Who does not love to snack. If you want to be mindful of healthy snacks and weight loss these snacking ideas may be helpful to you. Having a little something-something every few hours keeps your metabolism humming and your blood sugar on an even keel.

Make you snack a lot more interesting with some new recipe ideas.

Sesame Squares

Makes 32 small servings

1/2 cup unpasteurized honey

1/3 cup natural peanut butter

3/4 cup nonfat dry milk

3/4 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup natural shredded coconut

In a large bowl, combine the honey, peanut butter, dry milk, sesame seeds, raisins, and coconut until well combined. Spread into an 8x8 inch baking pan that is lined with parchment paper. Place into the refrigerator for 4 hours. Remove and cut into one inch squares. Store in an airtight container.

Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie

Makes 1 serving

1 banana

1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

1/4 cup vanilla soy milk or 1% milk

2 vanilla wafers, crumbled

Place the banana, yogurt, strawberries, and milk in a blender and puree until thick and smooth. Transfer to a glass and sprinkle the wafer crumbs over the top. Half a cup of strawberries provides more than half of the Daily Value of vitamin C, a potent antioxidant that boosts production collagen fibers to help keep skin smooth and firm.

Veggies and Almond Butter Dip

Makes 1 serving

4 teaspoons almond butter

1 Tablespoon orange juice

1 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons peanuts

2 cups sliced cucumber, 1 cup sliced bell pepper, or 3/4 cup carrot slices

In a bowl, combine the almond butter, juice, and vinegar and stir until smooth. Top with the peanuts. Dip the veggies in the sauce.

Spicy Yogurt Dip and Veggies

Makes 8 servings

32 oz. fat-free plain yogurt

Garlic powder to taste

Onion powder to taste

Seasoned salt to taste

Cut-up fresh veggies

The first thing is to strain the liquid from the yogurt. To do this line a strainer with a coffee filter or white paper towel and place the strainer over a bowl the will catch the liquid that runs off of the yogurt. Spoon the yogurt into the filter-lined strainer. Covdr and refrigerate this for about 8 hours or overnight. This process yields about 16 ounces of yogurt cheese.

To make the dip, the next day take the yogurt cheese from the refrigerator and season the cheese lightly with the seasonings suggested above, or add freshly chopped herbs such as parsley, rosemary or thyme and use to dip your veggies in.

Gazpacho

Makes 1 serving

2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

2 Tablespoons chopped celery

2 Tablespoons chopped red bell pepper

2 Tablespoons chopped onion

2 Tablespoons chopped cucumber with skin

1 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed

Wedge of lime

Pinch of salt

1 cup ice water, divided

Hot sauce

Using a food processor or blender, combine the tomatoes, celery, bell pepper, onion, cucumber, cilantro, flaxseed, squeeze of lime juice, salt, and 1/4 cup of the water. Pulse about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is finely chopped. Add up to 1/4 cup more water and pulse to combine. Season to taste with the hot sauce.

For more snack ideas head to the link below to see more great recipes.