Take the Healthy Snacks Quiz
Don’t feel guilty about snacking! Eating small, frequent meals can help you control your weight and stay fueled throughout the day. Just make sure your snacks—and those you serve your kids—are nutritious. Find out more about healthy snacking by taking the following quiz.
1. One way to limit the size of your snacks is to buy food packaged in single servings.
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Buying single-serving packages makes it easy to monitor how much you're eating. This is especially useful for higher-calorie snack foods like chips and soda. When you dip into a larger bag, you may consume more calories than intended. Look at the Nutrition Facts panel to find out the recommended portion size and measure out just that amount.
2. You can snack more freely if your snacks are healthy.
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If you replace chips and soda with low-fat yogurt, fresh fruit, or whole-grain crackers, you are getting more nutrition and probably fewer calories. Remember, though, that eating more calories—even nutritious calories—than you burn can lead to weight gain.
3. Snacking can have an impact not only on your weight, but also on your teeth.
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Sugary snacks, particularly if eaten throughout the day, can promote tooth decay. Sweet chewy snacks are especially a problem because they stick to your teeth, remaining in your mouth longer than more easily eaten snacks. Acids form in your mouth whenever you eat sugary foods, so the more frequently you eat sugary foods, the more often your teeth are attacked by acid.
4. Baby carrots and sugar snap peas are good choices for snacks—and they help boost your daily veggie intake.
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Crunchy raw vegetables are popular with kids, too. Serve them with a low-fat dressing for dipping. To keep it interesting, try more exotic vegetables like jicama strips and slice red bell peppers.
5. Pudding is a healthy snack if you make it with low-fat or skim milk.
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Calcium-rich snacks are important for children and teens, but adults can benefit, too. Other snacks that boost calcium intake with a minimum of fat and calories:
- Fruit smoothie made with fruit, ice, and skim milk
- Low-fat or fat-free frozen yogurt
- Low-fat or fat-free string cheese
- Low-fat or skim chocolate- or strawberry-flavored milk
6. Baked tortilla chips are a low-fat snack that also provides fiber.
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The USDA offers these other suggestions for fiber-rich snacking: ready-to-eat whole-grain cereals and popcorn made with little or no added salt and butter. When baking, add whole-grain flour or oatmeal to cookies and snack cakes.
7. Snacking late at night is one sure way to pack on the pounds.
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It doesn't matter when you snack, but what you snack on and how much you eat. For best weight control, space your meals and snacks about three to four hours apart. Any snacking you do between meals should be in small quantities—crackers and low-fat cheese or apple slices with peanut butter, for example. A snack combo of carbohydrates and protein helps you feel satisfied.
8. One handy after-school snack for kids is a fruit kabob, a mix of fresh fruit and cheese.
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Strawberries, melon, pineapple, and grapes are good choices, along with cubes of mozzarella, cheddar, or other favorite cheese. Make them ahead and store them in a bag in the fridge. Use skewers for older kids and toothpicks for the younger set. Consider keeping two snack choices on hand—one in the refrigerator and one in the cupboard. That way your kids can make their own choices.
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