Healthy Snacking

Snacking can be a healthy habit if you make good choices and fit it into your overall eating plan. Snacking between meals if often recommended for individuals with diabetes to help control blood glucose levels. It is also recommended for weight loss to prevent the feelings of extreme hunger that lead many people to overindulge in excess calories.

Healthy snacks can help you meet the recommended servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean protein of the Food Guide Pyramid.

Tips for making healthy snacking:

1. Plan ahead to have healthy snacks on hand when you need them. If you have snacks within your reach, you will be less likely to seek out high calorie, sugary snacks at the vending machine or convience store. Apples, oranges, veggie sticks, yogurt cups, and individual snack pack crackers travel easily from the home to office.
2. Choose snacks that are portion controlled such as applesauce or fruit cocktail lunch cups, skim milk pudding cups, and small lunch size bags of pretzels or baked chips. Avoid family size packaging of snack foods. If you must get the larger package, portion it out into small sandwhich bags.
3. Recognize that snacks don't have to be what we typically think of snack food. A half turkey sandwich, a bowl of cereal with skim milk, or hot chocolate made with skim milk.
4. Plan to have a mid-afternoon snack each day as part of your daily calorie intake. Small snacks should consist of about 150-200 calories.

Other Snack ideas:

• Individual bag of microwave popcorn
• 1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese and fruit
• Handful of nuts or seeds
• 1 cup vegetable juice
• 1 cup dry cereal mixed with dried fruit pieces and nuts
• 5 saltine crackers with peanut butter
• Fresh apple and a stick of string cheese