How to Eat Healthy Snacks

Guide Note Do you have bad snacking habits? Do you snack mindlessly, eat sugary foods and don't pay attention to portion sizes? This article will help you break those bad snacking habits, showing you how to eat healthy snacks. Your body will thank you!

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Step 1: Prepare Your Kitchen For Healthy Snacks
• Step 2: Change Your Bad Snacking Habits
• Step 3: Make Healthy Snack Choices When Eating Out
• Step 4: Help Yourself Snack Smart
• Step 5: Make Eating Healthy Snacks Count
• Conclusion
• References

Healthy Snacking Tips

1. Get rid of junk food!
2. Keep your kitchen stocked with healthy snacks.
3. Choose healthy options for snack foods.
4. Don't snack mindlessly.
5. Choose snacks that meet your nutritional needs.
6. Get friends and family to help you eat healthier snacks.
7. Combine eating healthy snacks with a healthier lifestyle.

Disclaimer The content in this page is not a substitute for professional medical or nutritional advice. You may wish to contact your doctor or nutritionist before using the information presented here.

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Introduction

• Learning how to correctly eat healthy snacks can mean the difference between a healthy lifestyle and an unhealthy one. Blue Cross Blue Shield notes that sugary and salty snacks only satisfy cravings rather than hunger and fill us up with empty calories.¹ However, snacking in itself is not bad. In fact, according to MedicineNet.com, snacking is a good way to stave off hunger and even lose weight—but only if done the right way.² This article will help you learn how to snack smart!

Step 1: Prepare Your Kitchen for Healthy Snacks

Kick junk food to the curb! (Creative Commons photo by Todd Baker)

Get Rid of the Junk Food!

• If it's not in your house, you can't eat it. Get those unhealthy snacks out of your kitchen!³

1. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association says to throw out snacks that obviously have little health value, such as sugary cookies, salty chips, or other junk foods.¹
2. MSNBC suggests re-evaluating "healthy" processed foods, such as granola bars or fruit bars.³ These may seem healthy, but many brands are actually loaded with sugar and/or salt.³

Keep Your Fridge and Pantry Stocked With Healthy Options

• Once you have rid your kitchen of unhealthy snacks, it is time to replace those foods with healthier choices.⁴

1. Learn how to read labels: Nutritional information labels will tell you how many grams of sugar and salt are in that food. The fewer grams per serving, the better!⁵
   • -The FDA notes good snack choices include those high in fiber and low in processed sugars.⁵
2. According to About.com, raw vegetables are a great choice for snacking, and since they take longer to chew, they are more satisfying to eat.⁴
   • -If you can't bear to eat them unadorned, try pairing them with a low-fat vegetable dip, hummus or salsa.⁴
3. The USDA says fruit is also a great choice for healthy snacking.⁶ Try:
   1. Freezing grapes for a unique, tasty treat.⁶
   2. Stirring frozen mixed berries into some light vanilla yogurt.⁶
   3. Drizzling fresh peaches with a bit of cream is a delight.⁶
   4. Nothing beats a cold fruit salad on a hot summer's day!⁶
4. The Mayo Clinic suggests air-popped popcorn as a healthy and tasty snack. Flavor with your favorite low calorie seasonings.⁷
5. Nuts are high in calories but good for you, according to Yale-New Haven Hospital. They are also very filling, so a small handful is all you need!⁸

Step 2: Change Your Bad Snacking Habits

• Most of us have bad snacking habits: we snack when we are worried about something, or to entertain and reward ourselves.⁹ Luckily, these habits, like any others, can be changed.

When to Avoid Snacking:

1. While watching TV or reading a book.¹⁰
2. If you are stressed or bored.¹¹
3. While in the car or otherwise distracted.¹²

Smart Snacking Habits

1. RealSimple.com suggests sitting at a table and using plates and utensils when snacking.⁹
2. About.com says to use predetermined portion sizes and stop snacking when the food is gone.¹³
3. Eat slowly and deliberately. Enjoy every bite!⁹

Custom-Fit Your Snacks

• We all have different nutritional needs, whether we are dieting, pregnant, or even trying to gain weight. WebMD says customizing your snacks to your particular needs and habits is another way to eat healthy and snack smart.¹⁴ WebMD lists a few ways to custom-fit your snacks:

1. When you need an energy jolt, try protein or dairy, such as nuts, cottage cheese or even a latte made with milk.¹⁴
2. When you want a snack before a work-out, try a piece of fruit and some water.¹⁴
3. When you need something to hold you over until lunch, try cheese, crackers and fruit.¹⁴

Control Your Portions

• Snacking smart doesn't just mean getting rid of sugary and salty snacks. It also means controlling your portions, says About.com.¹³

1. When thinking about portion size, according to About.com, a good snack serving size is about the size of one teacup for women and two teacups for men.¹³
2. 

