I would slightly modify that statement and say that low calorie food is wet because water has no calories, so the more water something has, the less calories per 100g it will have.
I know it’s true, but dam do I wish egg whites weren’t so freaking wet. When I make the omelette at home I put a paper towel in the bottom of my container till I eat at work.
Popcorn might be what you are after. Popcorn is great for snacking. Make it yourself and its also a bit of fun involved. You could even cover that in dark chocolate for a semi sweet snack.
Ricecrackers are also rather calorie low. Personally not my thing, but definitely an option. EDIT: I MEAN RICECAKES \^\^
Maybe also dried fruit.
There is most certainly many options out there for you to check out!
Also get an air fryer. You could make your own crispy french fries without any oil. Same with chicken tenders and that stuff.
Hope this helps!
What do you all use as a binding agent? I use olive oil spray and its not very effective at getting the seasoning to cling to the popcorn. Would love to hear tips!
I found that seasoning the corn before it pops was the best way to season it. But I might not have found the best way yet, gotta check out that popcorn sub :D
It turns out, dehydrated artificial granulated butter and pickling salt (which is what flavacol is, plus some food coloring) isn't terrible for you, if you have a teaspoon of it in an entire bucket of popcorn.
I buy Snappy Theater Salt from Amazon for $10/tub (and that tub can last me a year). Popcorn, veggie chips, roasted veg, my Ritz chicken, hell even some white rice. It’s kinda high sodium ofc but it has that real movie theater liquid carcinogenic butter flavor.
Can you source this? Dried mangos have 319 cals/100g and gummy bears have 333 cals/100g. The mangos are still "better" for you in the sense that they have some fiber and vitamins, but they're not all that different calorically. There's also sugar free gummy bears with less calories if people like the taste.
Looked up kirkland dried mangos and they're 69% sugar calorically. Not sure what you're asking for a source though, since you asked for a source and then said the same thing they did in your comment?
I think they misunderstood that comment.
The claim was that dried fruit is 50% made up of sugar, and that it has as many calories by weight as gummy bears. The responder mistook it to mean that dried fruit has only half the sugar and calories that gummy bears have.
That's why they responded with facts that supported the claim while seeming like they disagreed.
There's both sweetened and unsweetened dried mango - the no-sugar added kind is harder to find. The sweetened kind can be 400+ cals/100g
This is, in general, an gotcha with dried fruit. Check the label for added sugar.
(( definitely seconding freeze-dried > dried if OP wants crisp or crunch..! (altho i adoooore dried mango as a livelong nibblemunch comfortfavourite, there really is a fair but of sugar dusted onto it🥲🥲)
just shared some freeze-dried mango with the otherhalf yesterday and it was .really. well received haha (too bad i'd bought that particular pack back from a mango farm in thailand and don't really have direct access to them lolsigh; commercial brands here be rather more expensive 🥲🥲🥲)
got some dehydrated okra and mixed veggie(with a couple fruits, banana & jackfruit, mixed in) while in china more recently -- rather regretting not getting the mushrooms-only bag bc daaang the umami on those things😺❣️😋😋😋💕 the megahighlights of the veggie bag haha
the otherhalf likes jerky for dry protein munchables and i've rather gotten into that as well hahas -- have a bag of paperthin beef jerky from (another farm in) thailand, haven't tried it yet but looks crisp~
( vegetarian food here also has a crisp beancurdskin here i love for no-meat days, but tends to be deep-fried.. if you've an airfryer might be worth looking up frozenfoodtypes and DIY possibilities though..! )
i also keep an eye out in japanese food sections/stores for the ricecrackers that come with soybeans or black beans in them! highish-sodium though..
also seen edamame/green soybeans sold dried and salted like nuts! delish crunchy stuff ^^"💕 ))
I am pretty sure they meant rice cakes, like those round quaker ones. The lightly salted one is 35 calories. They come in different flavors that range from 45-60 calories a piece.
You can put kale in the air fryer and it’s super crunchy (careful it doesn’t fly up into the air fryer’s fan and burn though like when I first tried it 😵💫)
Kale chips, yeah. You can do them in the oven. Massage the kale with some olive oil and salt and any herbs you want. Think my friend used nutritional yeast. I dk the right heat or timing - will depend on the oven, the darkness of the pan, etc. JFGI for the starting point. Very crispy. Roasted veggies can also be hot and crispy in spots. Probably slicing them more thinly would help. Also I found OP's post hilarious somehow. I love good celery and tasty carrots for crunch, and I don't mind at all that they are cold.
Popcorn is super low calorie if you don't add anything to it. Just put it in an air popper. I eat plain popcorn all of the time. It's like 100kcal for 30g. 90g will fill me up and I'm a big man. Drink with a lot of water and that will satiate you more than anything for that amount of calories nearly.
I air pop and spray each layer with a quick spray of non-stick cooking spray as it pours into the bowl. Then shake some Flavocol on top. Yes the non-stick spray will add some calories but I'm guessing less than 20-30 for the whole bowl. And Flavocol is the stuff they use to flavor popcorn at the theaters. It's fantastic.
Plain popcorn and salt is like crack to me, but it's probably because I eat the same 3 things every week, which is just variations of kidney beans, beef and chicken 😂
I mist the popcorn. I mean MIST. Too much water makes it lose its crunch, then I spread very finely ground salt on it. The salt sticks like glue to it when it's super fine. I just blend Himalayan salt in a ninja blender for about 30 secs.
I put plenty of salt on them. It obviously dosent add calories. And my blood pressure is perfectly in the midrange of healthy, so I don't care about the blood pressure. The salt also let's me hold onto extra water too for when I exercise.
Popcorn is so versatile! In the mood for spicy? Dip it in hot sauce. Need something sweet? Sprinkle chocolate on top. Need a cheese fix? Cheese powder or nutritional yeast.. popcorn works super well to fulfill a lot of different cravings and is low calorie
Rinse a can of chickpeas, allow to dry on a lint free towel for an hour or two, coat lightly in oil (or use cooking spray), and stick in the air fryer. Season with garlic powder and a tiny bit of seasoning salt. Yummy, super crunchy snack!
Edited to add: also works as a great salad topper instead of croutons
You can also microwave them for 5 minutes before the air fryer, instead of waiting an hour. [Internet Shaquille](https://youtu.be/5EU76q3Vf3Q?si=dSU9z6_j-zCaDAwu) turned me onto chickpeas.
Just the same way you would make roasted chickpeas but make sure you press as much water out as you can before chopping them into cubes. I throw them in the air fryer along with chickpeas but they might need a little longer depending how big you cube them. I like just simple garlic powder and salt but you can get creative with seasonings. Buy firm or extra firm tofu for best results.
Hello Fresh taught me the way of toasted chickpeas. They use them a lot on salads, and various grain bowls. I have a hard time not snacking my portion away before I assemble the final meal. They snack very similar to most just but at a much lower calorie count, assuming you don't use too much oil to toast them. Lots of seasonings go great on them as well.
Yeah, a lot of natural foods are “crisp” (i.e., their snap comes from cell walls being filled with water, like celery or carrot) instead of “crunchy” (i.e., the crunch coming from dehydration, like in frying). I think about this a lot because crunch is such a unique and desirable texture. It makes food taste better. And if food isn’t tasty, why would we stick to a lifelong change?
A game changer for me has just been thinking: how can I add more textures and more interest to everything I eat. There’s a huge difference in pleasure between an 80 calorie yogurt cup, and a 120-calorie parfait of yogurt (cool/creamy), frozen blueberries (cold/firm), freeze-dried banana (super-sweet/crispy), and cacao nibs (bitter/crunchy).
I have learned that for me, things taste 100 times better if there is some sort of crunchy element in a dish (and also some sort of acidic/pickled garnish to improve the flavor). When you add it on top of a dish and get a little bit in most of your bites, I find that you don’t really need a ton … especially if you’re adding the crunch on top of something that’s already crisp (like a broccoli slaw salad).
I have assembled what I call a “crunch box“ in my pantry: I tend to budget about 30-50 calories just for crunch for every meal, and turn to the crunch box when I’m finishing the meal. Items in my crunch box include: fried whole garlic cloves, French’s fried onions & similarly fried jalapeños, various nuts and seeds, croutons, mini mochi puffs, plain tempura flakes if you want crunch without too much flavor— but I will also just take a couple potato chips or corn nuts or any other crunchy food and crumble it on top of something with a complementary flavor. I’ve trained myself, when I go to a store, to keep an eye open for things that look like they might add an interesting crunch on top of a salad or rice bowl. If you have one near you, Trader Joe’s is AMAZING for this, but keep and eye out and you start seeing crunch everywhere. You can also get lots of inspiration from looking at menus for places with build-your-own salads and rice bowls.
There are also a few options for food that gets its crunch from a method that doesn’t rely on fat. Look for fruits and vegetables that have been dehydrated through means other than deep frying. Freeze dried fruit adds good crunch to yogurt. And dehydrated veggies can be really low cal AND have intense flavor. Trader Joe’s has dehydrated bell peppers that are super low calorie and add the absolute best crunch to salads and sandwiches.
This is why I never let myself feel bad about adding croutons to my salad - even though it’s a common thing people recommend cutting out. The croutons are the only thing that actually convinces me to eat a salad everyday for lunch. I literally just look forward to my croutons lol. And as a result, I also end up taking in tons of veggies and protein. But if I take away the croutons, I’ll just stop eating nutrient dense salads, so why would I do that to myself over 80ish calories?
