Powerful Snack Combos That Blast Fat

Snacks get a bad rap. Eating between meals doesn’t have to ruin your diet—eating smaller portions, more often, is the secret to fending off cravings and extra pounds.

Snacks can actually be a powerful tool to help you lose more weight than ever before. Don’t reach for the Doritos, though. Quality snacks use minimal calories (200 to 300 is a good range) to deliver a mix of fiber, fat, and protein—to make you feel fuller, faster (that’s the fat), and keep you full until your next meal (protein and fiber).

It’s not tough to build a satisfying, fat-fighting snack. These 5 easy-to-grab combos from the Men’s Health Belly Off! program are perfect between-meal moves for staying fit and reaching all your weight-loss goals in 2009.

1 apple + 8 ounces chocolate milk
This pairing screams “after school,” but it’s actually ideal: The apple, like most fruits, is a perfect portion, and the milk’s protein, fat, and chocolate flavor crush cravings until meal time.

String cheese + 2 tangerines
Cheese is a weight-loss coach’s dream: Its combination of protein and fat curbs your appetite for hours. Choose from low-fat or full-fat versions: Danish scientists found that when men ate a whopping 10 daily 1-ounce servings of full-fat cheese for three weeks, their LDL (bad) cholesterol didn’t budge.

Enjoy it with portioned-by-nature tangerines: The citrus tang is a natural match for the creamy flavor of dairy.

The old standby: PB & J
This brown bag favorite may be the perfect snack: Peanut butter’s loaded with benefits—it has been shown to lower diabetes risk, and includes lots of heart-healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Choose a low-sugar fruit spread to shave unnecessary calories without sacrificing flavor, and spread it on whole grain bread for more gut-filling fiber.

Low-fat plain yogurt + 20 unsalted almonds
When dieters in a City of Hope National Medical Center study ate 70 almonds daily in conjunction with a reduced-calorie diet for six months, the filling nuts helped them drop a whopping 18 percent of their body weight. Put the healthy fats and protein in these little miracles to work with yogurt’s flab-fighting calcium—the nutrient actually makes your body more efficient at breaking down fat.

1 serving popcorn + 1 dark chocolate square
Looks like cheating, doesn’t it? Think again: Dark chocolate can reduce your risk for diabetes and enhance both your sex drive and sexual satisfaction. And popcorn’s a whole grain: That means fiber.

The key with these is serving size and selection: Opt for a dark chocolate with more than 70 percent cacao, and eat just one square per snack session. Stick with light or natural popcorn, and don’t scarf the whole bag: A large cereal bowl full is a solid serving.