Here are some "on the go" snacks for you to help keep your metabolism up. Choose organic ingredients whenever possible and adjust the following portion sizes based on your individualized caloric needs. ENJOY!

1. Make a shake: Use ¼ cup nonfat dry milk powder, fruit of your choice, ¼ cup plain yogurt and 2 cups organic 1% milk or soy milk.  Drink 1 cup as a snack.

2. Make your own trail-mix: Combine organic dried fruit with nuts or seeds.  Try roasted peanuts and raw almonds/other nuts/seeds; check ingredients for no oils added and raisins or dried blueberries/cranberries; check ingredients for no sugar or additives. Spread 2 Tablespoons of organic peanut butter or soy nut butter on half a sprouted grain bagel/whole-wheat pita/whole-wheat crackers.

3. Mix fruit and yogurt: Blend 1/2 cup of organic plain or vanilla low-fat yogurt with strawberry or vanilla soy milk with 1/2 frozen banana and a handful of frozen organic strawberries.

4. Make mini-pizzas: Spread pizza sauce or marinara sauce over a whole wheat English muffin and place a couple organic tomato slices and 1 ounce of Jarlsberg Lite Swiss Cheese or any part-skim milk cheese of choice on top, melt in a toaster oven.

5. Make waffles: Layer a whole-grain blueberry toaster waffle with 1/2 cup plain low-fat organic yogurt and 1/2 cup fresh organic berries/defrosted frozen berries.

6. Mix fruit and cottage cheese: Scoop 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese into an organic cantaloupe or honeydew melon half.

7. Make a sweet bagel: Top a half of a cinnamon-raisin sprouted grain bagel with 1/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese and cinnamon sprinkled on top.

8. Make a mini-breakfast burrito: Roll a whole-wheat tortilla up with scrambled egg whites and salsa.

9. Add fruit to a pita: Stuff half a whole-wheat pita with 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese and sliced canned (in it's own juice or water) peaches, pears, or a fresh banana.

10. Add meat to pita: Stuff a pita pocket with sliced turkey breast or sliced part-skim milk cheese, tomato, and a squirt of mustard.

12. Add a spread to crackers: Use spreads such as one ounce of chicken or tuna salad onto 10 whole-wheat crackers.

13. Add cheese to apple sauce: Combine 1/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese with 1/2 cup apple sauce and a dash of cinnamon. Sprinkle with Grape-Nuts or low-fat granola.

14. Add cereal to fruit and yogurt: Mix 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese with 1/4 cup organic strawberry yogurt and sprinkle with Muesli cereal.

15. Make a frozen banana: Peel bananas; dip into cocoa and a dash of honey or pure maple syrup; roll in ground nuts (ground peanuts and walnuts-complete protein or soy nuts), freeze individually in plastic wrap.

NOTE: Incorporate these snacks as part of your meal plan. If you still feel hungry beyond your individualized snack or meal times, nosh on vegetables "free foods" e.g. bell peppers, celery, carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes.  Also, drink lots of water and unsweetened tea with a drizzle of raw agave nectar between snacks or meals.




 Deborah is the Health Director for Organic Liaison, has been a Registered Dietitian for over 16 years, counseling clients on nutrition and fitness, and is the author of 200 Superfoods That Will Save Your Life published by McGraw-Hill, Inc. Her mission is to educate Organic Liaison members to achieve optimal wellness through balanced eating and exercise. For more on Deborah - click here.

Order Deborah's book, 200 Superfoods That Will Save Your Life.
Learn more about Organic Liason at www.OrganicLiason.com

To contact Deborah, reach her directly at Phitter, a free health, diet, and weight-loss micro-blogging community, focused on getting 'phit.' Register for free, then send a phit to "olhealthdirector"