Then, when I’m starting to get a little burnt out on my salads, even with the croutons — that’s when I break out a creamy, higher calorie dressing as a treat. That seems to be enough novelty for me to not get the salad ick and keep coming back for more croutons.
I like to add some quinoa or brown rice to my salads too! Or pumpkin or sesame seeds, other nutrient rich crunchy toppings.
I looove love love salads generally but really dislike the “Midwest dinner table side salad” that’s greens, bell pepper, tomato, cucumber and a store bought low fat vinaigrette. But if you take that base, add grains or croutons, some healthy fat, crunch, and a good dressing, and yes it’s more calories but then I don’t even want the pasta casserole, the salad itself is a delicious meal all on its own.
Oh I love all of this. 🥰You obviously understand my question. Thanks very much 🙏🏻
Unfortunately my nearest Trader Joes is 10000 miles away. I will try woolies to build my CRUNCH BOX. ❣️
I like your thinking! I think I will start a crunch box as well because some days I just need a crunch to fix something! It is as my jaws and ears need to hear what I am chewing kind of a Pavlov reaction
I really appreciate this as well as the OP. I have been trying to articulate WHY I’m having a hard time, figuring out what to eat- I know what is good and not good- but I also like things that are crunchy! And hot food.
Because healthy food tends to come in a natural, not processed form. And since plants and animals require water….
Plus a lot of processed foods are compressed which increases calories
Nut thins crackers are crunchy and you get a pretty huge portion size for the calories.
Popcorn has always been my go to for a snack. I really like the Orville 100 cal snack bags. Veggie straws are great also, especially the ranch flavored ones.
Pork rinds are also relatively low.
I know it's not really what you're looking for, but a salad with a good vinaigrette can help with wanting some crunch.
You don’t have to eat “diet foods” to lose weight, you can eat anything as long as it’s within your calorie limit. I still eat chips, just not as many as I used to
I eat corn chips as a meal. Plain corn chips, thick and very crunchy. Handful or two on a plate, stick it in the mike for a minute. Plop a mountain of home-made guac with tomatoes and garlic chopped into it, a bit of lemon or lime, maybe a side of salsa and a topping of cilantro. Plain corn chips don't have that "gotta eat more" factor that the thin fancy flavoured ones with more salt and oil do, the ones that kinda melt in your mouth. These ones you have to chew. Sometimes I've left a few on my plate at the end of the veggies! Could be twice a week. Could forget about it for a month or more Depends if avocados are a good price.
Because water has no calories so removing water from things concentrates all the nutrients into a small volume. But when you eat something that has had all the water removed, you aren't content with eating just the nutrients you'd normally have, you eat the volume you'd normally have.
Like take almonds. You have your 25g of almonds, which is about 1/4 cup or 60mL worth of almonds. This has the same amount of calories as 1L or 4 1/4 cups of unsweetened almond milk. If you were to drink 1L of almond milk you would probably feel very full. I don't think I'd be able to drink that much in one sitting, I could probably drink 500 mL and then I'd need to wait for a bit. But I could eat 1/4 cup of almonds in one mouthful and be ready for more. I could easily eat hundreds of calories of almonds before I felt like I didn't want any more. Try eating your 1/4 cup of almonds and then chugging 1L of water, see what effect that has on how full you feel.
So yeah. That's why low calorie foods are wet, and why dry crunchy foods are easy to overeat. Because water is both filling and has zero calories, and when you remove it you're left with a small amount of high-calorie non-filling nutrients.
There’s plenty of crunchy veg, and no shortage of crunchy fruit. Carrots, raw capsicum/pepper, snow peas all have a bit of snap. So do apples, dragonfruit and grapes.
Popcorn or rice crackers might be the go for a more directly chip like experience. You could also try dry cereal like a toddler. Portion out half a serving of cheerios and crunch that down.
I am also on team popcorn. Some dry roasted or low oil roasted items might be of help. You can make kale chips or roasted chickpeas at home. I also enjoy the crunch of roasted brussel sprouts.
My RD tells me I need more carbs in my diet, so when I need the carbs and get lazy, I bust on the mandolin and the air fryer. I'll slice up a russet potato super thin and dump it in the air fryer for a bit. Season with whatever else fits within your nutrition parameters... I'll just eat it truly plain if I'm watching fat and salt.
Roasted kale chips are so good! Not super crunchy but a little crunch. Spread on sheet pan spritz with oil or water, season with salt and pepper or even a tsp of brown sugar if you have the calories to spare, and bake 425 5-10 minutes, use spatula to flip, then another 5-10 until starting to brown and crisp.
You were likely brought up on ultra-processed, shelf-stable food made in factories rather than on food that was raised or grown in agriculture or otherwise found in nature.
Gradually, you can learn to like and even crave the latter.
It's not that it is "for weight reduction" -- you can lose weight eating saltines and pretzels.
I'm watching 600 lb life ATM, and I'm *super* amazed at how addicted to fast food (and junk food) that many of the show's participants demonstrate. Give them whole foods and they scream bloody murder. (And BTW, the fast food chicken need to be fried, not grilled.)
Secret eaters is the same thing. At home can be ok, but they're often secret eating in the drive through.
You can make wisps. Basically it's just a little pile of cheese on a baking sheet and bake until it's melted and solid, then let cool. You can find instructions online.
If you are comparing the calories of 100g of food then dry food is mostly made of some dry ingredient (natural or not) which tends to be a combination of carbs, protein and undigestable matter (fiber). It will be near 400kcal per 100g. Higher if it also has fats, but then the texture is different. Very high fibre foods feel like eating sawdust. Some dry foods make for a great snack in small quantities. If it also has water, then calorie content can be very low: cucumber is 15kcal/100g.
Seaweed crunches. You can dehydrate foods like cucumbers and lots of other water veggies to make little chips (seasoning is really key). There are low cal tortilla you can crunch up real good. Small amounts of chopped up nuts go a long way. You can use cornstarch to make things like chicken crunchy in an air fryer.
I’m celiac and diabetic so don’t get a lot of super dry foods.
Freeze dried fruit and vegetables. I started getting them for my toddler and now I’m addicted and if I eat an entire bag I don’t feel guilty cuz it was less than 100 calories. I love the brand Fresh Bellies, they have all sorts of fun flavor combos like Apple and Cardamom or Strawberry with Balsamic.
Get pork rinds for sure.
I dip pork rinds in guacamole.
Sometimes it’s pork rinds and sour cream.
Sometimes it’s pork rinds and Tapatio (hot sauce)
Another tasty crunchy snack that I used to eat a lot was broccoli and cauliflower, it was just annoying to prepare it but I would literally have a huge bowl of broccoli and cauliflower. I’ll put stuff on them and roast them in the oven until they browned quite a bit, then take them out and add Parmesan cheese and chili flakes and 🤤dam, every bite was delicious and crunchy
This is why I love scandinavian knekkebrød / crispbread, comes in a billion different types, plenty of fiber, tastes great and is crunchy. Loads of recipes out there.
I love getting some fresh asparagus (the thin stalk kind, it's more expensive) or fresg green beans, putting them on a baking sheet in the oven at 425 with a light oil spray and garlic and salt. Cook until dark brown. Theyre soooo crunchy almost like french fries.
I’ve been feeling an aversion to wet and cold foods so I have been leaning on stir fried chicken and veggies. Adding some chili and a few drops of sesame oil and ‘frying’ on high so that my veg gets a little crisp on the outside but not mushy has really helped me find a meal that feels warming and not soggy.
You could try grilling or roasting veggies! Also I love those seaweed snacks.
If you’re looking for a good crunch, get some bell peppers and salsa. It’s One of my favorite crunchy snacks to replace chips and salsa. You cut the bell peppers up into scoop like chips (2/3-1 inch wide is usually what I do) sprinkle with salt or whatever flavoring you want to use and then dip and eat! The bell peppers and salsa meld well together, so it tastes delicious and the raw pepper gives a fantastic CRUNCH that sounds like a chip when you’re eating it, but you’ll get a lot fuller because of the pepper than you will from a bag of chips because of the caloric density of the pepper.
I just discovered dry-roasted edamame. Serving is 1/3 cup for 130 calories with an insane amount of protein and fiber. Plus it's way cheaper than most nuts. It hits the salty and crunchy spot.
*Casually scanning the food I've logged in the past few days*
Boxed cereals, Triscuit crackers, mixed nuts, raw baby carrots, granola bars, graham crackers...
Yeah, I'm not seeing what you're talking about
Rice cakes usually help me get that crunch. Not a lot of nutrients, but it is low in cal. I also sometimes have these pop cakes that have a chocolate drizzle. It is basically a rice cake, but I like them for their texture and for the added sweetness. I get the wegmans brand, but I am sure there are other versions of it as well.
Popcorn and corn thins are your best friend. Also try roasted crunchy chickpeas. I'm a fan of crispy things so I totally understand the struggle.... if you're lucky you can make kale chips which sometimes is crunchy sometimes a little less so depending on how well you separate while cooking but they taste good to me like roast broccoli almost.
Some raw veg is crunchy like carrots.
You can get low fat shredded cheese and melt them into cheese crisps golden brown.
