebook recommended. This was one of those "my phone is listening to me moments." I was talking to the boyfriend about ham and cheese wraps and looking up some other options. The next time I'm on Facebook, this recipe was staring me down. Although creepy, I'm grateful to not have had to hunt far.
My first impression of these is "oh my god, so yummy!" Seriously. I've been telling everyone they need to try these. This snack immediately solved the salty and savory cravings I get, especially the day after playing hockey. As I had previously gone on a pickle-making spree over the summer from my garden, this also creates a great opportunity to utilize my homemade goods.
I saw some suggestions online that people tend to add a sprinkling of @TraderJoe's Everything But The Bagel seasoning on the cream cheese before rolling. As I dislike everything bagels in general, I can picture my own twists: jalapeno and horseradish pickles instead of dill, or a small squirt of spicy mustard with turkey and ham instead of cream cheese to make a twist on a Cuban.
I have already discovered bread and butter pickles work but do not work well. For one, they tend to be juicier, and for another, they don't balance the flavor profile in quite the same way as dill pickles. The same goes for whipped cream cheese - I thought it would make my snack prep shorter as it's easier to spread on the ham. However, whipped cream cheese does not taste like regular cream cheese - it's less rich. It is definitely worth the wait for it to come to room temperature to spread. Lastly, honey ham also works but was a bit saltier than regular ham and also didn't fit my personal flavor profile in the way that I had intended.
I'm sure I'll continue to experiment over the next couple of months and discover other delicious combinations. I can see eventually switching to low sodium ham and a low-fat cream cheese perhaps if I wanted to gain a slightly healthier value to the snack bites. I'd rate this snack five stars and am sure it is going to become one of my new favorites.
Tuna Salad on Crackers
- tuna
- garlic powder
- mayonnaise
- diced celery (optional)
- Ritz crackers or wheat thins
1. Drain a can of tuna in water and mix mayonnaise and garlic powder in to taste. Less is more with the mayonnaise as the tuna will get runny/soggy if too much is added. Add diced celery if desired and mix.
2. Top Ritz crackers or wheat thins when ready to use.
I immediately liked the tuna on the crackers snack, although it did leave for a stinky breath the remainder of the day, especially with the use of masks being worn all day long during the pandemic. I felt that this satiated my hunger mid-morning and could be substituted as a quick, light lunch if desired. This recipe should create 2-3 days' worth of snacks - approx. 6-8 crackers a day. I don't recommend making these the day before as the crackers will get stale and mushy, however, the tuna mix can be made and stored in a container for quicker morning prep. Again, for healthier variations, I would use lite mayonnaise and whole grain Ritz crackers. I would rate this as a 4.5 out of 5 stars only for the stinky value.
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