Takeaways

• Healthy, low-calorie snacks could satisfy your food cravings without hurting your weight loss progress. They may even promote satiety, so you’re less likely to overeat during your main meals.

• Low-calorie snacks you could eat on the go include mixed nuts, fruits, and low-sodium jerky.

• Quick-and-easy healthy, low-calorie snack options include Greek yogurt topped with mixed berries, whole wheat biscuits with tuna, air-popped popcorn, whey protein shake, and wholegrain cereals with low-fat milk.

• Low-calorie hawker snacks include beancurd (tau huay), popiah, wholemeal bread with peanut butter, ice grass jelly, and chapati.

Trying to lose weight does not mean you have to give up all your snacks. Certain snacks, as long as they are within your calorie limits, can still help you reach your weight loss goals. When you satisfy your hunger with healthy snacks, you are much less likely to want to eat unhealthy foods or overeat during your main meals.

Snack on the Go

Mixed nuts

Nuts are an ideal nutritious snack. Despite being relatively high in fat, they are very filling. Nuts provide the perfect balance of healthy fat, protein, and fibre. On average, they contain around 180 calories in 1 handful of mixed nuts - so be sure to watch your portions when you’re consuming this snack. Consume no more than a handful if you snack on nuts.

Fruits

Fruits are nature's ready-made snack that is packed with vitamins, fibre, and other nutrients that support a healthy diet. Fruits are also generally low in calories and due to their fibre content, can help you feel satiated for a longer period of time.

Easy to store portable fruits include bananas, apples, pears and oranges. Eating a pair of any of these fruits to eat will generally range from 100 to 200 calories in total.

Low-sodium Jerky 

There are various types of jerky, including beef, chicken, salmon, and even vegan-friendly jerky made from mushrooms, eggplant, or coconut. Most types of jerky are high in protein, low in calories, portable, and convenient — making it a good choice for snacking on the go. However, you’ll want to stay clear of the ones with many additional preservatives, additives and many added ingredients). 2 slim and long slices of beef jerky (about 20g per slice) are great for a snack and will account to around 180 calories. Try doing a homemade version so that you can control what goes into it. 

Quick and Easy

Greek Yoghurt and Mixed Berries

Greek yoghurt is packed with protein and vital nutrients like calcium, magnesium, and potassium. On the other hand, berries are loaded with fibre and disease-fighting antioxidants. Pair Greek yoghurt with your choice of fresh berries to get a delicious and healthy way to keep your hunger at bay while nourishing your body at the same time. A 200g container of plain Greek yoghurt topped with 1/2 cup (70 grams) of blueberries contains only 180 calories, which makes it quite a filling and satisfying snack.

Whole Wheat Biscuits with Tuna

Tuna, sardines and salmon are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids, a special type of fat that has powerful anti-inflammatory properties and is especially beneficial for heart health. Enjoy them straight out of the can or pile them on hearty crackers for a filling snack. Spreading ½ can of tuna over 1 packet of whole wheat biscuits only comes up to around 160 calories, yet it also provides a good amount of protein (around 12g)!

Celery Sticks with Peanut Butter and Raisins

Celery and raisins are high in fibre, while peanut butter rounds out this delicious treat as a source of healthy fats and protein. This sweet-yet-savoury snack is sure to satisfy your hunger. One large stalk of celery topped with 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of peanut butter and 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of raisins provides 156 calories.

Air-popped Popcorn

Air-popped or home-made microwaved popcorn makes a fantastic snack because it doesn’t make you feel deprived. On top of that, 3 whole cups of the crunchy kernels (about 1 1/2 tablespoons of kernels) use only 100 of your day’s calories. Popcorn also has lots of fibre to keep you full, and it even has some muscle-regulating magnesium. Best of all, mildly flavoured popcorn tastes amazing. For example, try adding in a few spritzes of spray butter and a sprinkle of truffle salt (or sea salt) to add some flavour to it!

Whey Protein Shake 

Lazy to prep a snack? Pop 1 scoop of whey protein with ¾ cup of low-fat milk into a blender bottle and shake it sufficiently so that the protein powder has mixed well into the shake. This simple 2-minute shake should only cost you on average around 200 calories while dishing out almost 30g of protein!

Overnight Oats with Berries

If you're looking for a low-effort breakfast/snack that's extremely healthy and can even help you lose weight, you've found your solution with overnight oats.

Unlike oatmeal, which is cooked in boiling water on the stove or heated up in the microwave, overnight oats are not cooked at all. They're actually just rolled oats that are left to soak in liquid overnight/ several hours in the fridge. 

To make this effortless snack, mix ¼ cup of instant/ rolled oats with ¼ cup of low-fat yoghurt or milk, and throw in some 1 cup of chopped mixed berries (e.g. strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) into a small jar. Leave it in the fridge for at least 4 hours, and ideally up to 8 hours (hence the name overnight). This tasty yet easy to prepare snack comes up to only around 200 calories! This snack is high in fibre as well as important vitamins, minerals and antioxidant plant compounds.

Whole Grain Cereals (e.g. Natural muesli, Special K, or Post Great Grains) with Low-fat Milk

When browsing for the right cereal, pick those made with the right ingredients such as whole grains, oats, whole wheat, and brown rice, which tend to be higher in fibre than the more processed carbohydrates type of cereals.This can turn an unhealthy sugar-loaded snack into a healthy, nutrient-rich breakfast to help you meet your weight loss or weight maintenance goals.

To do so, mix ½ cup of low sugar cereal with ¾ cup of low-fat milk for a quick snack which only contains around 190 calories.

Low-calorie Hawker Snacks

At a hawker centre but craving something healthy? Here are some low-calorie options that you can choose.

Soy Milk or Beancurd (Tau Huay)

Try a nutritious and comforting cup of soy milk or a bowl of bean curd with soy milk. These are high in protein and important vitamins and nutrients. However, while generally healthy, watch out for the amount of sugar syrup in your tau huay. Between a bowl of tau huay with syrup (around 180 calories and 30g of carbs) and one without syrup (around 60 calories), the one without syrup will definitely help with better blood sugar control!

Popiah

This fresh spring roll is filled mainly with grated turnips, prawns, egg, peanuts, Chinese sausage, other greens and chilli. Avoid additional dough bits, sauce or lard that mostly add nutritionless fatty calories. 1 roll of popiah comes up to around 190 calories.

Wholemeal bread with peanut butter (peanut butter toast)

Compared to a Kaya toast set with butter, this is a healthier alternative with less sugar, saturated fat and calories. 1 wholemeal bread with a tablespoon of peanut butter will give you average to around 190 calories.

Ice grass jelly

Enjoy your sweet treats with less guilt. If you have a sweet tooth and fancy a dessert, here are some options: A bowl of ginkgo nuts and beancurd soup is only 100 calories and contains 12g of sugar, while beancurd with red bean gives you around 165 calories and 20g of sugar. If you prefer cold desserts, try ordering a herbal jelly which is only 71 cal and 16g of sugar, or a grass jelly with red bean which constitutes 122 calories but contains 27g of sugar.

Char siew bun with teh c kosong

Feeling like having a bun? A steamed bun with barbecued pork filling (160 cal) and teh-c kosong/ tea with evaporated milk and no sugar (26 cal) can be rather filling while giving you net calories of around 190 calories.

Chapati

The main component of chapati is whole wheat flour which is low in glycemic index. This low-calorie option is also a low GI food, saving you from the blood sugar spikes. 1 piece of chapati is around 140 calories. Pair this with no more than 2 tablespoons of dal and you’ll balance the meal out with more protein and settle your snack for only 190 calories!