Can you slim down by snacking?
Yes, you can with our brand-new healthy snacks diet created by dietician Juliette Kellow. Start today and lose up to 3kg in four weeks – without ever feeling hungry!
ALSO SEE: These fail-proof diet tips for a longer, healthier life
Most of us associate dieting with limiting how much and how often we eat. So, the idea of following a plan that lets us eat six times a day, with plenty of healthy snacks and proper meals may seem far-fetched.
But, say nutrition experts, it can be a winning formula to lose weight – especially if we struggle with energy dips or like to snack during the day. Eating every three hours or so means blood-sugar levels stay steady, preventing the drops that leave us seeking out sugary foods.
We’ve created the perfect plan that allows you to eat six meals a day! Just choose one meal from each of the six sections daily – each contains about 1 045kJ, totalling 6 270kJ a day.
This healthy snacks diet is for you, if:
- Previous diets have failed because they’ve left you hungry
- You like to eat regularly
- You love to snack
- You often feel low on energy
- You want to be sure you’re getting all the nutrients you need
- You don’t want to give up all of your favourite food
Example of a typical day
- 7am: Scrambled eggs with spinach and tomatoes
- 10am: Fruit salad and yoghurt
- 1pm: Tuna, asparagus and bean salad
- 4pm: Home-made guacamole with crudités
- 7pm: Baked potato with cheese and coleslaw
- Before bed: Chocolate, banana and peanut-butter milkshake
ALSO SEE: What to drink before bed to lose weight
Vegetable picks
Choose one a day
Veggies are low in fat and provide fibre and vitamins. All these dishes offer at least three of your five a day.
Couscous-stuffed red bell peppers
Cut 1 red bell pepper in half lengthways and fill with a mix of 4 Tbsp cooked couscous, 1 chopped tomato, 2 chopped spring onions, and lemon juice, garlic and parsley to taste. Top with 30g reduced-fat mozzarella; bake until tender.
Greek prawn salad
Make with ¼ cucumber, 2 tomatoes, ½ green bell pepper, ½ red onion, 50g reduced-fat feta, 75g cooked prawns, 5 olives, 1 Tbsp fat-free plain yoghurt, and lemon juice.
Baked potato with sweetcorn salsa
1 medium baked potato with salsa made with 2 tomatoes, ½ red onion, 1 handful fresh coriander, 2 Tbsp sweetcorn, and lime juice, chilli and garlic to taste.
Home-made guacamole with crudités
Mix 1 small mashed avocado with 1 diced tomato, 1 crushed garlic clove, a squeeze of lemon juice, and Tabasco sauce to taste. Serve with 1 carrot, 1 stalk celery, and ½ red bell pepper (all cut into sticks).
Fibre fillers
Choose one a day
Fibre keeps our digestive system healthy and fills us up – great news for dieters.
Hummus and carrot pitta
1 wholewheat pitta filled with 3 Tbsp reduced-fat hummus and 1 grated carrot.
ALSO SEE: This healthy turmeric hummus recipe
Tuna, asparagus and bean salad
Make with ½ can tuna in brine (drained), ½ can cannellini beans in brine (drained), 5 steamed asparagus spears, a 4cm-piece of cucumber, 1 tomato, 5 olives, and 3 Tbsp reduced-oil dressing.
Apricot cereal
6 Tbsp All-Bran Flakes, 3 dried apricots, fat-free milk.
Beans on toast
1 slice wholewheat toast with ½ can ‘lite’ baked beans in tomato sauce.
Fruity Weet-Bix
2 Weet-Bix with 7 strawberries, 1 apple and fat-free milk.
Kiwi and raspberry cereal
30g Special K Classic with 2 handfuls raspberries, 1 kiwi fruit and fat-free milk.
Vegetable chilli
Fry ½ small red onion, ½ green bell pepper, 1 carrot and 4 mushrooms (all sliced) in a spray of olive oil with chilli powder to taste for 5 minutes. Add ½ can cannellini beans in brine (drained), 1 Tbsp tomato purée, ½ can chopped tomatoes, 150ml low-sodium veg stock. Cook until veggies are soft and sauce thickened. Serve in an iceberg lettuce leaf with 2 Tbsp tzatziki.
Protein packers
Choose one a day
Protein is vital for our muscles, but research increasingly shows it also keeps us fuller for longer – just what you want.
Open turkey sandwich
1 slice wholewheat bread topped with 2 Tbsp tzatziki, 1 grilled turkey-breast fillet and 1 handful rocket.
Steak with all the trimmings
1 grilled rump steak (150g raw), with ½ cup steamed spinach, 1 chopped tomato, plus 1 small red onion and 4 mushrooms (both sliced) fried in a spray of olive oil.
Scrambled eggs with spinach and tomatoes
2 scrambled eggs mixed with ½ cup steamed spinach, 6 chopped cherry tomatoes and 1 Tbsp reduced-fat Cheddar.
