Snacks

After the horrible story I shared yesterday, I am happy to report that my daughter (let's call her my Squirrel from here on out) is in remission and has been for almost 2 years.  She plays softball regularly - travel, rec, and school.  She's a freshman in high school, has excellent grades, and enjoys volunteering and helping out at our church.  She's also planning to become a (better that she had) dietitian.

First a few notes

1. Make sure you look at serving sizes!  We do have to remind the Squirrel regularly that just because these items are low sodium, they are not necessarily low calories!
2. Always check label!  We've had a few instances where something we regularly bought changed to a higher sodium level and we've also sometimes found new items with lower sodium.
3. When you are starting out, keep a journal.  That way you know you are staying at the sodium level your doctor wants you to be around.

Now, to our first topic - Snacks.  This is a tricky area.  Usually people think they are stuck munching carrots and apples the rest of their lives.  This isn't true!  We've found sweet and salty snacks and even made some of our own!  Enjoy this beginning of our list.  There are definitely more, but this will get you started.

First we'll start with salty!  Give Utz No Salt Added Potato chips a try.  The cost is not any higher than other chips and the sodium is only 5mg for a serving.

Next, we'll move to sweet!  Buy a box of Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats.  Original, Strawberry, and Blueberry are all 0mg per serving!  There are even some seasonal flavors that are 0mg - Pumpkin Spice, Touch of Fruit, for example.  But, do NOT get the chocolate -they are roughly 210mg per serving!  These aren't for everyone, but most of the world loves these yummy treats!

Another sweet snack is banana chips.  If they are the good kind (bananas only, no additives), they are 0mg of sodium.

Now, for a sweet treat that does contain sodium - Little Debbie Star Crunch.  There are at least 2 sizes for these tasty sweets and the smaller size has only 65mg of sodium.

Some other munchie style snacks are Skittles, M&Ms, and Smarties.  They each contain  under 30mg per serving, come in different flavors, and are so yummy!

There are many others, but these are the first that came to mind.  As we come up with others, I'll post them here. On to tomorrow!