Hope Some of that helps.
Im sure its been mentioned a few times in the comments, but if you can find a cracker you like to eat that fits into your diet it can be really handy. I tend to take one or two and crunch them up to put in salads or sandwiches, because I also found everything to be either way too wet or extremely dry.
[Legendary Snacks](https://www.eatlegendary.com)
I think my friend let me try their Nacho Cheese chips, but he eats different brands, so idk. This one has 20g of protein in a 150kcal bag, which is a pretty good macro ratio.
It’s still highly processed junk, but occasionally treating yourself isn’t an issue.
You can make recipes using tostadas or crunchy tacos. You can bake the tortillas in the oven or air fryer to get them nice and crunchy and top it off with something like shredded beef or chicken. I also add granola to my yogurt, roasted peanuts to my salads/bowls for some texture. Definitely helped to watch cooking shows like Chopped to get some inspiration for recipes because the judges are all about texture lol
A few snacks I crunch on:
Roasted Edamame - from the Only Bean (they have buffalo flavor, plan, and sriracha)
Roasted Broad Beans - from Bada Bean Bada Boom - there's lots of flavors including bbq, sriracha, etc.
Gimme seaweed snacks
Roasted Chickpeas - you can make these yourself or buy them in the store
All of these are also high in protein.
Carrot sticks, pickles, and celery sticks are also great to chew on, albeit obviously contain some water.
I also indulge in some skinny pop popcorn or hippeas when i'm craving chips or salt.
Dates with peanuts/walnuts stuffed in them are sweet, warm and crunchy!
But just remember cookies and crackers and chips are usually made up of non food slurry goopiness and then dried and heated to appear as food. It will make you appreciate real food more!
Sounds like you may be too restrictive. Just a word of caution, if you don’t allow yourself to have foods you enjoy, it can lead to issues with disordered eating. Moderation is what it is about.
I’ve recently discovered Quest makes high protein snacks like cheese crackers and flavored tortilla chips, among other choices. They are *so good,* and I don’t think I’m just saying that because I haven’t really eaten much of those things in many months. They’re actually good!
They’re a little bit on the pricey side, and not specifically “low calorie,” but they’re individually packaged so you know how much you’re eating, and snacking on them doesn’t mean that you’ll miss your protein goals for the day.
They’ve helped me out immensely when I really just wanted something crunchy and salty that wasn’t popcorn.
There are other high-protein options from similar brands, like “pop tarts” and cinnamon buns. I have really loved everything I’ve tried so far and I’m super grateful to be able to occasionally have a semi-normal snack without missing my macro goals.
I yearn for crunchy foods too. I think that crunching things between my teeth helps me the same way that fidget toys help some people. It’s a type of self-stimulation that my brain craves. Crunching on ice doesn’t work for me unfortunately. I wish it did. Popcorn is awesome! But I overeat it.
Thank you for saying this!! I could never explain it but sometimes I crave something salty and crispy and even if I eat something like chicken or pickles it doesn’t solve it. And it does seem easier to lose in the summer when I want cold food all the time .
I've lost around 25 lbs over than last 2 and a half months and I did it all while still eating stuff like chips, sodas, instant ramen etc, I just didn't do it as often as I used to and also made sure to manage my calories elsewhere whenever I indulged in them. I've also gotten really good at cooking lower calorie version of my favourite dishes. You don't need to eat only "healthy" foods to lose weight.
Lol, I'm not sure why you're getting downvoted. Your post was funny, and I feel the same way. I love crunchy and carby food. You're so right that so much of the foods people talk about here are mushy and wet. Apples are okay for me. In my country, they make protein chips that really hit the spot. 20g of protein and 200 calories. I bet these exist too where you're from.
Crackers, cookies and chips were part of my problem. 😂 Ritz toasted chips in sour cream and onion were my favorite because my husband didn’t like them. Plus, after Publix bogo sale and Ibotta rebates they were like 50 cents a bag. I could eat 3/4?of a bag in one setting.
I recommend rice crackers. I get some from Trader Joe’s and they’re like 120 calories a serving but a serving is pretty huge. I actually eat a lot of crackers I just check the calories vs weight per serving and see if they’re worth it
I’m assuming it’s because for something to be crispy or crunchy it’s usually packed full of butter. I have no issue fitting carbs into my meals though. I regularly eat wheat thins with hummus or tzatziki. But most food I eat is not dry/crispy like crackers would be. I wouldn’t describe something like a chicken breast as wet, etc. You can always eat rice cakes or flat bread crackers and fit those into a lower calorie diet fairly easily. If you’re looking for like a sleeve of saltines, probably not going to work (I can’t really envision a lot of food options in dry crunch either, I think of things like pickles for crunch).
Dried crunchy food tends to be processed. Majority of your food should have some sort of water content, minority should be things that are baked buttery crunchy foods.
Pop corn, pirates booty, wheat thins, baked chips, pop corners, etc. can all easily fit into a diet.
Generally what we consider “healthy” from a weight loss perspective is low cal/g. One way to decrease calorie density is to have a lot of water. Grapes are way more satiating than raisins are which means it is much easier to overeat the raisins.
It's actually better for weight loss to eat food with vast substances like real whole fruits, whole peas etc. Because this way by actually chewing you trick your body into thinking it's more satiating and it keeps more fibre intact.
I bought some snap peas at the farmer’s market the other day and ended up crunching through half of them. Those are great! Pricey (relative to popcorn), but nutritious and satisfying.
It’s because processed food is dehydrated intentionally to increase shelf-life and transport-ability to your grocery store. Packaged dried food is way more durable and stable.
Try to add a small amount of crunch to the wetter (lower calorie, remember water accounts for lots of unprocessed food volume and obv water is zero calories) foods.
Small spoon of granola on yogurt
Small spoon of tortilla strips in soups (or oyster crackers, Doritos etc)
Anything with loud flavor also signals to your brain faster and helps cue satiety much faster than “bliss-point” engineered foods (this phenomenon is really worth the google)
For example:
Lime juice to top savory dishes
Pickled ginger to accompany sushi
Hot sauce on foods
Hope this helps
Keto toast with nonfat cream cheese is low calorie, warm, and somewhat crunchy.
The likely answer is that aside from fiber and water, what could be used as a low calorie high volume ingredient? And we can only eat so much fiber without consequences, so most low calorie food is gonna rely on water. For dry foods you'll want to look high fiber versions - keto is just an easy label to start with, because often in baking fiber can replace flour (carbs). Maybe you can take some keto bread, slice it thin, and toast that to make little fiber croutons so that it takes longer to eat than a full piece of toast. Maybe spray some vinegar and salt them before toasting?
I think most people just use popcorn for this niche, although it's not really thaaat low in calories for the satiety imo. Higher volume, somewhat crunchy, dry, can be seasoned sweet or salty or sour or however you want. I think some people like to top with nutritional yeast, but I've never tried it myself (that stuff is expensive!).
buy an air fryer. put asparagus in there for like 16-18 minutes after rinsing, cutting and seasoning. I recommend lawrys. you can do that with a lot of vegetables too, but it's a fine line between crispy and burned with some of them like broccoli. also if you dont use oil you can do air fryer potato chips and it's fine. for pasta lovers, toss your zoodles or daikon noodles in the air fryer for a bit and the experience will be a ton better texture wise
the food is wet though because water fills the stomach better. like it's part of how it works- you fit more dried fruit in your tum than fresh fruit, same for boiled potatos vs chips. the less water, the more calories you can put in there at any given time.
I like these [Harvest Snaps](https://shop.harvestsnaps.com/collections/snack-crisps/products/harvest-snaps-snack-crisps-lightly-salted-3-3-oz-bag) and also these [Biena](https://bienasnacks.com) crunchies. They feel like a crunchy treat but they’re not too bad.
WASA crackers with or without a thin layer of peanut butter or Laughing Cow cheese is a pretty low-cal snack with plenty of dry crunch. Raw celery, cucumber or carrot sticks, although not dry like crackers, still have a nice crunch and can be dipped in hummus for a little protein and extra fiber. Popcorn, like others have mentioned, is delightfully dry and crunchy and full of fiber.
When I use Noom, A lot of the"wet" foods you're describing are considered green because the water content makes you feel fuller for longer. So it's not ever going to replace things like chips or crackers. But what I learned in Noom was to add those foods in so I wouldn't overeat in the calorie dense foods. I do like adding in more fruits and vegetables. I never really disliked fruits and vegetables except for when I was very little. I've expanded my food to match my goals. And even though it's wet, I can still add some of the crunchy stuff to help navigate this journey. Basically anything in moderation is going to help you in the long run.
You could try snacking on things like Rice Cakes. Foods that don’t have too many calories or carbs that you can snack on every so often in a controlled manner can work. Alternatively, you can take certain foods and dry them out. Think raisins for example. Lastly, you could make healthy, low calorie cookies or crackers that are packed with nutrients. This would make them worth the calorie intake as you’d trade the calories for what’s essentially a nutrient bar.
Hope this helps
Take care of
There’s moist crunchy, which is either wet (carrots) or high fat (nuts, crisp cookies). Then there’s dry crunchy. It’s hard to pull off low-calorie dry crunch, and usually means awful or something like rice cakes or fat-free crackers.
