Remember snack time in from when you were a little kid? I would get so excited to have juice & cookies at nursery school. I’m still a big fan of snacks, and not just because I like cookies. Snacks are an important part of a good eating plan. They help keep your blood sugar and energy steady by making sure you eat every 3 or 4 hours; they take the edge off late afternoon hunger so that dinner is not a free-for-all; and they help make sure you’re getting all of the nutrients that you should.
Snacks should be about 200 calories or less. The better the ingredients, the better you’ll feel when you eat them. Strive for a mix of protein, complex carbohydrates and a little (healthy) fat. While I’ll always advocate whole foods choices, there are also good packaged products that make snacking convenient.
Convenience tends to be an issue with the clients I see. Busy schedules get in the way of eating regularly, which is why snacks are even more important. My advice is to stash snacks wherever you can: the car, your purse or briefcase, gym bag, desk drawer, etc. You’ll eat what’s available to you, which is why making healthy choices easy is so important. Here are some choices I recommend:
- Any of these with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter:
apple
pear
celery sticks
whole grain crackers
one piece of whole wheat bread
- ¼ cup dried fruit & ¼ cup nuts
- medium nonfat latte (feel free to add a dash of cocoa powder if you like)
- ¼ cup hummus with raw vegetables
- 1 cup fresh fruit with ½ cup lowfat cottage cheese
- 8 ounces nonfat yogurt with 1/8 cup walnuts
- ½ cup high fiber cereal (Kashi Go Lean is great) with ½ cup nonfat milk
- 80 calories of dark chocolate and a small peach
- whole grain crackers (Kashi TLC crackers are good) with 1 stick of low-fat string cheese
- ½ cup nonfat frozen yogurt, plain (this means no added candy, fudge swirls, etc.)
- ¾ cup shelled edamame
- 2 slices low-salt turkey and a small bunch of grapes
- one hard-boiled egg drizzled with 1 measuring teaspoon of good olive oil and freshly grated black pepper
- one serving (about 20 chips) of Kettle Baked Potato Chips
- Larabar fruit and nut bars
Have a healthy snack today and see how much more energy you have. For more great wellness advice, please visit Prevention Not Prescriptions .






