Snacking can be a great way to maintain healthy energy balance in terms of calories, but also to help with energy levels required to be productive and feel good throughout the day. By including snacks, we prevent feeling overly hungry at mealtime, which helps prevent gorging and overeating. Including multiple foods groups in our snacks is a great method for maintaining balance, moderation, and variety.
We can do this by eating the colors of the rainbow, lots of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, healthy fats, and fiber. Mindfulness is a useful technique to learn in order to prevent mindless eating. For example, it’s good to snack when starting to feel mildly hungry, rather than just because food appears in front of us, or because we feel bored. Planning ahead is a great tool for success. If we have healthy snacks available, we will eat them. If we don’t, then we won’t. Here are some healthy snack ideas:
- Celery with hummus or peanut butter
- Toast with nut butter and/or fruit
- Tomato with goat cheese or mozzarella
- Half flat bagel with ricotta
and strawberries - Yogurt parfait
- 1 slice of toast topped with ¼ medium avocado, sprinkle of salt
- Graham cracker with peanut butter and banana
- Small handful of nuts
- Multigrain waffle with nut butter
and fruit - Small piece cheese and dried fruit
- Fruit and cheese kabobs
- Cucumber slices and laughing cow cheese
- ¼ cup of trail mix (Chocolate chips, nuts, seeds, and raisins) and 1 oz. of cheese (about the size of pair of dice)
- Low-sodium turkey slices and grapes
- Oatmeal and fruit
- Fruit/cheese/bit of dark chocolate
- ½ cup Greek yogurt and ¼ cup mixed berries
- 1-2 Hard-boiled eggs
- String cheese and 15 wheat thin crackers
- Small apple and 2 tablespoons of nut butter
- ½ cup of cottage cheese mixed with fruit of choice
- 1 oz. beef jerky and ¼ cup of dried fruit
- 1 Snack bar (Lara bar, Kind bars, etc.)