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Healthy Snacking: “Ask The Expert” Column
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By Liz Pearson
I eat on the run a lot. What are some easy-to-pack, healthy snacks?
Healthy snacking keeps your energy levels high, fills in nutritional gaps in your diet and helps you avoid bingeing after you've gone too long without food. Here's my list of gold, silver and bronze snacks.
Gold Snacks
Reach for fruits or vegetables first. For more staying power, combine them with silver snacks.
Grab fruit
Toss apples, bananas, pears, clementines, canned fruit cups, grapes and dried fruit, such as raisins or apricots, into your bag. Kiwi is a nutrition goldmine - cut one in half and pack it along with a spoon for easy scooping. Pick up some freshly prepared fruit salad from your local supermarket.
Veg out
Easy-to-pack veggie options include baby carrots, red or green pepper strips, cucumber slices, and cherry or grape tomatoes. Pack a small container of low fat salad dressing or hummus for dipping.
Rethink juice
Fruit juice is a concentrated source of calories that lacks the fibre that helps fill you up. Vegetable juice is a better option. It's lower in calories and is a valuable source of lycopene (the plant compound found in tomatoes that can help lower your risk of heart disease and cancer). Choose low sodium varieties.
Silver snacks
These snacks are full of good nutrition.
Do dairy
Try a small carton of chocolate milk, a latte from your local coffee shop, yogurt, or lower-fat cheese with whole grain crackers.
Go nuts
Nuts are good for your heart. To limit calories and fat, enjoy only a small handful (about ¼ cup). Make your own trail mix with nuts, whole-grain cereal and dried fruit. Top whole-grain crackers with peanut butter.
Enjoy soy
Munch on a small handful of roasted soy nuts or have a small drinking box of chocolate soy milk (available at most supermarkets).
Make muffins
Whip up a double batch of homemade, whole-grain muffins on the weekend and freeze them. Grab one as you head out the door each morning (they thaw in no time).
Bronze snacks
Bronze snacks, which are processed and prepackaged, don't measure up when
compared to my gold and silver snacks, because they generally have more calories and added sugar or salt. When you do choose them, look for the healthiest options.
Choose carefully
Look for granola bars, energy bars or meal-replacement bars that are made with whole grains, are lower in fat (no more than 3 grams of fat per 100 calories), contain at least 2 grams of fibre and no more than 200 calories per bar.
Fill up with fibre
Low-fat snacks like rice cakes and pretzels offer little nutrition. Munch on low fat, snack-size microwave popcorn instead – it’s whole grain and a source of fibre too.
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