You ever have that "calling" — not that calling. 

You’re at work.  It’s 2 PM.  Your eyes are starting to roll to the back of your head and your stomach is starting to "yell" at you. 

It’s the vending machine "calling."  Obviously you have to cave, right?  WRONG! 

Finding a great option in the vending machine is like finding a needle in a haystack.  Instead, try any of these snacks to satisfy your salty, sweet, or crunchy  cravings!

Sure, some, but not all of them would work at the office, but that same snack calling can come at home too.

Got a craving for salty foods? 

Try any of these:

• 1/2 cup edamame (soybeans) sprinkled with sea salt
• Cucumber slices with a pinch of sea salt and crushed black pepper
• Toasted chick peas (drain and rinse canned chick peas, toss with 1 tsp olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and chili powder.  Toast in a pan over medium heat, tossing occasionally, until crispy)

Craving sweet foods?

Try these:

• Sliced melon with a squeeze of lime juice
• Grilled pineapple with a drizzle of melted chocolate
• Grilled plum with a scoop of gelato (a personal favorite)

Craving crunchy foods?

Try these:

• Baby carrots with hummus
• Wasa Crispbread (LOVE this) with a slice of tomato and avocado (smoked salmon is a nice addition too)
• Apple slices with pieces of sharp cheddar cheese

There you have it — 9 different snacks to attack your salty, sweet, or crunchy cravings head on!

Please click the ‘like’ button below to share this with your friends on Facebook!

When I was younger, if my mom bought us snacks, the "go to" choices were pretzels.  Her rational was that they’re better than chips, Doritos, etc … they’re not coating in flavoring, made with preservatives, and they’re FAT FREE!.

She was right.

To a point.

Are fat free pretzels BETTER than chips?  Sure are.  Are they better than other similar, high calorie snack foods that are more common?  You bet.

But are they the best snack option out there?  Not a chance.

Growing up having pretzels as an occasional snack carried over to arguably having a pretzel addiction at Penn State.

My parents would get those gigantic barrels of "beer pretzels" that my roommates and I would literally put in front of us and eat and eat and eat.  We could easily eat through one of those in a night …

Nothing but fiber free, refined carbohydrates — "healthier" than chips?  You bet.  Not when you eat all 10 or so lbs of pretzels in one sitting, though!

My new favorite snack?

Raw nuts.  And right now I’m on an almond kick — but I mix in other varieties too.

I have at least 2 servings per day — we eat them as snacks with a piece of fruit, I blend them in smoothies, mix them in oats, add them to salads, or sometimes roast them with a pinch of Kosher salt and cayenne pepper, for a little more unique flavor. 

But they’re not fat free, like the beloved pretzel — in fact, they’re pretty high in fat.

And that’s a great thing.

They’re also loaded with protein, fiber, and other powerful nutrients. 

All reasons why data continues to mound showing how a serving or two each day of nuts helps with weight loss and weight maintenance, lower blood fat (like cholesterol, triglycerides, etc), and improves gut health.  Seriously…from a food thought was once thought to be "off limits" because it was so high in fat. 

Of course they are still a very concentrated source of calories — 23 is in one serving — so simply portion some out, then put the rest away.

So what are the 3 Under Rated Fat Loss Tips of the Day?

• Replace less healthy snacks with raw nuts daily to boost fat loss
• Fat IS great for you — when you choose the right type — since it not only boosts health, but some fats may boost fat loss
• It’s not just about the calories — nuts, while higher in calories, offer a ton more nutrition than my former beloved pretzels.

This ingredient is like a diet related death sentence…

Sound scary?

It can be.  In fact, it is the single biggest dietary risk factor that causes over 100,000 deaths each year!

A study published in April 2009 looked at preventable causes of death in the US…

…and high salt intake accounted for more preventable deaths than any other dietary factor (approximately 102,000).  Coming in a close second and third were low omega-3 fat intake and high trans fat intakes, respectively.

Worse than the normally demonized trans fat (not that that’s a good option either)!

In fact, a report from the American Heart Association suggested for every 1200 mg daily decrease in sodium, there would be 6 % fewer cases of new heart disease, 8 % fewer heart attacks, and 3 % fewer deaths!

That’s insane.

Currently Americans double the sodium intake recommendation each day …

So let’s take a look at "Mohr Results Most Wanted Foods" — foods that blow the daily sodium recommendations off the charts.

You know what they all are?  Restaurant foods — the more you eat at home, the better off you will be, because chefs are often taught sodium = flavor.

