Snacks are a great thing, but they can either help or hurt your diet. If you are grazing all day, never feeling satisfied, and your snack calories add up more than your meal calories, something is wrong. Here are a few tips and snack ideas to help you make the right decision about snacking:
• Keep snacks at ~ 200 calories or less
• You should eat every 3-4 hours, so eat a mid morning and afternoon snack to prevent yourself from getting too hungry and overeating at meals (ex: 7am breakfast, 10am snack, 1pm lunch, 4pm snack, 7 pm dinner)
• Think “combination snacks” – snacks that include a protein, fat and/or fiber food PLUS a carbohydrate food; this will help increase your satiety (keep you fuller longer). Most of us eat only carbohydrates leaving us to feel unsatisfied and hungry again in an hour.
• Think of snacks as mini meals filled with nutritious foods instead of refined carbohydrates
• Portion control portion control! Don’t kill your calorie budget on snacks
• Plan snacks ahead of time. Keep a variety of nutritious ready to eat snacks on hand.
• Always try to get in a vegetable or fruit serving with at least one snack a day
Here are a few ideas to try:
1. ¼ cup nuts, such as pistachios, and a piece of fruit
2. 2 full sheets of graham crackers with natural peanut butter or almond butter
3. one 6 in flour tortilla with ¼ cup black beans and 2 tbsp fresh salsa
4. quick-to-fix salad: 2 cups mixed greens with ½ cup mandarin oranges,
1 tbsp sliced almonds and 2 tbsp reduced fat dressing
5. ½ cup cottage cheese with ¼ cup fruit
6. ½ whole wheat pita with 3 oz turkey and 1 slice reduced fat cheese
7. hummus with cut vegetables or whole wheat pita bread
8. popcorn trail mix – 1 cup light popcorn mixed with ¼ cup nuts and 3 tbsp raisins
9. Peanut Butter or Cheese Crackers (easy grab and go)
10. Lara Bars (easy grab and go)
Happy Snacking
Estelle L. Benoit, RD, LDN