Healthy Snacking from my Radio Show

Rules of Snacking

With planning and a little preparation, you can have healthy foods on hand so that you're ready when temptation strikes: Prepare and pack healthy meals at home for children and/or adults to eat at school or work. Plan out your snacks just like you would a meal.

Prepare healthy snacks in advance. Did you know that you can make your own granola or trail mix? When you make something yourself, you get to control the ingredients and put in what's good for you! You also can keep plenty of fresh fruit and veggies at home to take on the go. Cut up melons or vegetables like celery and carrots in advance. Keep the servings in bags in the fridge, ready to grab and go. Keep healthy snacks with you. Make it a habit to stash some fruit, whole-grain crackers, or baby carrots in your backpack or workout bag so you always have some healthy food nearby. Half a cheese sandwich also makes a great snack to have on standby.

Mini Meals

Many experts are recommending several smaller meals throughout the day instead of the usual three. By eating at regular intervals, your blood sugar levels (and therefore your energy levels) remain stable. So, instead of that mid-afternoon crash, you’ll be full of vigor through dinnertime! Eating every few hours (especially if you chew on fruits and veggies) can also help add extra nutrition that might be missing from other meals. If I have a sandwich for lunch and I can’t finish it I save it for a snack later.

Snacking Isn’t Grazing

Mindless eating is often the downfall of many snackers. You may start with only a handful of your favorite crackers, only to finish the entire box, without even thinking about it. Obviously, this example isn’t the healthy snacking that can help you reach your weight loss goals.

To avoid grazing:

Fill a small plate with your snack, and leave the kitchen.

Just walk away. When your plate is empty, snack time is over.

Never bring the entire container with you in front of the television or computer. Enjoy your snack without distraction and you won’t be tempted to reach for more.

If you stand around the snack table chatting at a party, you may find yourself reaching for food when the conversation lulls. This can often lead to an unintentional binge because you simply aren’t paying attention to what you are eating.

Limit yourself to a single serving.

Make it interesting. Healthy snacking doesn't have to be boring as long as you give yourself a variety of choices. Whole-wheat pretzels with spicy mustard, rice cakes with peanut butter and raisins, or low-fat fruit yogurt are healthy, tasty, and easy.

Satisfy cravings with healthier approaches. If you're crazy for chocolate, try a hot chocolate drink instead of a chocolate bar. An 8-ounce mug of hot chocolate has only 140 calories and 3 grams of fat. The average chocolate bar, on the other hand, has 230 calories and 13 grams of fat. Substitute nonfat frozen yogurt or sorbet for ice cream. If you're craving savory munchies, snack on baked tortilla chips instead of regular corn chips and pair them with salsa instead of sour cream. Or satisfy salt cravings with pretzels instead of chips.

Read serving size information. What looks like a small package of cookies can contain 2 or more servings — which means double or even triple the amounts of fat, calories, and sugar shown on the label.

Don't slip up after dinner. Evenings can be a tempting time to indulge in sugary, fatty snacks. If you're really feeling hungry, don't ignore it. Instead, pick the right snacks to fill the hunger gap. Whole-wheat fig bars, rice cakes, or air-popped popcorn can do the trick, as can fruit paired with cheese or yogurt.

 

Choose your snacks from the following categories:

 

Fruits and vegetables. Eating fruits and vegetables provides a feeling of fullness and only a small number of calories. Fruits and vegetables also provide vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients.

Whole grains. Whole-grain snacks are rich in fiber and complex carbohydrates, which give you energy with staying power. Look for items such as low-fat whole-grain crackers, whole-grain pretzels and whole-grain crispbreads.

Nuts and seeds. Nuts and seeds provide protein, so you will feel fuller longer. They are high in fat, but it's mostly monounsaturated, a healthy kind of fat. Nuts and seeds are high in calories, however, so don't eat them in large quantities.

Low-fat dairy products. Cheese, yogurt and other dairy products are good sources of calcium and protein, plus many other vitamins and minerals. Choose the low-fat versions. Some yogurts have extra added sugar, so look for plain, low-calorie or "light" varieties.

Again let me preface this by saying I strongly live by an 80/20 rule, 80% of your foods should come from the healthiest most nutrient dense foods and the other 20 can be whatever you like guilt free, so by saying that here are some of my favorite snacks, some fall under the 80% some under the 20%.

