Better Late-Night Munchie Solution

I love sweets and I usually get the munchies late at night. Since using the free MyFitnessPal iPhone app, I realized that these munchies (brownies, cookies, ice cream, chocolate) are the single worst thing for pushing me over my weight-losing daily caloric intake. It's time to find a substitution.

My solution:  Cuties (clementine mandarins from November through January and W. Murcott mandarins from February through April). Small, seedless, sweet, easy to peel, and healthy. Cuties taste great, and surprisingly, they thoroughly satisfy my sweets cravings. I also found that eating a Cutie after my daily noon-ish workout helps to curb my afternoon appetite until dinner time.

And unlike juice with its empty calories and no real nutritional benefit, Cuties contain fiber and flavonoids (found in the white pulpy part). Flavonoids work together with the juicy orange-colored sections (containing vitamin C) to support your body's health. Synergy! When the pulpy white part of the orange is removed in the process of juicing, the flavonoids are lost in the process.

Below is the partial nutritional content of one (1) Cutie, according to the company website:

Calories:  40	Total fat:  0.25g	Potassium:  200mg
Total Carbohydrate:  8.5g	Daily Fiber:  2g	Sugars:  6.5g
Protein:  0.5g	Vitamin A:  1%	Vitamin C:  145%
Calcium:  2%	Iron:  1%