The 1st offender:

• Red Lobster Admirals’ Feast with Caesar Salad, Creamy Lobster Topped Mashed Potato, Cheddar Bay Biscuit, and a Lemonade: 7,106 mg (sodium, more than

The 2nd offender on our "most wanted" tour of horrible options:

• Olive Garden Chicken Parmigiana with a Breadstick, Garden Fresh Salad with House Dressing, and Raspberry Lemonade: 5,735 mg sodium (more than double the daily recommendation)

The 3rd offender on our "most wanted" food poisins:

•  Pizza Hut Meat Lovers Pizza (2 slices) — 1660 mg of sodium (JUST two slices)

The easiest ways to reduce sodium is to eat out less often, eat less processed and less canned  foods.  Packaged foods, canned foods, fast food…are all loaded with sodium.

Canned soups, for example, can have more than half a days salt in just 1 serving.

So fresh foods win again.  Surprise, surprise.

Here’s another trick – replace the salt in your salt shaker at home with kosher salt (or take it off the table completely).  Because kosher salt is bigger, it won’t come out as quickly from your salt shaker, so you’ll use less.

I mean, you don’t have to do any of this…only if you want to live longer. 

It’s really just the simple changes that make the biggest difference.

I log on to my computer the other day …

…and I saw what I thought was a joke.

Here is the headline that popped up:

"Should McDonald’s Offer Free Statins?"

I wish I could make this stuff up.  Intrigued, I read on… Is the clown in the yellow and red really going to serve up some Lipitor as a side for his famous Quarter Pounders?

This headline wasn’t some food writer being funny, it was a legitimate study published in the well respected American Journal of Cardiology — the authors/scientists came to the conclusion that "…Fast food outlets already offer free condiments to supplement meals.  A free statin-containing accompaniment would offer cardiovascular benefits, opposite to the effects of equally available salt, sugar, and high-fat condiments."

That is in quotes because it was one of the final sentences in the paper.

They didn’t feed one group super high fat McDonald’s foods to cause them to gain belly fat … and another the same foods coupled with a statin drug to see who dropped faster from a heart attack.

They instead looked at a handful of other studies that tallied total and trans fat intake and correlated it to heart disease.  They then measured how much of a risk reduction using a daily statin would cause. 

And when comparing these values, concluded that the risk reduction associated with using a daily statin was more powerful than the risk increase caused by the daily extra unhealthy fat intake of eating nearly a half pound burger with a small milkshake. 

Therefore, they say, the statin therapy can essentially "neutralize" the harmful effects of the poor dietary choices on a daily basis.  They suggest by making statins accessible — anywhere "unhealthy food" is served — might be a smart move to offset any risk. 

They do at least say it can’t replace a healthy diet and exercise, but in our opinion, even drawing a conclusion that statins should be available next to the ketchup and mayo, is clearly not the conclusion I would have taken from that study.

Rather than look at ways to make it "OK" to eat fast food daily — instead suggest strategies to choose different options.

Mohr Results Bottom Line: Personal responsibility has to come into play at some point — washing down a statin with a Super sized milkshake or soda is clearly not responsible in any way, shape, or form.

I feel like I’m watching a VH1 special on some childhood star … "And then, after their sitcom came to an abrupt stop in 1988, it all went downhill from there.  From late night partying to alcohol binges.  When good girls go bad!"

In this case, though, we’re talking about foods … not celebrities.

Salads.

Sushi.

Popcorn.

These foods are often thought of as "diet friendly."

But when you hear some restaurant salads have more calories than 3 Big Macs plus a Large fries and soda, you may think again.

Or what some consider to be super healthy sushi can pack a serious calorie bomb — with a whopping 500+ calories per roll!

Of course each of those foods — salads, sushi, and popcorn — can all be great choices.  Let’s take a look at just how to make them the smart choices they should be.

Cleaning Up Salads

• Swapping out the cheese, bacon, croutons, and creamy dressings for healthier fats like avocado or nuts, filling up on more veggies and less "other" toppings, and shifting from creamy dressings to an olive oil based balsamic vinagrette can not only save calories, but will seriously up the quality of the salad itself.

Sushi Swaps

• Any of the fried sushi options (look for the words tempura) will immediately take a potentially decent food and make it no different than a pile of bacon in terms of fat and calories.  Similarly, the sauces like mayo (spicy tuna, for example, means spicy mayo) will make it difficult to stick to your weight loss goals. 
• Instead, opt for things like Rainbow rolls, which are just fish with rice (some places even use brown rice as a filler.  Sashimi is a good option too.

Popcorn

• Movie popcorn with added butter has nearly 1 day full of sodium, more calories than 3 Quarter Pounders, and more fat than most should eat in 1 entire day.  In other words, skip it.  And ordering without butter isn’t much better.
• Instead, pop your own — buy corn kernels, add 1tsp of canola oil to a pan, heat and add some kernels. Add some spray butter on there if you’d like and mix up the flavorings — maybe a sprinkle of parmesan and cayenne for a kick.  Or try some garlic powder. 

Remember that flavor doesn’t have to mean fat and calories.

And "diet foods" doesn’t always mean great choices.

Don’t fall for marketing or packaging … and when it sounds too good to be true, it is!