What’s a party without a tableful of great snacks? Chips and dips, crackers and cheese, crunchy things and creamy things? Not much fun, that's for sure.

But if you are watching your weight (go down), you have to be careful not to overindulge on high-calorie, nutrient-poor munchies. Does this mean that your parties will be a big, bland bore? No way!

Hot dogs are very popular as a lunch or dinner item. They are obviously also very popular as a snack food at parks and ball games. But are they health food, or just junk food?

The answer depends greatly on what the hot dogs are made of, how they are cooked, and the toppings heaped upon them.

The worst-case scenario is a cheap, preservative-filled hot dog fried in grease, served on a white bread bun, topped with gobs of artery-clogging full-fat cheese or fatty chili sauce.

And now for the good news. Here is a way to enjoy this favorite food with little or no diet damage.

Here is a snack that you can carry with you when you go out and about. It is nutrient-dense, so portions should be small, and it is very nourishing. A little goes a long way.

Happy Trail Mix

1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup dried blueberries or cherries
1 cup raisins
1 cup cocoa nibs, malt-sweetened chocolate chips, or carob chips

Mix all ingredients well.
Pack in small portions for carrying.

NOTE: In hot weather, cocoa nibs are better than chocolate chips or carob chips, because they don’t melt.

VARIATIONS
Use other types of nuts in place of, or in addition to, almonds.
Use other types of dried fruit, whole or diced.

I was visited by the Munch Monster last night. It wanted me to make nachos. You know, corn chips with melted cheese on top. But I am going extra-low-carb for a little while, so the chips — even whole-grain ones — were out of the question. A bit of cheese is OK, especially the low-fat, organic cheese I keep handy. But what to use to sub for the chips?

Then I had an idea. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I had to try. I rinsed and dried a head of romaine lettuce, and laid the leaves out on a plate, sprinkled these LIGHTLY with shredded cheese. Then I microwaved them for 1 minute. The cheese was gently melted. I considered giving them another 30 seconds to melt it further, but I decided I didn’t want the lettuce to wilt, so I took them out and let them cool slightly.

Have you ever noticed that fruit from the supermarket often looks great, but doesn’t have much flavor? There is a reason for this.

Fruit is often shipped vast distances. It has to be able to withstand drastic variations in temperature, and it bounces around all over the place. As a result, nowadays commercial fruit is, much of the time, bred for durability rather than deliciousness. The apples look lovely, but they aren't very sweet. People eat them, seeking the health benefits, but they are disappointed with the taste.

So what do they do? In many cases, they buy an apple pie or something like that. If the fruit had been tastier, they might have been happy with it, and been able to resist the pastry.

Everyone has heard that a piece of fruit is better for you than a piece of fruit pie, and that a banana is more healthful than a banana split. The natural item — with peel and/or fiber, vitamins, essential nutrients, and natural sweetness — is a whole food. The manufactured items by contrast are processed and denatured.

So why do the processed snacks taste so much better? First of all, do they really? Unfortunately, for many people the answer is yes… for several reasons.

Fruit is not inherently less tasty than processed snacks. Several modern trends have led to this situation. However, this is not insurmountable.

It's 10 PM. Do you know where the monster is? It’s in the fridge.

You’ve been good all day, eating right and doing your exercise. How about a "little something"? What’s that in the fridge, behind the pickles, ketchup, bread, and peanut butter? Why, it’s that big piece of chocolate cake that you brought home from your friend’s birthday party.

You didn’t want to be rude, but you weren’t about to munch it down right there in front of everyone. So you brought it home in a doggie-bag. It's been sitting there for two days, and it looks a bit tired. Maybe you should eat it before it becomes stale and inedible.

If you fear the lure of temptation, you could always follow the old trick of taking it to the sink and "washing" it until it is no more. But that seems so wasteful! There must be another, less drastic solution.

It’s one of the all-time most popular snack foods. It’s crispy and crunchy. It can have all kinds of great flavors. Almost everyone loves it. And best of all — it's GOOD for you!

What is it? It's POPCORN!

I’m not talking about the movie theater popcorn that comes in large, enormous, and garbage-can sizes, topped with orange-hued imitation butter. I’m referring to homemade, air-popped or microwaved popcorn. Get organic (unpopped) popcorn if you can. Store it in your fridge or freezer (cold popcorn pops better). Use an air popper or a microwave popper. Made this way, popcorn is lower in calories than most other popular snacks.

For the same calories as a small handful of potato chips or nuts, you can have several cups of popcorn. And there's no need to eat it plain. There are many healthy ways you can make this a taste-tempting treat!