Snack time

I post about food here a lot, but it's almost never about the normal food I eat day to day. I've come to realize that if I talk (or even think) about food, it's pretty much always the delicious, unhealthy indulgent foods that I either used to eat and therefor miss or that I have slipped up by consuming in a moment of weakness. So this morning I wanted to share some of my favorite snacky foods.

My newest find was a three pack of jars of hummus (which I used to have a lot more when I lived with someone who didn't mind the messy food processor cleanup) that come in original, garlic and sun-dried tomato flavors and a big bag of whole grain pita chips, both from CostCo (I've been a member for a week now... so awesome). 4 tbsp and 1-2oz respectively is quite a snack and only 3-5 points total. I like to have these with a couple green onions and a dill pickle (for no additional points) and it's fantastic. Maybe it's the newness of it, but this is my favorite snack at the moment.

Some other favorites are:

• Cheez-Its: especially cheddar jack, parmesan garlic and the seemingly defunct sour cream and onion flavors. I also saw a new pepper jack flavor yesterday that I've picked up but not tried yet. These are a bit pricier in terms of points than most people care, but I still get like 37 a day, so its nothing for me to drop 3 points for 23 'zits.
• Yoplait: there are so many flavors of the light yogurt and they are all like 90-110 calories (2 points for 6oz). My personal favorites are banana cream pie, very cherry, key lime pie, apple turnover, pineapple upside down cake and the old standby, very vanilla. I'd still like to try strawberry shortcake and cherry cobbler some time. These are also a decent way to get in a dairy serving (although the cups are a couple ounces short of a full serving).
• String cheese: I realize it's easier to just chomp down on the end, but some times I enjoy pulling off little strips and eating little bites at a time. It lasts longer and brings out the kid in me to some degree. These are also a decent way to get in half a dairy serving, and at only a point or two per stick, they're a very "affordable," filling snack.
  
• Fruit: grapes, bananas, apples, oranges, berries... I love fruit. I could probably get all 5 of my fruit/veggie servings in daily solely on fruit, but I know I need the vegetables as well, so they typically show up at lunch and dinner. My breakfast and both snacks, however, are all about the fruit. I rarely go a day without eating a banana, and while I don't try them often enough, I'm developing a taste for blue, rasp, black, and strawberries (none of which I was crazy about before). Sadly, I've never and possibly never will care for of melons, pears, or peaches. I'd love to keep trying new fruits like mango, kiwi, pomegranate, papaya and so forth.
• Water: yeah, I know, it's not really a snack, but I just want to emphasize what a big part of my day this really is. I drink almost nothing but water and milk. I was never a fan of pop since I quit drinking caffeine in high school, and I don't really miss the Fresca and Welch's grape that I used to buy from time to time. I was going through a pitcher of Crystal Light every day or 2 for a few months after I started WW, but I cut that out as well eventually. Weight Watchers recommends you get in 48 ounces of water a day and recently with the Momentum plan they expanded the term to include a lot of other liquids. Personally, I think the old standy is still number one, but beyond that, I also feel like 48oz (especially for someone my size) isn't nearly enough. I set my personal goal for 1-1.5 gallons (128-192oz), which since I got the water bottle I asked my girlfriend to get me for Christmas, that ain't no thing. I won't pimp it out since I've done enough product placement today, but I drink a lot more water with it than I did when I just used a cup. Oh, and I should mention that I'm also big on the ice water.... Hey, it's gotta take extra energy for the body to bring that 32º stuff up to 98.6º right?

So what are your favorite go-to snacks? I'm always on the lookout for new ideas.