Continued from Healthy Diet Snack.

Hummus Like Americans’ affinity for chips and dip, dwellers of the Mediterranean and Middle East crave their hummus — and it just might be why they aren’t so plagued with an obesity epidemic.

Not only is it suitable for vegetarians and vegans, but it also contains a large amount of protein, dietary fiber, iron and depending on the recipe, varying amounts of monounsaturated fat. Try this with whole-wheat tortillas, baked tortilla chips or the traditional pita bread.

Cottage Cheese Popular among bodybuilders and dieters, cottage cheese has a high content of casein protein while being relatively low in fat. It’s also low in carbohydrates while high in protein.

A 4-ounce serving has approximately 120 calories, 5 grams of fat, 3 grams of carbohydrates and 14 grams protein. According to the Journal of Nutrition, casein can moderate blood sugars and lower your risk for type 2 diabetes, and heart and kidney disease.

Cottage cheese is versatile, it makes a decent replacement for higher fat cheeses like whole-milk ricotta (my favorite), whole-milk mozzarella, and cheddar, not to mention giving you your fill of calcium to boot.