By Popular Request

Whatever Asian Mistress asks, I do.... well, maybe. ;-) When it comes to giving good at-work snacking advice, though, I can happily oblige!

I tend to work best with pre-packaged snack items, but I'll include some suggestions for snacks that might have a little more assembly required. My best options for at-work snacking:

- Granola bars. I keep a box of South Beach bars (3 points each) and/or Quaker Chewy Granola bars (2-3 points each depending on flavor) in my desk drawer.

- 100 Calorie Packs. These come in assorted varieties. My favorites are the Chips Ahoy, Oreo, and Nutter Butter varieties. Another coworker of mine tends to have the gummy fruit snack kinds. But it's a lightweight box with about 6 days' worth of snacking inside. They're all 2 points each.

- Fruit cups. I do buy those Dole Fruit Naturals things and usually keep 1-2 on hand in the work refrigerator. When you really want something sweet, it's nice to have a little cup of pineapple chunks to steer you away from getting real cookies or ice cream. These are usually 2-3 points.

- Yogurt cups. Ditto. Non-fat yogurt is 2 points.

- Clementines. When I remember to bring my big tote bag to the store, I try to pick up a box of Clementines. So tasty! And I give 'em just 1 point each.

- Yogurt-covered raisins. A pack of these things will last me forever, but it is nice to have them around for the occasional sweet tooth craving. They're 3 points per 1/4 cup serving. I sometimes also go for yogurt-covered peanuts.

Now, I did learn an important lesson this week. It's a *BAD IDEA* for me to keep a bag of sugar free mini chocolate candy in my desk. I bought a bag of the sugar-free Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - available in the diabetic section in the drugstore - and I should not have. It's WAY too easy to pop a few of those into your mouth without even thinking about it. It's 4 points for 5 pieces, which does translate into about 1 point apiece. That sounds ideal, but trust me, it's VERY hard to stop at just 1 or 2 of those! Buyer beware. :-)

For a few more labor-intensive, but maybe more interesting, snack ideas (though I haven't figured out the points). Note, these will probably require Tupperware:

- Reduced fat wheat thins and hummus, or a little peanut butter.
- Veggie sticks with fat free ranch dip.
- Celery sticks with a little peanut butter and raisins. (Yay for bugs on a log!)
- Fresh fruit salad.

And, when all else fails, if you've got a microwave at work... you can bring in a box of the 94% fat-free microwave popcorn and have at it. A whole bag is only 4 points. And they even make those little snack size mini-bags, too! (Who are they kidding? A WHOLE bag is snack size for me!)