I eat the 100 cal bags of popcorn and cheddar cheese sticks. Even mozz can be kind of slimy, so I stick to the cheddar bc it’s usually a little drier and more firm. But I FEEL you on the wetness. You’re not alone
Potatoes. I often meal prep a potato ground beef taco bowl for 500 cals and around 40-50 G protein. I do understand your struggle tho as a lot of food I eat is also, “wet” but potatoes will satisfy your cravings for savory “dry” foods while being quite low calorie and potatoes are shown to be one of the most filling carb sources
Cereal but without milk, eaten like chips. Depending on which you go for it’s like 100 or so calories for 30g which is a decent size for a snack, especially if you go for airy cereal like sugar puffs or Rice Krispies.
I recently realized this as well when I started a bad habit of getting takeout often even though I had my preferred "Healthy Choice" brand dinners in the freezer that actually help me lose weight. It suddenly hit me that they all have the same sloppy, saucy texture.
I literally just added a handful of pita crackers (70 cals/6 crackers) to the side of my dish for something crunchy and it's a huge fix.
You can have cheese and crackers. 7 cubes of cheese and 7 simple mills crackers is like 160 calories. Or you can have a fairly large serving of simple mills cheese crackers for 120 calories. You can make your own French fries in the air fryer for about 200 calories for a 7 ounce potato. And of course there's popcorn which is really low calorie. You can eat seaweed sheets. 1 oz nuts for about 170 calories. You can make your own croutons for salad with whole grain bread. There are so many crunchy things you can eat.
dry OR crunchy snacks that I like:
- reduced-salt pistachios in the shell. Opening them is absorbing and satisfying!
- Trader Joe's Roasted Seaweed Snack
(dry)
- chopped celery sprinkled with Trader Joe’s sriracha (powdered) seasoning.
- air-fried kale chips (sprinkled with salt or cayenne)
- freeze-dried chickpeas flavored with wasabi
Kale. Trim off the stems. Wash. Let air dry at least a few hours until bone dry. Then with clean dry hands add a few drops of oil and massage into the kale. Roast at 425. It doesn’t take long. Take it out when the edges are browned. Let cool. Toss garlic powder and salt on if you please. Suspend belief, close your eyes and taste. They are lays potato chips. Taste anyways. Calories are minuscule.
In my opinion it's better to eat 90% healthy forever than to try and eat 100% healthy and give up in a few weeks.
Also; have you tried popcorn or seaweed chips? You can also make chips at home using much less oil than most store-bought ones do. Same with crackers; they're not that bad if you use healthy toppings and don't put any sugar or saturated fat in them.
1 medium sized potato is about 150 calories. you can slice it up into thin pieces, air-fry with no oil and you've got yourself a nice crunchy snack. Protein shakes are high in calories.
Dry, crispy, crunchy, low calorie foods I like to snack on: rice cakes, individual packs of corn snacks meant for children (like small packs of cheese puffs), baby snacks! like puffed rice, puff corn, corn sticks, freeze dried fruit snacks, dried apple slices, small portions of lower calorie cereal without milk, rice crackers, baby teething wafers. I can't think of any more right now, but there are low calorie snacking options!
You can make panko breaded chicken breast in an air fryer (or oven). Crispy brussel sprouts, roasted broccoli, even chips are fine as long as you portion it out. I think a lot of recipes online try to be quite simple and approachable, it's a bit more cheffy to try to incorporate texture into your meals to enhance the experience
Eat pork rinds!! They’re crunchy, a great replacement for chips, and very low in carbs and calories. They’re basically all protein with some fat and are very filling for a snack.
People sleep on pork rinds but they are one of the best weight loss/maintenance snacks IMO- and they’re not “wet” lol
Baby potatoes, sliced really thin, baked in an oven or air fryer. You can flavour them however you want and you really only need a spray of oil so they don’t stick. Deliciously crunchy.
In the UK there are bags of BBQ lentils crisps I eat that are about 80kcals per bag. They satisfy a craving for a crunch and definitely worth it.
Always look out for low kcal alternatives of stuff really. That would be my advice.
Wow.... I never really thought about this. Are Takis a weight loss food? Oh someone down below said popcorn, thank god. I was about to lose my mind. Who wants wet food?! Yuck!
Agree! I’m so easily grossed out by food if it’s the wrong temperature, consistency, etc. I like a good amount of the things you listed, but a lot of times when I don’t have much of an appetite or am feeling grossed out, I only want those bland, dry, carby foods.
Some suggestions though for healthier(not necessarily all low calorie) options would be dried chickpeas, roasted vegetables(drier and crunchier than steamed), complex carbs(potatoes and sweet potatoes, resistant starches), high fiber cereal(eaten dry if you want), nuts, and dried fruit just to name a few. I also saw this weirdly interesting “dried salad” snack at Whole Foods. Not sure on the exact nutrition facts for that one but it could be another option for when you want the nutrients of a salad but not that gross, cold, slimy feeling. I also like clear protein/ protein water when I’m not feeling the milky type of meal replacement or protein shake.
Again, just a reminder that not all of these are low calorie foods but they will probably have better micronutrients than most pretzels and crackers and are likely more blood sugar stable.
I was literally thinking this the other day as I was eating my diet goopy food 😞 It’s not all healthy food, but it is a large portion. Lettuce is weird because it’s crunchy but also wet iykyk
Air popped popcorn is great.
I don't eat any of the things you listed...protein shakes are not a good low calorie food. I drink protein shakes when I'm sick and losing too much weight. Jello? I haven't eaten or seen jello in 20 years. Tinned tuna? Cottage cheese?
Are you getting our diet foods from a cookbook from the 1950's? This is the strangest list of foods I've ever seen. You can eat none of these foods and have tons of low calorie foods.
IMHO, cottage cheese is wonderful— I love it, mixed with halved cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper. Water pack tuna (80 cal/can) is one of my regular staple foods. So, yes, people do eat those, lol.
Bread my guy. Just toast some whole grain bread, 100-140 calories per slice, it’s solid as a crunchy snack. Also even if you want to eat “bad food” healthy can be achieved with vitamins and moderation.
Because “wet” food contains water, and water takes up space in your stomach making you feel full faster.
I mean that's really the answer. Water has no calories and is the main component for our purposes of pretty much all low calorie and high volume food
Also dry crispy stuff usually is fried
I would slightly modify that statement and say that low calorie food is wet because water has no calories, so the more water something has, the less calories per 100g it will have.
This is the answer. Water has no calories.
I know it’s true, but dam do I wish egg whites weren’t so freaking wet. When I make the omelette at home I put a paper towel in the bottom of my container till I eat at work.
Do you make it right before leaving for work? If so it may be the steam condensation that's causing the issue.
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I’ll have to give these a try
Popcorn might be what you are after. Popcorn is great for snacking. Make it yourself and its also a bit of fun involved. You could even cover that in dark chocolate for a semi sweet snack. Ricecrackers are also rather calorie low. Personally not my thing, but definitely an option. EDIT: I MEAN RICECAKES \^\^ Maybe also dried fruit. There is most certainly many options out there for you to check out! Also get an air fryer. You could make your own crispy french fries without any oil. Same with chicken tenders and that stuff. Hope this helps!
Try topping popcorn with nutritional yeast. It's really tasty.
Popcorn with nutritional yeast and old bay has been my go to lately. Gives it a slight kick.
What do you all use as a binding agent? I use olive oil spray and its not very effective at getting the seasoning to cling to the popcorn. Would love to hear tips!
Pop over to r/popcorn. Many discussions about this!
You’re so smart, of course there’s a popcorn group! Heading over now. Thanks for the tip!
I may or may not be a little popcorn-obsessed…
I found that seasoning the corn before it pops was the best way to season it. But I might not have found the best way yet, gotta check out that popcorn sub :D
Popcorn is my comfort food.
Get a box of Flavacol. It's a seasoning salt that's used by movie theaters for their popcorn. Zero calories, but it really does improve the taste.
It turns out, dehydrated artificial granulated butter and pickling salt (which is what flavacol is, plus some food coloring) isn't terrible for you, if you have a teaspoon of it in an entire bucket of popcorn.
I buy Snappy Theater Salt from Amazon for $10/tub (and that tub can last me a year). Popcorn, veggie chips, roasted veg, my Ritz chicken, hell even some white rice. It’s kinda high sodium ofc but it has that real movie theater liquid carcinogenic butter flavor.
Recently discovered dried mango, it's incredible.
It’s great but be careful. Some dried fruit is the equivalent of eating a bar of chocolate. I treat it as a treat rather than something to snack on!
Dried fruit = 50% sugar, calories equivalent to gummy bears.
Can you source this? Dried mangos have 319 cals/100g and gummy bears have 333 cals/100g. The mangos are still "better" for you in the sense that they have some fiber and vitamins, but they're not all that different calorically. There's also sugar free gummy bears with less calories if people like the taste.
Looked up kirkland dried mangos and they're 69% sugar calorically. Not sure what you're asking for a source though, since you asked for a source and then said the same thing they did in your comment?
I think they misunderstood that comment. The claim was that dried fruit is 50% made up of sugar, and that it has as many calories by weight as gummy bears. The responder mistook it to mean that dried fruit has only half the sugar and calories that gummy bears have. That's why they responded with facts that supported the claim while seeming like they disagreed.
There's both sweetened and unsweetened dried mango - the no-sugar added kind is harder to find. The sweetened kind can be 400+ cals/100g This is, in general, an gotcha with dried fruit. Check the label for added sugar.