• 1 cup sliced bananas and fresh raspberries (or any fruit)


• 2 cups  of baby carrots


• 3 1/2  cups air-popped popcorn


• 5 Melba toast crackers, rye or pumpernickel


• 2 tablespoons of peanuts


• 2 domino-sized slices of low-fat colby or cheddar cheese


• 5 olives (any kind) (45 calories)


• 1  small Martin's pretzel (50 calories)


• 2 oz Applegate Honey and Maple Turkey Breast wrapped around 2 bread-and-butter      pickles (80 calories)


• 1/4 cup hummus   3 carrot sticks (80 calories)


• 1 Laughing Cow Light Swiss Original wedge, 3 pieces Kavli Crispy Thin (85 calories)


• 1 oz buffalo mozzarella, 1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes (94 calories)


• 1 bag  Baked! Cheetos 100 Calorie Mini Bites (100 calories)


• 15Eden's Nori Maki      Crackers rice crackers (110 calories)


• 1 cup unshelled edamame  (120 calories)


• 50 Eden's Vegetable      Chips (130 calories)


• One 1-oz package of Planters NUT-tritionalmonds (130 calories)


• 1/4 cup Trader Joe's Chili con Queso, 18 baked tortilla chips (140 calories)


• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds in shell (143 calories)


• 2  pieces (30 grams) prosciutto, 4 dried figs (154 calories)


• 1      Subway Turkey  Breast Wrap (190 calories)


• 1      package Original Apple Nature Valley Fruit Crisps (50 calories)


• 1      packet O'Coco's Mocha cookies (90 calories)


• 1      Jelly Belly 100-calorie pack (100 calories)


• One  100-calorie pack Trader Joe's Chocolate Graham Toucan Cookies (100      calories)


• One 100-calorie Balance Bar (100 calories)


• 1 Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino bar (120 calories)


• 1  package Back to Nature Honey Graham Sticks (120 calories)


• 1/2 banana  rolled in 1 tbsp frozen semisweet chocolate chips (123 calories)


• 2 tbsp Better 'n Peanut Butter, 4 stalks celery (124 calories)


• 24  Annie's Chocolate Chip Bunny Graham cookies (140 calories)


• Half of a 1.08-oz container of M&M's Minis mixed with 1/3 cup lowfat      granola (145 calories)


• 1 McDonald's   Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait (160 calories)


• Toast one-half of a whole-wheat English muffin. Top with one slice Canadian bacon, a tomato slice and one slice low-fat American cheese.      Microwave until the cheese melts.


• Spread  1 tablespoon part-skim ricotta cheese over one-half of a small cinnamon-raisin bagel. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired and top with a thinly sliced apple.


•  Layer a 6-inch soft corn or flour tortilla with 2 tablespoons shredded low-fat      cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese. Microwave until the cheese melts. Slice      into bite-sized pie shapes. Dip into some salsa if desired.


• Health bonus: Nut butters are full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.


•  Roll a thin slice of prosciutto or ham around a part-skim mozzarella string cheese. Eat with a few olives and grapes, or add roasted bell peppers      (from a jar) drizzled with balsamic vinegar.Health bonus: Contains almost a quarter of a woman's 1,000-milligram recommended daily allowance for calcium. Cottage Cheese and Apples


• Slice an apple, and top with ½ cup of low-fat cottage cheese (look for  4-ounce four-packs from Breakstone).
  Health bonus: Provides protein, calcium, and fiber. Spread ½ teaspoon of  spicy mustard on a cocktail-size slice of thin whole-grain rye bread. Add a thin square of sharp Cheddar (about the same size as the bread) and  broil until the cheese melts, then top with a slice of tomato and a sprinkling of caraway seeds.Health bonus: Rich in calcium.

These may not be "perfect" snacks, mind you. Some are a bit higher in sugar, saturated fat, or sodium than I would like. But most have:

Enough calories to be satisfying, but not so many that the snack becomes a meal.

Less fat and saturated fat than other similar snacks.

Whole grain and fiber, protein, and/or other nutrients that give them staying power.

My five sweet snack choices include a higher-fiber pastry, creamy pudding, and three higher-fiber cookies.

