Secret Weapons

Ever have one of those days where you just want to eat? And you want to eat something besides a raw vegetable?

Yeah. Me too. 

That's when I look for foods that 1) take a long time to actually eat, 2) don't match with much of anything so it's hard to eat something AFTER eating them and 3) give me volume or chewing or fullness so that I feel like I have actually consumed a great deal more than I have. 

Things like:

• Bread and Butter Pickles: Delicious, sweet, sour, crunchy ... and nothing really "goes with" them. So once you eat them, you're done. And if you eat a lot of them, you feel sort of sick to your stomach, so you don't eat more. 
• Tootsie Roll Mini Midgees: (The teeny ones you get in a mix bag of Halloween candy ... skinnier than the normal size ones.) You have to unwrap them. And they take a long time to chew. And eating three or four of the little ones makes you feel like you're eating a lot, but you're eating fewer calories than if you'd eaten the regular size ones. 130 calories for 12 pieces.
• Sugar-Free Mint Gum: I like Mentos. Mint gum makes my mouth feel clean and prevents me from stuffing something else in it. And I get to CHEW.
• Ginger Chews/Swedish Fish/JuJuBees: See CHEW above. Again, it just takes a while to consume these and then pick the remnants out of your teeth. Sure, they are totally empty calories. But if you buy them in the single serving packs, you can control portion a bit better. 
• Light Chocolate Soy Milk: At 80 or 90 calories per glass, this feels totally decadent. Smooth, rich, creamy ... chocolaty! Sometimes I save this and consume it like dessert. And at least you're getting some nutrition for your money. Plus, it makes me feel full for a while. The wonders of protein. 
• Mini Multi-Grain Rice Cakes: Made by Quaker, they come in Wild Blueberry and Blackberry Pomegranate flavors. Sweet enough to feel like a treat, but it arrives with some value. (Not much, let's be clear. This is processed crap with preservatives.) It delivers good crunch and if you screw up and eat the whole bag, it's better than a whole bag of potato chips. 

Tonight I have already eaten pickles and am now chewing gum. Trying desperately to not pay attention to the chocolate soy milk song playing in my head right now ...