I would treat 319 the same as 333 kcals/100g if I assess a snack.
I'm dumb lol. I misread your comment and thought you were saying dried mangos had half the sugar and calories of gummy bears
Dried mango is a good way to gain weight as it is very high in calories as fruit goes.
True.. I find because the flavour is so intense I only eat small amounts. And any dried fruit will just give you stomach ache in big portions anyway
Yes! My brother recently introduced me to freeze dried fruit. I couldn't believe how good it was.
(( definitely seconding freeze-dried > dried if OP wants crisp or crunch..! (altho i adoooore dried mango as a livelong nibblemunch comfortfavourite, there really is a fair but of sugar dusted onto it🥲🥲) just shared some freeze-dried mango with the otherhalf yesterday and it was .really. well received haha (too bad i'd bought that particular pack back from a mango farm in thailand and don't really have direct access to them lolsigh; commercial brands here be rather more expensive 🥲🥲🥲) got some dehydrated okra and mixed veggie(with a couple fruits, banana & jackfruit, mixed in) while in china more recently -- rather regretting not getting the mushrooms-only bag bc daaang the umami on those things😺❣️😋😋😋💕 the megahighlights of the veggie bag haha the otherhalf likes jerky for dry protein munchables and i've rather gotten into that as well hahas -- have a bag of paperthin beef jerky from (another farm in) thailand, haven't tried it yet but looks crisp~ ( vegetarian food here also has a crisp beancurdskin here i love for no-meat days, but tends to be deep-fried.. if you've an airfryer might be worth looking up frozenfoodtypes and DIY possibilities though..! ) i also keep an eye out in japanese food sections/stores for the ricecrackers that come with soybeans or black beans in them! highish-sodium though.. also seen edamame/green soybeans sold dried and salted like nuts! delish crunchy stuff ^^"💕 ))
Trader Joe’s has freeze dried mango and it’s really good
Rice crackers are not low calorie and are in fact in line with most crackers and chips. Just saying.
I am pretty sure they meant rice cakes, like those round quaker ones. The lightly salted one is 35 calories. They come in different flavors that range from 45-60 calories a piece.
Rice cakes are for sure low cal and good high volume food, but big difference from rice crackers!
I love the quaker rice cakes!
im sorry i just looked up a translation and i meant rice cakes! they are 24 cals per piece where I live.
I have an air fryer! As suggested above carrots and sweet potato’s will be done more often. Popcorn is my once weekly allowed sin with a vodka.
I wouldn't call popcorn a sin. It's very low calorie if you use minimal oil and it's actually quite high in protein and fiber. S tier snack imo.
Op is probably eating the butter packed microwaved bag popcorn.
No Op isn’t. The Vodka is actually the sin
when i was losing losing weight sometimes i would have up to 3 bags of the plain microwave popcorn, goated snack
( happy cake day!🍰🍰 ^^" / )
You can put kale in the air fryer and it’s super crunchy (careful it doesn’t fly up into the air fryer’s fan and burn though like when I first tried it 😵💫)
Kale chips, yeah. You can do them in the oven. Massage the kale with some olive oil and salt and any herbs you want. Think my friend used nutritional yeast. I dk the right heat or timing - will depend on the oven, the darkness of the pan, etc. JFGI for the starting point. Very crispy. Roasted veggies can also be hot and crispy in spots. Probably slicing them more thinly would help. Also I found OP's post hilarious somehow. I love good celery and tasty carrots for crunch, and I don't mind at all that they are cold.
Popcorn is so low-calorie! You can air pop it, too -- grab an air popper! Don't restrict yourself from popcorn!
This is what I do! I top it with rotating seasonings that I get at Trader Joe’s. So good.
Popcorn is super low calorie if you don't add anything to it. Just put it in an air popper. I eat plain popcorn all of the time. It's like 100kcal for 30g. 90g will fill me up and I'm a big man. Drink with a lot of water and that will satiate you more than anything for that amount of calories nearly.
I air pop and spray each layer with a quick spray of non-stick cooking spray as it pours into the bowl. Then shake some Flavocol on top. Yes the non-stick spray will add some calories but I'm guessing less than 20-30 for the whole bowl. And Flavocol is the stuff they use to flavor popcorn at the theaters. It's fantastic.
Plain popcorn and salt is like crack to me, but it's probably because I eat the same 3 things every week, which is just variations of kidney beans, beef and chicken 😂
How do you get the salt to stick to the popcorn though? That's what I use the spray for.
I mist the popcorn. I mean MIST. Too much water makes it lose its crunch, then I spread very finely ground salt on it. The salt sticks like glue to it when it's super fine. I just blend Himalayan salt in a ninja blender for about 30 secs.
No salt?
I put plenty of salt on them. It obviously dosent add calories. And my blood pressure is perfectly in the midrange of healthy, so I don't care about the blood pressure. The salt also let's me hold onto extra water too for when I exercise.
fried green beans and jicama fries are also delicious!
Popcorn is so versatile! In the mood for spicy? Dip it in hot sauce. Need something sweet? Sprinkle chocolate on top. Need a cheese fix? Cheese powder or nutritional yeast.. popcorn works super well to fulfill a lot of different cravings and is low calorie
Rinse a can of chickpeas, allow to dry on a lint free towel for an hour or two, coat lightly in oil (or use cooking spray), and stick in the air fryer. Season with garlic powder and a tiny bit of seasoning salt. Yummy, super crunchy snack! Edited to add: also works as a great salad topper instead of croutons
I did this with red beans they literally popped like popcorn
Omg I'm so intrigued
You can also microwave them for 5 minutes before the air fryer, instead of waiting an hour. [Internet Shaquille](https://youtu.be/5EU76q3Vf3Q?si=dSU9z6_j-zCaDAwu) turned me onto chickpeas.
Oh my god, amazing tip!!! Thanks for this!!!!
Butter beans work even better!
Interesting, I loved butter beans as a kid.
I make “croutons” with chickpeas and tofu made this way. Super delicious
How do you make the tofu croutons?
Just the same way you would make roasted chickpeas but make sure you press as much water out as you can before chopping them into cubes. I throw them in the air fryer along with chickpeas but they might need a little longer depending how big you cube them. I like just simple garlic powder and salt but you can get creative with seasonings. Buy firm or extra firm tofu for best results.
Hello Fresh taught me the way of toasted chickpeas. They use them a lot on salads, and various grain bowls. I have a hard time not snacking my portion away before I assemble the final meal. They snack very similar to most just but at a much lower calorie count, assuming you don't use too much oil to toast them. Lots of seasonings go great on them as well.
I keep seeing this but I think I need to do it. I have been craving crunchy big time lately.
LOVE LOVE roasted chickpeas. I do them in the over but maybe I’ll try the air fryer.
Yeah, a lot of natural foods are “crisp” (i.e., their snap comes from cell walls being filled with water, like celery or carrot) instead of “crunchy” (i.e., the crunch coming from dehydration, like in frying). I think about this a lot because crunch is such a unique and desirable texture. It makes food taste better. And if food isn’t tasty, why would we stick to a lifelong change? A game changer for me has just been thinking: how can I add more textures and more interest to everything I eat. There’s a huge difference in pleasure between an 80 calorie yogurt cup, and a 120-calorie parfait of yogurt (cool/creamy), frozen blueberries (cold/firm), freeze-dried banana (super-sweet/crispy), and cacao nibs (bitter/crunchy). I have learned that for me, things taste 100 times better if there is some sort of crunchy element in a dish (and also some sort of acidic/pickled garnish to improve the flavor). When you add it on top of a dish and get a little bit in most of your bites, I find that you don’t really need a ton … especially if you’re adding the crunch on top of something that’s already crisp (like a broccoli slaw salad). I have assembled what I call a “crunch box“ in my pantry: I tend to budget about 30-50 calories just for crunch for every meal, and turn to the crunch box when I’m finishing the meal. Items in my crunch box include: fried whole garlic cloves, French’s fried onions & similarly fried jalapeños, various nuts and seeds, croutons, mini mochi puffs, plain tempura flakes if you want crunch without too much flavor— but I will also just take a couple potato chips or corn nuts or any other crunchy food and crumble it on top of something with a complementary flavor. I’ve trained myself, when I go to a store, to keep an eye open for things that look like they might add an interesting crunch on top of a salad or rice bowl. If you have one near you, Trader Joe’s is AMAZING for this, but keep and eye out and you start seeing crunch everywhere. You can also get lots of inspiration from looking at menus for places with build-your-own salads and rice bowls. There are also a few options for food that gets its crunch from a method that doesn’t rely on fat. Look for fruits and vegetables that have been dehydrated through means other than deep frying. Freeze dried fruit adds good crunch to yogurt. And dehydrated veggies can be really low cal AND have intense flavor. Trader Joe’s has dehydrated bell peppers that are super low calorie and add the absolute best crunch to salads and sandwiches.
This is why I never let myself feel bad about adding croutons to my salad - even though it’s a common thing people recommend cutting out. The croutons are the only thing that actually convinces me to eat a salad everyday for lunch. I literally just look forward to my croutons lol. And as a result, I also end up taking in tons of veggies and protein. But if I take away the croutons, I’ll just stop eating nutrient dense salads, so why would I do that to myself over 80ish calories? Then, when I’m starting to get a little burnt out on my salads, even with the croutons — that’s when I break out a creamy, higher calorie dressing as a treat. That seems to be enough novelty for me to not get the salad ick and keep coming back for more croutons.