   Portion your snacks into portable baggies. (Creative Commons photo by Saquan Stimpson)
   About.com suggests preparing portions ahead of time for when the urge to snack strikes.¹³
   1. Look for snacks in your kitchen that may seem healthy but have the potential for overindulgence.
      • -Snacks like crackers, pretzels and even rice cakes are only good snacks if eaten in small portions.¹³
   2. Using sandwich or snack bags, create small portions of these snacks.¹³
      • -For example, mix half a handful of pretzels and peanuts together and place in a bag.¹³
   3. Place these bags in your pantry for a quick, portion-controlled healthy snack.
3. Make a fruit salad and use the same spoon (or a teacup!) to give yourself two "scoops" each time you have some. Alternately, portion the salad out into small Tupperware containers.¹³

Step 3: Make Healthy Snack Choices When Eating Out

• Sometimes, the hardest part of snacking smart is snacking while away from home. WebMD says a good snack should be between 150 and 200 calories. WebMD suggests these tips:¹⁵

1. Avoid the vending machine at all costs!¹⁵
2. Stock your desk at work with smart snacking options such as mixed nuts, air-popped popcorn or whole-grain crackers.¹⁵
3. Instead of chowing down on a large ice cream cone during that hot day at the beach, opt for a "junior sized" one instead, or share a cone with your significant other.
   • -Sometimes one bite is all that's needed to satisfy your sweet tooth!¹⁵
4. Plan ahead. Pack a cooler of healthy snacks for your day outdoors or your long road trip rather than relying on convenience store stops.¹⁵

Step 4: Help Yourself Snack Smart

• Let's face it: it's hard to get excited over replacing a bag of yummy cookies with a bunch of dry carrot sticks. There are some things you can do, however, to make the transition from unhealthy snacking to healthy snacking an easier one.¹⁶
  

  Occasionally reward yourself for good behavior. (Creative Commons photo by Diana)

1. MedicineNet.com says search until you find snacks you like. Healthy snacks are not going to do you any good unless you actually eat them!
   • -If it's apples you love, then an apple or two a day is certainly a good enough substitute for those carrot sticks you don't like.¹⁶
2. Enlist the help of family and friends.
   • -AARP suggests asking the members of your household to refrain from eating unhealthy snacks around you.¹⁷
3. Indulge yourself! Forbidden fruit is the most tempting of all.
   • -Go ahead and allow yourself a sugary snack once in a while. According to MedicineNet.com allowing yourself to indulge occasionally will actually help you stay on track the rest of the time.¹⁶

Step 5: Make Eating Healthy Snacks Count

• Now that you've made the decision to commit to eating healthy snacks, consider taking steps to further your healthy lifestyle.¹⁵ After all, replacing your daily Doritos with whole-wheat crackers isn't going to do much for your body if you stop at McDonald's for dinner on the way home!

1. WebMD suggests making all your meals healthy ones, not just your snacks.¹⁵
2. Another great tip, says WebMD, is including some kind of exercise in your daily routine, even if it just means taking the stairs instead of the elevator.¹⁵
3. Consider ways to reduce the amount of stress in your life. According Psych Central, high stress is linked to poor eating habits.¹⁸

Conclusion

• The Mayo Clinic says learning how to eat healthy snacks can be the first step on the road to a healthier lifestyle.¹⁹ Replacing junk food with healthier choices, learning how to recognize your bad snacking habits and replacing those habits with smarter snacking behaviors will help you succeed in your goal to eat healthier snacks.

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References for How to Eat Healthy Snacks

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Blue Cross Blue Shield: Eat Healthy Tips
2. ↑ Medicine Net:Ten Ways to Have That Snack and Lose Weight
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} MSNBC: Are You Going to Eat That? (Nov. 30, 2007)
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} About.com: Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Every Day 
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} U.S. Food and Drug Administration: How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4} MyPyramid.gov Tips to Help You Eat Fruits
7. ↑ Mayo Clinic: Popcorn: Make It Healthy
8. ↑ Yale-New Haven Hospital: Nuts Are Good For You!
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} Real Simple: How to Break Bad Eating Habits 
10. ↑ About.com:Snacking While Watching Television 
11. ↑ Health MSN: Bored? 15 Choices Instead of Eating
12. ↑ FitSugar: Avoid Mindless Eating in the Car
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7} About.com: How to Practice Portion Control
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3} WebMD: The Smart Way to Snack
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7} Web MD: The Art of Power Snacking
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1 16.2} Medicine Net: Seven Tips for Smart Snacking
17. ↑ AARP: Getting Help From Friends
18. ↑ Psych Central: Beating Stress Through Nutrition
19. ↑ Mayo Clinic: Snacks: How They Fit Into Your Weight Loss Plan