• Fat-Free  Sugar-Free Instant Pudding (made with nonfat or 1% milk), various brands,      1.4-ounce box makes 2 cups. Per 1/2-cup serving made with nonfat milk: 80 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 6 g protein, less than 1 g fiber, 7      g sugar (from the natural sugar in milk).


• Fiber One Bars (variousflavors, such as Blueberry), 6 pastries per box. Each      pastry has 190 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 4 g protein, 5 g      fiber, 15 g sugar


• Nabisco100% Whole Grain Fig Newtons, 1 pound bag. FigNewtonshave gone whole grain! Two cookies have 110 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 1 g protein, 2 g      fiber, 12 g sugar (some of which comes from the figs).


• South Beach Living Fiber Fit Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies, 6 individual packs      per 5.1 ounce box. Among the ingredients inSouthBeach     cookie packs are whole-grain wheat flour, high-oleic canola oil, and oat      fiber. The sweeteners include sugar, maltitol (a sugar alcohol), sucralose      (Splenda) and acesulfame potassium. Each pack of the double chocolate chunk variety has 100 calories, 5 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 1 g protein,      5 g fiber, 5 g sugar (2 g sugar alcohol).


• South Beach Living Fiber Fit Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies, 6 packs per 5.1  ounce box. Each pack has 100 calories, 5 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 1 g protein, 5 g fiber, 5 g sugar (2 g sugar alcohol).


• For a frozen dessert to be satisfying, it needs to have some protein and fiber      along with the carbohydrate calories. These two choices have a few grams      each of protein and fiber.


• Healthy Choice Fudge Bars, 6 bars per box. Per bar: 80 calories, 1.5 g fat, 1 g      saturated fat, 3 g protein, 4 g fiber, 4 g sugars, 3 g sugar alcohols.


• Skinny Cow Chocolate Truffle Bars, 6 bars per box. Per bar: 100 calories, 2.5 g      fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 3 g protein, 3 g fiber, 12 g sugars, 0 g sugar      alcohols.


• Reduced Fat Triscuits. Some of the newer crackers are either high in fat and      saturated fat, or low in fiber (even some types that sound like they'd have      plenty of fiber.)


• Bumble Bee Tuna now offers a fat- free tuna salad kit complete with low-fat wheat crackers. There's not much in the way of fiber, but the 9 grams of protein could be just what you need in a filling afternoon snack.


• Nabisco Reduced Fat Triscuit Crackers, 8.5-ounce box. Per 7 crackers (1 ounce): 120 calories, 3 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 3 g protein, 3 g fiber, 160 mg      sodium.


• Planters Nut*rition Heart Healthy Mix, 9.75-ounce can. These contribute smart fat:      8 grams of monounsaturated fat and 5 grams polyunsaturated fat. Per ounce:      170 calories, 16 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 6 g protein, 3 g fiber, 45 mg      sodium.


• Orville Redenbacher’s Smart Pop, 3 bags per box. Per 3 tablespoons unpopped: 120 calories, 2 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 4 g protein, 4 g fiber, 240 mg      sodium.


• Smart  Balance Light Butter Popcorn (no Diacetyl added), 3 bags per box. Per 2 tablespoons unpopped: 120 calories, 4.5 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 3 g      protein, 4 g fiber, 290 mg sodium.


• Ants on a log: Spread peanut butter on celery sticks and top with raisins.


• Banana  ice: Peel several very ripe bananas, break them into 1-inch pieces, and freeze the pieces in a sealed plastic bag. Just before serving, whirl the      pieces in the blender with a small amount of water or juice. Serve right      away. Add berries for a different flavor or top with fruit or nuts.


• Healthy ice pops: Freeze fresh, unsweetened 100% juice in ice pop molds or ice      cube trays.


• Whole-grain  pita and hummus: Warm a pita in the oven on low, then cut it into small      triangles. Dip it in a tasty, low-fat hummus. Hummus is available in yummy      flavors like garlic and spicy red pepper. Hummus also makes a tasty dip for cut-up veggies.


• Trail mix: Combine 1 cup whole-grain toasted oat cereal with ¼ cup chopped walnuts and ¼ cup dried cranberries for a healthy trail mix.

Healthy Snacking