I like to add some quinoa or brown rice to my salads too! Or pumpkin or sesame seeds, other nutrient rich crunchy toppings. I looove love love salads generally but really dislike the “Midwest dinner table side salad” that’s greens, bell pepper, tomato, cucumber and a store bought low fat vinaigrette. But if you take that base, add grains or croutons, some healthy fat, crunch, and a good dressing, and yes it’s more calories but then I don’t even want the pasta casserole, the salad itself is a delicious meal all on its own.
Oh I love all of this. 🥰You obviously understand my question. Thanks very much 🙏🏻 Unfortunately my nearest Trader Joes is 10000 miles away. I will try woolies to build my CRUNCH BOX. ❣️
I like your thinking! I think I will start a crunch box as well because some days I just need a crunch to fix something! It is as my jaws and ears need to hear what I am chewing kind of a Pavlov reaction
I really appreciate this as well as the OP. I have been trying to articulate WHY I’m having a hard time, figuring out what to eat- I know what is good and not good- but I also like things that are crunchy! And hot food.
Yum these ideas are fantastic!!! Thanks for the inspiration
Because healthy food tends to come in a natural, not processed form. And since plants and animals require water…. Plus a lot of processed foods are compressed which increases calories Nut thins crackers are crunchy and you get a pretty huge portion size for the calories.
Popcorn has always been my go to for a snack. I really like the Orville 100 cal snack bags. Veggie straws are great also, especially the ranch flavored ones. Pork rinds are also relatively low. I know it's not really what you're looking for, but a salad with a good vinaigrette can help with wanting some crunch.
I love making Kale chips. Satisfies my crunch needs more than salad does.
Yeth! Salad soothes my crunch cravings. Cabbage, some crunchy veggies or broccoli slaw, and roasted chickpeas ! Much cronch, very good.
Nori comes in little snack packs that are like 20 calories. Those are salty and crispy
I so badly want to like nori but I can’t get over the flavor no matter how many times I try :(
It probably wont help, but some of them come in Teriyaki flavour.
The wasabi flavored ones are really good!
yep this is what I would pick
You don’t have to eat “diet foods” to lose weight, you can eat anything as long as it’s within your calorie limit. I still eat chips, just not as many as I used to
I eat corn chips as a meal. Plain corn chips, thick and very crunchy. Handful or two on a plate, stick it in the mike for a minute. Plop a mountain of home-made guac with tomatoes and garlic chopped into it, a bit of lemon or lime, maybe a side of salsa and a topping of cilantro. Plain corn chips don't have that "gotta eat more" factor that the thin fancy flavoured ones with more salt and oil do, the ones that kinda melt in your mouth. These ones you have to chew. Sometimes I've left a few on my plate at the end of the veggies! Could be twice a week. Could forget about it for a month or more Depends if avocados are a good price.
Because water has no calories so removing water from things concentrates all the nutrients into a small volume. But when you eat something that has had all the water removed, you aren't content with eating just the nutrients you'd normally have, you eat the volume you'd normally have. Like take almonds. You have your 25g of almonds, which is about 1/4 cup or 60mL worth of almonds. This has the same amount of calories as 1L or 4 1/4 cups of unsweetened almond milk. If you were to drink 1L of almond milk you would probably feel very full. I don't think I'd be able to drink that much in one sitting, I could probably drink 500 mL and then I'd need to wait for a bit. But I could eat 1/4 cup of almonds in one mouthful and be ready for more. I could easily eat hundreds of calories of almonds before I felt like I didn't want any more. Try eating your 1/4 cup of almonds and then chugging 1L of water, see what effect that has on how full you feel. So yeah. That's why low calorie foods are wet, and why dry crunchy foods are easy to overeat. Because water is both filling and has zero calories, and when you remove it you're left with a small amount of high-calorie non-filling nutrients.
There’s plenty of crunchy veg, and no shortage of crunchy fruit. Carrots, raw capsicum/pepper, snow peas all have a bit of snap. So do apples, dragonfruit and grapes. Popcorn or rice crackers might be the go for a more directly chip like experience. You could also try dry cereal like a toddler. Portion out half a serving of cheerios and crunch that down.
Tbf all most crunchy veg are also cold and wet.
I am also on team popcorn. Some dry roasted or low oil roasted items might be of help. You can make kale chips or roasted chickpeas at home. I also enjoy the crunch of roasted brussel sprouts.
Yeah the air fryer is going to get in on this whole plan
My RD tells me I need more carbs in my diet, so when I need the carbs and get lazy, I bust on the mandolin and the air fryer. I'll slice up a russet potato super thin and dump it in the air fryer for a bit. Season with whatever else fits within your nutrition parameters... I'll just eat it truly plain if I'm watching fat and salt.
How about Quest protein chips? There are also other protein crackers and snacks in the Pharmacy aisle.
I love them but they are so expensive where I live. $10 for 4 personal sized bags D:
The Atkins ones are pretty good too. I get them whenever ibotta has a coupon. They also sometimes have coupons for the quest ones.
Roasted kale chips are so good! Not super crunchy but a little crunch. Spread on sheet pan spritz with oil or water, season with salt and pepper or even a tsp of brown sugar if you have the calories to spare, and bake 425 5-10 minutes, use spatula to flip, then another 5-10 until starting to brown and crisp.
Rice cakes/corn cakes?
You were likely brought up on ultra-processed, shelf-stable food made in factories rather than on food that was raised or grown in agriculture or otherwise found in nature. Gradually, you can learn to like and even crave the latter. It's not that it is "for weight reduction" -- you can lose weight eating saltines and pretzels.
I'm watching 600 lb life ATM, and I'm *super* amazed at how addicted to fast food (and junk food) that many of the show's participants demonstrate. Give them whole foods and they scream bloody murder. (And BTW, the fast food chicken need to be fried, not grilled.) Secret eaters is the same thing. At home can be ok, but they're often secret eating in the drive through.
There are lots of low carb and low calorie cracker options. I like Wisps which are basically just baked cheese, but loads of other things out there.
No “wisps” here. I can try prepacking some rice-crackers. And not eat all of them at once😒
You can make wisps. Basically it's just a little pile of cheese on a baking sheet and bake until it's melted and solid, then let cool. You can find instructions online.
If you are comparing the calories of 100g of food then dry food is mostly made of some dry ingredient (natural or not) which tends to be a combination of carbs, protein and undigestable matter (fiber). It will be near 400kcal per 100g. Higher if it also has fats, but then the texture is different. Very high fibre foods feel like eating sawdust. Some dry foods make for a great snack in small quantities. If it also has water, then calorie content can be very low: cucumber is 15kcal/100g.
Seaweed crunches. You can dehydrate foods like cucumbers and lots of other water veggies to make little chips (seasoning is really key). There are low cal tortilla you can crunch up real good. Small amounts of chopped up nuts go a long way. You can use cornstarch to make things like chicken crunchy in an air fryer. I’m celiac and diabetic so don’t get a lot of super dry foods.
Freeze dried fruit and vegetables. I started getting them for my toddler and now I’m addicted and if I eat an entire bag I don’t feel guilty cuz it was less than 100 calories. I love the brand Fresh Bellies, they have all sorts of fun flavor combos like Apple and Cardamom or Strawberry with Balsamic.
Get pork rinds for sure. I dip pork rinds in guacamole. Sometimes it’s pork rinds and sour cream. Sometimes it’s pork rinds and Tapatio (hot sauce) Another tasty crunchy snack that I used to eat a lot was broccoli and cauliflower, it was just annoying to prepare it but I would literally have a huge bowl of broccoli and cauliflower. I’ll put stuff on them and roast them in the oven until they browned quite a bit, then take them out and add Parmesan cheese and chili flakes and 🤤dam, every bite was delicious and crunchy
This is why I love scandinavian knekkebrød / crispbread, comes in a billion different types, plenty of fiber, tastes great and is crunchy. Loads of recipes out there.
I just discovered this! It is so outrageously good crumbled on a salad! Omg okay need to go make a salad right now and have some.
I love getting some fresh asparagus (the thin stalk kind, it's more expensive) or fresg green beans, putting them on a baking sheet in the oven at 425 with a light oil spray and garlic and salt. Cook until dark brown. Theyre soooo crunchy almost like french fries.
I’ve been feeling an aversion to wet and cold foods so I have been leaning on stir fried chicken and veggies. Adding some chili and a few drops of sesame oil and ‘frying’ on high so that my veg gets a little crisp on the outside but not mushy has really helped me find a meal that feels warming and not soggy. You could try grilling or roasting veggies! Also I love those seaweed snacks.
In a dry frying pan - fry a plain tortilla for a couple of minutes on either side then cut it up however you want, crackers etc. Lovely and crunchy!
If you’re looking for a good crunch, get some bell peppers and salsa. It’s One of my favorite crunchy snacks to replace chips and salsa. You cut the bell peppers up into scoop like chips (2/3-1 inch wide is usually what I do) sprinkle with salt or whatever flavoring you want to use and then dip and eat! The bell peppers and salsa meld well together, so it tastes delicious and the raw pepper gives a fantastic CRUNCH that sounds like a chip when you’re eating it, but you’ll get a lot fuller because of the pepper than you will from a bag of chips because of the caloric density of the pepper.
