Healthy Hollywood: Fab Food Friday: Slim Down Skinny Treats!

It’s that time of year when we are all bombarded with headlines of ‘shape-up for summer diets.’ Honestly, I never get tired of tips and healthy nutrition – no matter what time of year it is.

Earlier this week, Healthy Hollywood had the great pleasure of hooking up with nutrition guru Joy Bauer, when she paid a visit to Billy Bush & Kit Hoover on Access Hollywood Live. On the show, she playfully tested who had the higher healthy food IQ, Billy or Kit. It was a nutritional showdown that Healthy Hollywood will call a tie.

Joy also shared her favorite skinny foods with Healthy Hollywood. These low-calorie treats are perfect for anyone trying to lose a few pounds by summer.

Joy’s 10 Favorite Skinny Foods:

1. Shrimp Cocktail: At around 8 calories apiece, shrimp are a fabulous source of lean protein, which helps rev your metabolism and keeps you feeling full for hours. Next time you dine out, start your meal with a shrimp cocktail appetizer. When you’re eating at home, dunk your shrimp in this could-not-be-easier cocktail sauce recipe: simply combine 1 tablespoon ketchup with 1 teaspoon bottled horseradish (add a squeeze of lemon or a splash of hot sauce for extra zing).

2. Fiery Chicken Salad: Adding a few dashes of fiery hot sauce to your food sloooows down your eating big time so you’re less likely to eat past the point of fullness. For a simple lunch, whip up a chicken salad with diced chicken breast, 1 to 2 tablespoons reduced fat mayo, hot sauce to taste, and any diced veggies on hand. Serve over a bed of lettuce (and have a glass of water handy!).

3. Vegetable Soup: Studies have shown that just by starting a meal with a fiber-rich bowl of broth-based vegetable soup, you can reduce your total calorie intake by 20 percent. The soup takes the edge off your hunger and fills you up quickly, so you end up eating less of your main entree.

4. Cucumber-Tomato-Onion Salad: Try my low-cal version of this classic Mediterranean salad. Slice up one whole cucumber, one tomato, and half a red onion, then toss all the vegetables with light vinaigrette or unlimited vinegar (balsamic or red wine is best) plus 1 teaspoon olive oil. The entire salad has less than 150 calories! Thanks to their high percentage of water (95%!), cucumbers are low-calorie, high volume, and top-notch for weight loss!

5. Ginger Green Tea: Nursing a warm mug of tea is a soothing, calorie-free way to de-stress after a long day without falling prey to emotional eating. As an added bonus, research suggests that regularly drinking green tea may give your metabolism a slight boost. Steep your tea with a thin slice of fresh ginger root for an extra punch of flavor.

6. Air-Popped Popcorn: One cup of “naked” air-popped popcorn (without any added butter or oil) has only 30 calories! If you don’t own an air popper, you can make plain popcorn right in your microwave. Add 4 tablespoons popcorn kernels to a brown paper lunch bag, fold over the edge of the bag twice to close it, and microwave the bag on high for 1.5 to 2 minutes. To kick up the flavor, sprinkle your popcorn with Parmesan cheese, spices (chili powder and cumin, yum!), or even hot sauce.

7. Salsa: With less than 20 calories per one-quarter cup, salsa is a dieter’s best friend. Bottled or fresh, salsa makes a terrific, low-cal dip for crunchy veggies like baby carrots and celery sticks. It’s also the perfect diet-friendly condiment for sandwiches, burgers, and baked potatoes – use it as a flavorful replacement for mayo, sour cream, butter, and other fattening toppers.

8. Nonfat Greek Yogurt: A 6-ounce container of plain nonfat Greek yogurt has around 100 calories and 15 to 18 filling grams of protein (that’s more than double the protein content of traditional nonfat yogurt). Jazz up plain yogurt with chopped fruit, vanilla extract, or a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

9. Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins: Sandwich thins and flats are one of the best new food products for dieters! That’s because you get TWO halves for the same calorie count as ONE slice of bread (100 calories). Use these versatile, whole grain buns to build turkey or chicken sandwiches, or lightly spread them with nut butter or reduced fat cream cheese for a smart bagel substitute.

10. Grape Tomatoes: One cup of grape tomatoes clocks in at only 30 calories. These bite-sized nibbles are sweet, colorful, and ideal for snacking since you can pop ‘em in your mouth one at a time. And, if you’re following my weight loss plan, they count as an unlimited food… so munch to your heart’s content!

For more nutritional tips from Joy, check out www.joybauer.com.

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