Healthy Nutritious Snack Foods

Most of us know we should be eating healthy snacks throughout the day, but we don’t know how to start or what to buy and eat. Start by cleaning all the “bad” snacks out of your kitchen. Toss or give away the cookies, chips and sweets. Get rid of those processed, preservative laden foods! It will be much easier to choose healthy snacks if there isn’t the temptation of high-fat and high-sugar snacks lurking around. Next stock up on healthy snack food, make sure to also keep some healthy snack at your workplace and always be sensible about portions.

Stock Up On:
•Fresh Fruits and Veggies
•Whole Wheat Crackers
•Low Fat Cheese and Cheese Sticks
•Fresh Ground Peanut Butter
•Nuts and Almonds
•Soy and Skim Milk
•Whole Wheat Bread
•Whole Wheat Tortillas
•Rice Cakes
•Yogurt
•Hummus
•Air Pop Popcorn
•Cottage Cheese
•Corn Chips and Salsa
•Low Sugar Cereal

Prep These Healthy Nutritious Snack Foods
All this healthy food still won’t do you all that good if you are looking for a healthy snack that’s ready to eat. So here are some easy snacks that you can prepare and store, so they are ready to munch on.

Cut Up Fruit and Veggies
You can have all sorts of healthy veggies and even fruit sitting in your fridge, but your family won’t grab it for a snack because it would involve peeling and cutting. Instead they go for a bag of chips or some other ready to eat snack. Make it easy for everyone by cutting up some of the fruit and veggies and keep it in plastic containers ready to eat.

Trail Mix
Make your own trail mix from low sugar cereal, nuts and dried fruit. It’s a great snack to just grab and go, or something to munch on while watching TV. Make up a badge of trail mix and store it in an airtight container in your pantry.

Granola Bars
Homemade granola bars are a great snack alternative to cookies and cake. It’s sweet and crunchy, but by making your own, you control what ingredients go in there. Use whole grains and dried fruit. Keep the amount of sugar or honey you use on the low end for a healthy treat.

Cooked Chicken Breast
Keep some cut up cooked chicken breast in the fridge for a quick protein rich snack. You can make a quick chicken salad by adding a little low-fat mayonnaise and some raisins. Add the chicken to a little lettuce for a quick salad, or wrap it with some fresh veggies and sprouts in a tortilla. Make a quick chicken quesadilla with tortillas and a little cheese.


Great snacks with less than 200 calories

Salty
•5 olives (any kind) (45 calories)
•1 small Martin's pretzel (50 calories)
•2 oz Applegate Honey and Maple Turkey Breast wrapped around 2 bread-and-butter pickles (80 calories)
•1/4 cup hummus, 3 carrot sticks (80 calories)
•1 Laughing Cow Light Swiss Original wedge, 3 pieces Kavli Crispy Thin (85 calories)
•One 1-oz package tuna jerky (90 calories)
•1 oz buffalo mozzarella, 1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes (94 calories)
•1 bag Baked! Cheetos 100 Calorie Mini Bites (100 calories)
•15 Eden's Nori Maki Crackers rice crackers (110 calories)
•1 cup unshelled edamame (120 calories)
•50 Eden's Vegetable Chips (130 calories)
•One 1-oz package of Planters NUT-trition almonds (130 calories)
•1/4 cup Trader Joe's Chili con Queso, 18 baked tortilla chips (140 calories)
•1/2 cup pumpkin seeds in shell (143 calories)
•2 pieces (30 grams) prosciutto, 4 dried figs (154 calories)
•1 Subway Turkey Breast Wrap (190 calories)

Sweet•1 package Original Apple Nature Valley Fruit Crisps (50 calories)
•1 packet O'Coco's Mocha cookies (90 calories)
•1 Jelly Belly 100-calorie pack (100 calories)
•One 100-calorie pack Trader Joe's Chocolate Graham Toucan Cookies (100 calories)
•One 100-calorie Balance Bar (100 calories)
•1 Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino bar (120 calories)
•1 package Back to Nature Honey Graham Sticks (120 calories)
•1/2 banana rolled in 1 tbsp frozen semisweet chocolate chips (123 calories)
•2 tbsp Better 'n Peanut Butter, 4 stalks celery (124 calories)
•1 bag Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop Butter Mini Bags topped with a spritz of butter spray and 1 tsp sugar (126 calories)
•24 Annie's Chocolate Chip Bunny Graham cookies (140 calories)
•Half of a 1.08-oz container of M&M's Minis mixed with 1/3 cup lowfat granola (145 calories)
•1 McDonald's Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait (160 calories)
•1 container Fage Greek Total 2% fat yogurt, 2 tsp honey (173 calories)

All it takes is a little preparation and trying some new foods to get you and your family eating healthier snacks.