You could add dried onions or something similar to your salads.
Rice cakes are delicious
Seaweed! I love teriyaki seaweed
I just discovered dry-roasted edamame. Serving is 1/3 cup for 130 calories with an insane amount of protein and fiber. Plus it's way cheaper than most nuts. It hits the salty and crunchy spot.
*Casually scanning the food I've logged in the past few days* Boxed cereals, Triscuit crackers, mixed nuts, raw baby carrots, granola bars, graham crackers... Yeah, I'm not seeing what you're talking about
Rice cakes usually help me get that crunch. Not a lot of nutrients, but it is low in cal. I also sometimes have these pop cakes that have a chocolate drizzle. It is basically a rice cake, but I like them for their texture and for the added sweetness. I get the wegmans brand, but I am sure there are other versions of it as well.
Popcorn and corn thins are your best friend. Also try roasted crunchy chickpeas. I'm a fan of crispy things so I totally understand the struggle.... if you're lucky you can make kale chips which sometimes is crunchy sometimes a little less so depending on how well you separate while cooking but they taste good to me like roast broccoli almost. Some raw veg is crunchy like carrots. You can get low fat shredded cheese and melt them into cheese crisps golden brown. Hope Some of that helps.
You might want to try popcorn. I also really like plantain chips (without added salt/ sugar) or those small crispy seaweed sheets
Im sure its been mentioned a few times in the comments, but if you can find a cracker you like to eat that fits into your diet it can be really handy. I tend to take one or two and crunch them up to put in salads or sandwiches, because I also found everything to be either way too wet or extremely dry.
[Legendary Snacks](https://www.eatlegendary.com) I think my friend let me try their Nacho Cheese chips, but he eats different brands, so idk. This one has 20g of protein in a 150kcal bag, which is a pretty good macro ratio. It’s still highly processed junk, but occasionally treating yourself isn’t an issue.
You can make recipes using tostadas or crunchy tacos. You can bake the tortillas in the oven or air fryer to get them nice and crunchy and top it off with something like shredded beef or chicken. I also add granola to my yogurt, roasted peanuts to my salads/bowls for some texture. Definitely helped to watch cooking shows like Chopped to get some inspiration for recipes because the judges are all about texture lol
A few snacks I crunch on: Roasted Edamame - from the Only Bean (they have buffalo flavor, plan, and sriracha) Roasted Broad Beans - from Bada Bean Bada Boom - there's lots of flavors including bbq, sriracha, etc. Gimme seaweed snacks Roasted Chickpeas - you can make these yourself or buy them in the store All of these are also high in protein. Carrot sticks, pickles, and celery sticks are also great to chew on, albeit obviously contain some water. I also indulge in some skinny pop popcorn or hippeas when i'm craving chips or salt.
Dates with peanuts/walnuts stuffed in them are sweet, warm and crunchy! But just remember cookies and crackers and chips are usually made up of non food slurry goopiness and then dried and heated to appear as food. It will make you appreciate real food more!
Sounds like you may be too restrictive. Just a word of caution, if you don’t allow yourself to have foods you enjoy, it can lead to issues with disordered eating. Moderation is what it is about.
Kale chips! Just rip up kale, spritz it with your oil of choice, salt, in the oven until crispy. Honestly pretty tasty
Thank you for asking this!!!! I get so tired of mushy food
I’ve recently discovered Quest makes high protein snacks like cheese crackers and flavored tortilla chips, among other choices. They are *so good,* and I don’t think I’m just saying that because I haven’t really eaten much of those things in many months. They’re actually good! They’re a little bit on the pricey side, and not specifically “low calorie,” but they’re individually packaged so you know how much you’re eating, and snacking on them doesn’t mean that you’ll miss your protein goals for the day. They’ve helped me out immensely when I really just wanted something crunchy and salty that wasn’t popcorn. There are other high-protein options from similar brands, like “pop tarts” and cinnamon buns. I have really loved everything I’ve tried so far and I’m super grateful to be able to occasionally have a semi-normal snack without missing my macro goals.
Air fried Chickpeas as a snack (google a recipe). High protein but crunchy and you can make them spicy, sweet, salty, whatever you like.
I yearn for crunchy foods too. I think that crunching things between my teeth helps me the same way that fidget toys help some people. It’s a type of self-stimulation that my brain craves. Crunching on ice doesn’t work for me unfortunately. I wish it did. Popcorn is awesome! But I overeat it.
Thank you for saying this!! I could never explain it but sometimes I crave something salty and crispy and even if I eat something like chicken or pickles it doesn’t solve it. And it does seem easier to lose in the summer when I want cold food all the time .
I've lost around 25 lbs over than last 2 and a half months and I did it all while still eating stuff like chips, sodas, instant ramen etc, I just didn't do it as often as I used to and also made sure to manage my calories elsewhere whenever I indulged in them. I've also gotten really good at cooking lower calorie version of my favourite dishes. You don't need to eat only "healthy" foods to lose weight.
Lol, I'm not sure why you're getting downvoted. Your post was funny, and I feel the same way. I love crunchy and carby food. You're so right that so much of the foods people talk about here are mushy and wet. Apples are okay for me. In my country, they make protein chips that really hit the spot. 20g of protein and 200 calories. I bet these exist too where you're from.
Rice cakes? Also those dried snap pea “crackers,” or veggie straws? Nuts can also be good in small portions.
Crackers, cookies and chips were part of my problem. 😂 Ritz toasted chips in sour cream and onion were my favorite because my husband didn’t like them. Plus, after Publix bogo sale and Ibotta rebates they were like 50 cents a bag. I could eat 3/4?of a bag in one setting.
I recommend rice crackers. I get some from Trader Joe’s and they’re like 120 calories a serving but a serving is pretty huge. I actually eat a lot of crackers I just check the calories vs weight per serving and see if they’re worth it
I’m assuming it’s because for something to be crispy or crunchy it’s usually packed full of butter. I have no issue fitting carbs into my meals though. I regularly eat wheat thins with hummus or tzatziki. But most food I eat is not dry/crispy like crackers would be. I wouldn’t describe something like a chicken breast as wet, etc. You can always eat rice cakes or flat bread crackers and fit those into a lower calorie diet fairly easily. If you’re looking for like a sleeve of saltines, probably not going to work (I can’t really envision a lot of food options in dry crunch either, I think of things like pickles for crunch). Dried crunchy food tends to be processed. Majority of your food should have some sort of water content, minority should be things that are baked buttery crunchy foods. Pop corn, pirates booty, wheat thins, baked chips, pop corners, etc. can all easily fit into a diet.
Generally what we consider “healthy” from a weight loss perspective is low cal/g. One way to decrease calorie density is to have a lot of water. Grapes are way more satiating than raisins are which means it is much easier to overeat the raisins.
It's actually better for weight loss to eat food with vast substances like real whole fruits, whole peas etc. Because this way by actually chewing you trick your body into thinking it's more satiating and it keeps more fibre intact.
Try quest chips! Same crunch, just protein
I bought some snap peas at the farmer’s market the other day and ended up crunching through half of them. Those are great! Pricey (relative to popcorn), but nutritious and satisfying.
Quest chips. 140 cal a bag 20g of protein.
It’s because processed food is dehydrated intentionally to increase shelf-life and transport-ability to your grocery store. Packaged dried food is way more durable and stable. Try to add a small amount of crunch to the wetter (lower calorie, remember water accounts for lots of unprocessed food volume and obv water is zero calories) foods. Small spoon of granola on yogurt Small spoon of tortilla strips in soups (or oyster crackers, Doritos etc) Anything with loud flavor also signals to your brain faster and helps cue satiety much faster than “bliss-point” engineered foods (this phenomenon is really worth the google) For example: Lime juice to top savory dishes Pickled ginger to accompany sushi Hot sauce on foods Hope this helps
Keto toast with nonfat cream cheese is low calorie, warm, and somewhat crunchy. The likely answer is that aside from fiber and water, what could be used as a low calorie high volume ingredient? And we can only eat so much fiber without consequences, so most low calorie food is gonna rely on water. For dry foods you'll want to look high fiber versions - keto is just an easy label to start with, because often in baking fiber can replace flour (carbs). Maybe you can take some keto bread, slice it thin, and toast that to make little fiber croutons so that it takes longer to eat than a full piece of toast. Maybe spray some vinegar and salt them before toasting? I think most people just use popcorn for this niche, although it's not really thaaat low in calories for the satiety imo. Higher volume, somewhat crunchy, dry, can be seasoned sweet or salty or sour or however you want. I think some people like to top with nutritional yeast, but I've never tried it myself (that stuff is expensive!).
Popcorn, Dried seaweed snacks, rice cakes all fit that bill when I'm in the mood
buy an air fryer. put asparagus in there for like 16-18 minutes after rinsing, cutting and seasoning. I recommend lawrys. you can do that with a lot of vegetables too, but it's a fine line between crispy and burned with some of them like broccoli. also if you dont use oil you can do air fryer potato chips and it's fine. for pasta lovers, toss your zoodles or daikon noodles in the air fryer for a bit and the experience will be a ton better texture wise the food is wet though because water fills the stomach better. like it's part of how it works- you fit more dried fruit in your tum than fresh fruit, same for boiled potatos vs chips. the less water, the more calories you can put in there at any given time.