Prawn wrap
100g cooked prawns mixed with 1 Tbsp fat-free plain yoghurt, a squeeze of lemon juice and 1 tsp snipped chives, served in 1 wholegrain tortilla wrap with watercress.
Chicken salad
1 grilled skinless chicken breast with a salad made from lettuce, 1 tomato, a 4cm-piece of cucumber, 4 spring onions, 1 handful ready-to-eat bean sprouts and 2tbsp reduced-oil dressing.
Quorn stir fry
Stir-fry made from 1 tsp sunflower oil, 150g Quorn pieces (available from Pick n’ Pay, Spar and Checkers), garlic and ginger to taste, 1 small pack stir-fry veg (about 300g) and 1 tsp reduced-salt soy sauce.
Salmon with tzatziki
1 small baked salmon fillet (about 100g raw) with cup steamed broccoli and baby corn, plus 2 Tbsp tzatziki.
Fruit fixes
Choose one a day
Fruit provides vitamins, fibre and antioxidants, and satisfies a sweet tooth. All these dishes provide at least two of your five a day.
Fruit salad with plain yoghurt and almonds
Fruit salad made from 1 peach, 1 handful grapes, 1 kiwi and 1 slice spanspek. Top with 1 small tub fat-free plain yoghurt and 1 tsp chopped almonds.
Melon, fig and Parma ham salad
Make from 1 slice spanspek, 2 fresh figs, 30g reduced-fat mozzarella, 2 slices Parma ham, 1 handful rocket, and balsamic vinegar.
On-the-go fruit-and-nut hit
1 apple, 1 peach, 2 handfuls blueberries and 20 almonds.
Berry and banana smoothie bowl
Blend 2 handfuls summer berries with 1 banana (ideally frozen), 100ml fat-free milk, 2 Tbsp oats and 1 handful ice. Pour into a bowl and top with 1 handful summer berries and 1 tsp chopped almonds.
Waldorf basket
Mix 1 chopped apple with 3 sliced celery sticks, 2 handfuls halved grapes, 6 chopped walnut halves, 1 Tbsp fat-free plain yoghurt, and lemon juice to taste. Serve in 1 iceberg lettuce leaf.
Mango, apple and cottage-cheese crispbreads
Top 4 rye crispbreads with 80g low-fat plain cottage cheese, ½ sliced mango and 1 sliced apple.
Bone boosters
Choose one a day
Calcium and protein are vital to keep bones strong and healthy – these meals are rich in both.
Cheese-and-tuna melt
Top 1 slice wholewheat toast with ½ can tuna in brine (drained), 1 sliced tomato and 3 Tbsp grated reduced-fat Cheddar. Grill until the cheese melts.
Vegetable omelette
Make an omelette with ½ red onion, 2 mushrooms, ½ zucchini, 2 eggs, 2 Tbsp fat-free milk, 15g grated reduced-fat Cheddar, and a spray of avo oil.
Sardine bruschetta
Toast 4 thin slices crushed-wheat sourdough bread, then rub with garlic. Top with 1 small can sardines in brine (drained), 2 chopped tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar to taste.
Chocolate, banana and peanut-butter milkshake
Blend 200ml fat-free milk, 1 banana, 1 Tbsp cocoa powder and 1 Tbsp no-added-salt-and-sugar peanut butter until smooth.
Apricot and walnut fool
Cook 6 dried apricots with pinch of cinnamon, ½ tsp honey and 1 Tbsp water for 5 minutes until fruit softens. Cool, then swirl juices into 1 small tub fat-free plain yoghurt. Put yoghurt in glass and top with 6 apricots and 2 crushed walnuts.
Carb comforters
Choose one a day
Opt for wholewheat or high-fibre carbs as they release energy more slowly, so satisfy us for longer.
Chips and dip
Cut 1 wholegrain tortilla wrap into triangles, spray with olive oil and bake until crisp. Serve with 1 small tub fat-free plain yoghurt mixed with ¼ grated cucumber (squeeze excess moisture), lemon juice, garlic, and fresh mint to taste.
Toast and peanut butter
2 slices wholewheat toast with 1 Tbsp no-added-salt-and-sugar peanut butter.
Speedy ham and mushroom pizza
Top 1 wholewheat pitta with 4 Tbsp passata, ½ tsp dried mixed herbs, 1 slice Parma ham, 2 sliced mushrooms and 30g reduced-fat mozzarella. Bake until the cheese melts.
Fruity coconut porridge
Make porridge from 4 Tbsp oats and 275ml unsweetened coconut milk, and top with 2 handfuls raspberries and the flesh of 3 granadillas.
Baked potato with cheese and coleslaw
1 small baked potato topped with 2 Tbsp grated reduced-fat Cheddar, and coleslaw made from 1 handful shredded white cabbage, ½ sliced small red onion, 1 grated carrot, 2 tsp ‘lite’ mayo, 1 Tbsp fat-free plain yoghurt, and lemon juice.
ELT seeded roll
45g brown seeded roll with 2 tsp lite mayo, 1 boiled egg, lettuce, 1 tomato
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