It’s 3PM and your stomach starts grumbling.  You know it’s going to be a while until your next meal.  Does this mean you should raid the office candy bowl or the vending machine?  Nope – don’t derail those healthy eating plans!  Instead, choose one of these 20 ideas for snacks under 200 calories.

1.       6 ounce container of low fat plain greek yogurt with ½ cup blueberries (170)

2.       Apple and String cheese (175) 

3.       2 small plums and 1 cup of skim milk (150)

4.       Homemade trail mix:  50 calories worth of whole grain cereal (could be 1/4 to 1/2 cup depending on cereal), 1 to 2 tbsp dried fruit, ½ ounce nuts (170 to 200)

5.       Medium peach and 10 almonds (140)

6.       1 cup sliced veggies (carrots, zucchini sticks, bell peppers, celery) with ¼ cup hummus (120 to 150 depending on type of vegetable)

7.       Small (4 inch diameter) whole wheat pita bread with ¼ cup hummus and 1 cup sliced cucumbers (190)

8.       1 cup sliced veggies with homemade guacamole (mash an avocado, juice from 1 lime, and a chopped tomato – a serving would be 1/3 of this mixture) or a 100-cal pack of Wholly Guacamole (120 to 170 depending on type of vegetable and homemade vs. store bought guacamole) 

9.       Carrot Cake Larabar – Made from just a handful of simple, identifiable ingredients like fruits, nuts, and spices, many Larabars clock in at just under 200 calories and pack several grams of fiber (190 calories)

10.       3 cups of air popped popcorn sprinkled with your favorite seasonings – you could try spicy with cayenne pepper or sweet with cinnamon!  (95)

11.       7 Kashi Heart to Heart whole grain crackers with 1 wedge of Laughing Cow cheese (155)

12.        Hardboiled egg and 1 cup of cherry tomatoes (105)

13.        Small banana with 1 tbsp peanut butter (185)

14.       1 cup of Cheerios with ½ cup skim milk (145)

15.        ¼ cup pumpkin seeds and a pear (155)

16.        Small pita (4 inch diameter) with 3 ounces canned tuna mixed with a squeeze of lemon and 3 pieces of sun dried tomato (195)

17.   3 medium stalks of celery topped with 1 tbsp peanut butter and a mini box (0.5 oz) of raisins (150)

18.   1 slice whole wheat bread with 3 ounces turkey and 2 tsp mustard (190)  

19.   ½ cup low fat cottage cheese and ½ cup pineapple chunks (125)

20.    1 cup of frozen grapes (105 calories) 

I look forward to the Field’s Corner farmers market in Dorchester every summer.  Unfortunately now I live a lot further away from this market, but today I was lucky enough to do some shopping there (and during National Farmers Market Week, no less!).  My favorite part of this market is that it serves a large Vietnamese population from that neighborhood, so the vendors have a unique variety of fruits and veggies that you might not see elsewhere.

And each year, I can’t wait to get squash blossoms at this market – one of the only markets in the area that carries them!  They’re priced well at that market too; $3 for a bunch of them.

Squash blossoms are the beautiful orange and yellow flowers that grow on squash and pumpkin plants, and are actually edible.  Now, the most common way these are cooked – and the first way I tried them – was stuffed with cheese and deep fried, like a mozzarella stick.  Of course, I wanted to find a much healthier way to cook these delicious delicacies. 

I found a few soup recipes and decided to make some adjustments to make a super healthy version.  The result?  An amazingly delicious recipe that utilizes so much of what’s in season right now!  I love this because it tastes super creamy even though you don’t use any actual cream.  Instead, the combination of pureed potato with 1% milk gives that creamy texture you crave in a soup like this.  And because you’re using some spicy peppers and the uniquely flavored squash blossoms, you get awesome flavor without tons of calories.  Plus lots of veggies in one dish!  What more could you ask for?

Okay, enough rambling – get to your market and make this asap!

Inspired Squash Blossom Soup
Original inspiration from The Vegetable Gardner, but I’ve made lots of changes!
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 Cubanelle pepper, diced
1 long hot chile pepper, diced
1 Anaheim chile pepper, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups of low sodium chicken broth
1 red potato, chopped
1 bunch of approximately 20 squash blossoms
1 cup of milk
1 zucchini, chopped
1 ear of white corn
Black pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Heat olive oil in large pot.  Add onion and peppers and sauté for 5 minutes until soft.  A note on the peppers:  I used what was at the market and what I already had in the fridge.  You could easily substitute with poblanos, jalepeno, etc - whatever you like.  My dish came out with just the right amount of spice!
2) Remove a large spoonful of onions and peppers (about 1/4 to 1/3) and reserve for later.
3) Add garlic to pot and sauté with remaining onions and peppers for another 1-2 minutes.
4) Add chicken broth and potato.  Cover partially and simmer for 20 minute or until potatoes are tender.
5) While broth is simmering, prepare the squash blossoms.  You’ll need to remove the stamen (that yellow fuzzy thing) from the inside.  The easiest way I’ve found to do this is to just chop of a bit at the bottom of the flower and then shake it out (see the picture earlier in this post).  Rinse the blossoms gently then slice into thin strips.
6) When potatoes are tender, add squash blossoms to the pot.  Simmer for a few minutes and then use an immersion blender (or do batches in a regular blender) to puree until smooth.
7) Add milk, zucchini, and the kernels from 1 ear of white corn.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Add reserved onions and peppers back to pot. 
8) Add black pepper to taste and enjoy!

Nutrition Analysis per serving:  178 calories, 5 grams of fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 491 mg sodium, 29 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams of fiber, 9 grams of protein
Vitamin A: 16%, Vitamin C: 168%, Calcium: 12%, Iron: 10%
Plus tons of other vitamins and minerals! 

Yesterday I was working at a local farmers market in Boston, handing out some healthy food samples and recipes highlighting seasonal produce.  As you know from my last blog post about farmers markets – I love shopping at them since I know the food is fresh, it often tastes better, and I like supporting fellow local businesses.
 
After working, I did some shopping there and picked up a ton of food – raspberries, blueberries, summer squash, peaches and more!  I also got the item in the photo below.  This was the first time I’d ever seen or heard of this item, so I chatted with one of the farmers for a bit about it.  He let me take a taste – so good! –and I picked up a bunch to bring home.

So you tell me – what’s the vegetable?!  Enter your answer in the comments section below by Monday, 7/23/12.  We’ll randomly draw two names from all the correct answers and each will win a $10 Amazon.com gift card.

Plus, after I pick the winners I’ll share the recipe and pictures for how I cooked this yummy veggie and a few other recipes I found too!
 
Good luck!

Fine print:  You must be 18 years of age to enter.  Only one entry per person.  You must enter your email into the email field (which is not published) when you comment so we can contact you if you win.  Two names will be randomly selected from those with correct answers.  Each winner will receive a $10 Amazon.com gift card by email.  If no one answers correctly, we will randomly two draw names from all those who commented to win.