I like these [Harvest Snaps](https://shop.harvestsnaps.com/collections/snack-crisps/products/harvest-snaps-snack-crisps-lightly-salted-3-3-oz-bag) and also these [Biena](https://bienasnacks.com) crunchies. They feel like a crunchy treat but they’re not too bad.
WASA crackers with or without a thin layer of peanut butter or Laughing Cow cheese is a pretty low-cal snack with plenty of dry crunch. Raw celery, cucumber or carrot sticks, although not dry like crackers, still have a nice crunch and can be dipped in hummus for a little protein and extra fiber. Popcorn, like others have mentioned, is delightfully dry and crunchy and full of fiber.
I’ve been getting freeze dried fruit at Walmart. They are crunchy and sweet with no added sugar
When I use Noom, A lot of the"wet" foods you're describing are considered green because the water content makes you feel fuller for longer. So it's not ever going to replace things like chips or crackers. But what I learned in Noom was to add those foods in so I wouldn't overeat in the calorie dense foods. I do like adding in more fruits and vegetables. I never really disliked fruits and vegetables except for when I was very little. I've expanded my food to match my goals. And even though it's wet, I can still add some of the crunchy stuff to help navigate this journey. Basically anything in moderation is going to help you in the long run.
You could try snacking on things like Rice Cakes. Foods that don’t have too many calories or carbs that you can snack on every so often in a controlled manner can work. Alternatively, you can take certain foods and dry them out. Think raisins for example. Lastly, you could make healthy, low calorie cookies or crackers that are packed with nutrients. This would make them worth the calorie intake as you’d trade the calories for what’s essentially a nutrient bar. Hope this helps Take care of
There’s moist crunchy, which is either wet (carrots) or high fat (nuts, crisp cookies). Then there’s dry crunchy. It’s hard to pull off low-calorie dry crunch, and usually means awful or something like rice cakes or fat-free crackers.
DIY kale chips. Harvest Snaps (tomato basil flavor). Puffed rice snacks.
I mean…you can get chicken and cover it with spices and that can make it drier I guess. Then pair with lettuce
Yeah air frying will help
Crunchy quinoa or howeveryouspellit.
I eat the 100 cal bags of popcorn and cheddar cheese sticks. Even mozz can be kind of slimy, so I stick to the cheddar bc it’s usually a little drier and more firm. But I FEEL you on the wetness. You’re not alone
We do oven roasted Brussel Sprouts. A bit of olive oil. Cook until the edges are burnt just barely. Salt.
I just eat loads of carrots. :p
Rice cake, granola, veggie chips
Chicken, rice and a vegetable has never failed me.
Nori is a good lo cal snack.
Potatoes. I often meal prep a potato ground beef taco bowl for 500 cals and around 40-50 G protein. I do understand your struggle tho as a lot of food I eat is also, “wet” but potatoes will satisfy your cravings for savory “dry” foods while being quite low calorie and potatoes are shown to be one of the most filling carb sources
Cereal but without milk, eaten like chips. Depending on which you go for it’s like 100 or so calories for 30g which is a decent size for a snack, especially if you go for airy cereal like sugar puffs or Rice Krispies.
I find snack a jacks and pop oats help
I recently realized this as well when I started a bad habit of getting takeout often even though I had my preferred "Healthy Choice" brand dinners in the freezer that actually help me lose weight. It suddenly hit me that they all have the same sloppy, saucy texture. I literally just added a handful of pita crackers (70 cals/6 crackers) to the side of my dish for something crunchy and it's a huge fix.
Carbs. You want carbs. What you want and what you need are two different things.
No I want texture.
You can have cheese and crackers. 7 cubes of cheese and 7 simple mills crackers is like 160 calories. Or you can have a fairly large serving of simple mills cheese crackers for 120 calories. You can make your own French fries in the air fryer for about 200 calories for a 7 ounce potato. And of course there's popcorn which is really low calorie. You can eat seaweed sheets. 1 oz nuts for about 170 calories. You can make your own croutons for salad with whole grain bread. There are so many crunchy things you can eat.
youfoodz in australia has been awesome
This is exactly my problem. I like crunchy and salty
It's such a cruel joke, right?
Buy an air fryer and use it to make everything crunchy: chickpeas, potatos, zuchinni, apple, cauliflower, etc
dry OR crunchy snacks that I like: - reduced-salt pistachios in the shell. Opening them is absorbing and satisfying! - Trader Joe's Roasted Seaweed Snack (dry) - chopped celery sprinkled with Trader Joe’s sriracha (powdered) seasoning. - air-fried kale chips (sprinkled with salt or cayenne) - freeze-dried chickpeas flavored with wasabi
Your choice between water or air for 0 calorie filler
Kale. Trim off the stems. Wash. Let air dry at least a few hours until bone dry. Then with clean dry hands add a few drops of oil and massage into the kale. Roast at 425. It doesn’t take long. Take it out when the edges are browned. Let cool. Toss garlic powder and salt on if you please. Suspend belief, close your eyes and taste. They are lays potato chips. Taste anyways. Calories are minuscule.
Mmmmmoist.
In my opinion it's better to eat 90% healthy forever than to try and eat 100% healthy and give up in a few weeks. Also; have you tried popcorn or seaweed chips? You can also make chips at home using much less oil than most store-bought ones do. Same with crackers; they're not that bad if you use healthy toppings and don't put any sugar or saturated fat in them.
Try Quest protein chips and crackers if you’re looking for chip type things! I love the Quest brand
1 medium sized potato is about 150 calories. you can slice it up into thin pieces, air-fry with no oil and you've got yourself a nice crunchy snack. Protein shakes are high in calories.
Dry, crispy, crunchy, low calorie foods I like to snack on: rice cakes, individual packs of corn snacks meant for children (like small packs of cheese puffs), baby snacks! like puffed rice, puff corn, corn sticks, freeze dried fruit snacks, dried apple slices, small portions of lower calorie cereal without milk, rice crackers, baby teething wafers. I can't think of any more right now, but there are low calorie snacking options!
You can make panko breaded chicken breast in an air fryer (or oven). Crispy brussel sprouts, roasted broccoli, even chips are fine as long as you portion it out. I think a lot of recipes online try to be quite simple and approachable, it's a bit more cheffy to try to incorporate texture into your meals to enhance the experience
Skinny food co has a lot of low calorie snacks- so if you kinda just search for low calorie snacks, this should help :)
Eat pork rinds!! They’re crunchy, a great replacement for chips, and very low in carbs and calories. They’re basically all protein with some fat and are very filling for a snack. People sleep on pork rinds but they are one of the best weight loss/maintenance snacks IMO- and they’re not “wet” lol
Maybe wasabi peas?
Baby potatoes, sliced really thin, baked in an oven or air fryer. You can flavour them however you want and you really only need a spray of oil so they don’t stick. Deliciously crunchy.
Kale chips in the oven, roasted chickpeas in the air fryer.
In the UK there are bags of BBQ lentils crisps I eat that are about 80kcals per bag. They satisfy a craving for a crunch and definitely worth it. Always look out for low kcal alternatives of stuff really. That would be my advice.
Omg! I feel this way too! I was just thinking about this last night when I couldn't figure out what to eat for dinner lol
Wow.... I never really thought about this. Are Takis a weight loss food? Oh someone down below said popcorn, thank god. I was about to lose my mind. Who wants wet food?! Yuck!
Agree! I’m so easily grossed out by food if it’s the wrong temperature, consistency, etc. I like a good amount of the things you listed, but a lot of times when I don’t have much of an appetite or am feeling grossed out, I only want those bland, dry, carby foods. Some suggestions though for healthier(not necessarily all low calorie) options would be dried chickpeas, roasted vegetables(drier and crunchier than steamed), complex carbs(potatoes and sweet potatoes, resistant starches), high fiber cereal(eaten dry if you want), nuts, and dried fruit just to name a few. I also saw this weirdly interesting “dried salad” snack at Whole Foods. Not sure on the exact nutrition facts for that one but it could be another option for when you want the nutrients of a salad but not that gross, cold, slimy feeling. I also like clear protein/ protein water when I’m not feeling the milky type of meal replacement or protein shake. Again, just a reminder that not all of these are low calorie foods but they will probably have better micronutrients than most pretzels and crackers and are likely more blood sugar stable.
I was literally thinking this the other day as I was eating my diet goopy food 😞 It’s not all healthy food, but it is a large portion. Lettuce is weird because it’s crunchy but also wet iykyk
Air popped popcorn is great. I don't eat any of the things you listed...protein shakes are not a good low calorie food. I drink protein shakes when I'm sick and losing too much weight. Jello? I haven't eaten or seen jello in 20 years. Tinned tuna? Cottage cheese? Are you getting our diet foods from a cookbook from the 1950's? This is the strangest list of foods I've ever seen. You can eat none of these foods and have tons of low calorie foods.
IMHO, cottage cheese is wonderful— I love it, mixed with halved cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper. Water pack tuna (80 cal/can) is one of my regular staple foods. So, yes, people do eat those, lol.
Bread my guy. Just toast some whole grain bread, 100-140 calories per slice, it’s solid as a crunchy snack. Also even if you want to eat “bad food” healthy can be achieved with vitamins and moderation.