Think out of the bag: Make your own 100-calorie snacks

It seems every food manufacturer and his brother has jumped on the portion-control bandwagon with a 100-calorie version of a coveted treat. Chips, cookies, crackers, yogurt and now even Coca-Cola can be consumed without guilt. (Though who is to stop you from having two — or more?) But if you want variety — and maybe even more nutrition — from your 100-calorie snack, consider these foods to quiet the growling in your stomach.

Janet K. Keeler, Times food and travel editor

• 1 cup of blueberries

• 1 hard-boiled egg

• 2 kiwis

• 2 ounces lean roast beef

• 1 cup of strawberries with a spoon of fat-free whipped topping

• 3 tablespoons hummus and 2 mini, whole wheat pitas

• 2 slices deli turkey and spicy mustard rolled in lettuce leaves

• 10 cashew nuts

• 3 ounces low-fat cottage cheese and 3 whole wheat crackers

• tomato halves, sprinkled with dried bread crumbs, and broiled

• 2 pieces Laughing Cow cheese spread into celery stalks

• 2 large graham cracker squares with 1 teaspoon peanut butter

• 4 mini rice cakes with 2 tablespoons low-fat cottage cheese

• half a small avocado

• 1/4 cup fat-free ranch dressing with mixed raw veggies

• 10 almonds

• half an apple with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter

• 1/2 cup frozen orange juice, eaten as sorbet

• 2 slices dry salami and 3 kalamata olives

• 10 pretzel sticks

• 1 ounce cheddar or mozzarella cheese

• 1 cup tomato juice

Sources: Janet K. Keeler, WebMD and www.calorie-count.com