Healthy Snacks! Now you can get them and not feel guilty

Whenever it comes to diet planning, you can easily plan healthy meals for your family, but what about the in-between times when they're craving a snack? Eating between meals can be a part of a healthy lifestyle if you choose healthy snacks that are high in fiber and low in fat, sugar and salt.  

How should you plan your snacks?

Limit snacks to no more than three a day. Try to include food from two of the four food groups for each snack. Be careful not to over consume. Snacks with approximately 150 calories for women and 200 for men are recommended. Try to include fruit, vegetables and calcium-rich foods (such as milk, yogurt or almonds), and always include some form of carbohydrate (low glycemic index) and protein. Whole fruit is a better choice than juice. If you are thirsty, have water with snacks. Avoid snacks while watching TV or driving. If you like something warm sip on warm water or green tea

List of snacks at home: Every time you are at home, you have lots of options for snacks. Always stock up your fridge with nutritious snacks, as pointed out below which have 200 calories or less a serve!

• Small bran muffin
• Low-fat plain yogurt (3/4 cup or 175 ml) with fruit (1/2 cup or 125 ml)
• Homemade trail mix (1/4 cup or 60 ml mini shredded wheat, 2 Tbsp or 30 ml of dried cranberries and 2 Tbsp or 30 ml of almonds)
• Melba toast (2) with peanut butter (1Tbsp or 15 ml)
• Celery/carrot sticks with hummus (1/4 cup or 60 ml)-
• High fiber crisp breads (2) with partly skimmed mozzarella cheese (28 g)
• Skim milk (1 cup or 250 ml) with Graham crackers (3)
• Tortilla chips, plain (10) with salsa sauce (2 Tbsp or 30 ml)

List of snacks away from home: When you are leaving for work don't forget to pack your snacks or keep a stock at your work place if possible.

Berries (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry) (1 cup)- 65 calories Banana, pear (1 medium)-100 calories Pretzels (30 twists or 18 g)- 70 calories Unsalted soy nuts (1/4 cup or 60 ml)- 200 calories Fig bars (2)- 110 calories Chocolate milk, 1% (1 cup or 250 ml)- 170 calories

It generally happens we go by the taste and ignore the fact that some snacks have lots of calories and are not so healthy. You don't need to suppress your carving just get an healthy alternative.

• Try Baked tortilla chips instead of Potato chips
• Try Low-fat granola bar instead of Chocolate bar
• Try Fig bar instead of Chocolate chip cookies
• Try Dried fruits instead of Candies
• Try Low-fat frozen yogurt, or sherbet instead of Ice cream
• Try Arrowroot, digestive cookies, ginger snaps, graham crackers instead of Cream filled cookies
• Try Angel food cake instead of Pound cake
• Try Crust less pumpkin pie instead of Traditional apple pie
• Try Air-popped popcorn with butter flavored cooking spray instead of Buttered popcorn
• Try Homemade low-fat fruit instead of squares Brownies
• Try Latte with skim milk instead of Coffee drinks with cream

One final note when looking for a good energy bar snack is to be cautious not to buy meal-replacement bars. Read package labels carefully to avoid getting more calories than you need. 

(Sources: bodyandhealth.canada.com, bchealthguide.org)