Snacking the Healthy Way

 

Snacks can be healthy contribution to your day and can stave away hunger. When you feel hungry, a good snack can tie you over until the next meal, and prevent you from overdoing it at the main meal. A snack should be a boost of energy too and a positive contribution to your nutrition intake for the day.

But… people tend to get carried away. So this guide should help you to rethink your snacking habits.

 

The ideal snack

·         Less than 150-200kcals

·         Low in salt, saturated fat and sugar

·         Should include protein and fibre- nutrients that help keep you fuller for longer

·         Should be eaten before you get over-hungry- or you can end up over doing it!

·         Should be eaten as part of a regular meal pattern of breakfast, lunch and evening meal

 

Remember to always check if you’re actually hungry? Or are you reaching for food because you are stressed or bored?

Don’t go over board- snacking shouldn’t add in extra calories to your day- it should mean you are eating smaller portions at your main meals.

Snacking is an ideal time to get in some extra fruit and vegetables- as these are low calorie snacks.

 

Trying to lose weight?

Snacks can be useful to keep you going between meals, and can be a good part of a weight loss regime- if you’re clever about what you snack on. Fruit with fibre is a good snack when trying to lose weight as fruit is low in calories e.g. apple, banana. If you eat regularly, you’re less likely to over eat when it comes to snacking.

 

How do I know that the snacks I am choosing are healthy?

Reading labels is really the only way of being smart about your snacking. There are so many new grab and go, convenience snack foods out there. Here’s a quick guide to food labels – aim to choose foods with the lowest amount of sugar, salt, fat and saturates per 100gram.

 

A healthy snack should come from one of the major food groups- carbohydrates, protein, dairy or fruit and vegetables. The following healthy snacks are all less than 200kcals;

 

·         Small pack of unsalted popcorn or homemade popcorn

·         Wholegrain pretzels

·         Fruit and vegetables

·         Nuts and seeds- unsalted and only a handful ( they contain healthy fats but are high in calories) – 12 almonds or cashews, 20 pistachio nuts,

·         A 0% low fat-low sugar yoghurt with a piece of fruit

·         Peanut butter and a slice of wholegrain toast or ryvita cracker

·         Homemade/reduced fat hummus or salsa and carrot, pepper, sugar snaps or celery sticks.

·         Nutrition/energy bars- but remember to read the label!

·         1 tablespoon of nut butter with rice cake

·         Plain yoghurt with berries

·         Light cheese with grapes and wholegrain cracker

·         2 squares of dark chocolate and some strawberries

·         100g trail mix

·         1 mini box of yoghurt coated raisons

It’s really important to watch your portions however. It’s better to buy nuts, seeds, popcorn, pretzels etc. in single portion packs so that there’s no temptation to overdo it- as snacking shouldn’t lead to weight gain

 

What about treat foods?

It’s okay to have a treat every now and then. Have a personal limit – maybe one to two times a week and try keep them less than 200kcals.

Try treats like 1 oatmeal cookie or flapjack, a fun-size chocolate bar, a bag of popcorn, 4 squares of dark chocolate, 2 plain biscuits, 1 scoop of ice cream, muesli/fruit bar or a 1 small cupcake/mini muffin.