On your Mark, Get Set, Start Healthy Snacking!

By Stephanie Lawrence

By News Canada

It used to be that we thought that snacking was not good for us. We were told it would ruin our appetite for our meals and make us gain weight. But the tables have turned and the aisles are now full of nutritious and delicious snacks that we can enjoy between meals. Instead of feeling guilty about snacking, we can now feel good about it as dietitians are encouraging us to eat three small meals a day, but to also eat healthy snacks as well. So now you can plan to snack every day.

Carol Dombrow, registered dietitian with the Heart and Stroke Foundation's Health Check program offers the following tips to make healthy snacking easy at home, at school, at work and anywhere on the go:

At home

• . Fill your fridge with vegetables and fruit. Keep things that are easy to grab and eat such as bananas, apples, and baby carrots on hand but also cut up other vegetables and fruit and store them in containers in the fridge such as cucumber, celery, broccoli, peppers, pineapple, and melon.
• . If you can't shop frequently, buy a mixture of ripe and less ripe vegetables and fruit. By the end of the week, the less ripe ones will be ready to eat.
• . Stock your pantry with ready-to-eat snacks such as dried fruit, unsalted nuts, low-fat granola bars, and unsweetened fruit sauces.
• . Plan in advance. Set aside time each week to not only plan your meals, but also healthy snacks for the whole family to eat at home or on the go.

At work

• Bring fresh vegetables and fruit to snack on during the day at your desk.
• Keep a selection of non-perishable healthy items in your desk drawer such as canned fruit in its own juice, whole grain crackers, peanut butter, cereal, and boxes of 100% fruit and vegetable juices.
• If you have a fridge at work bring snacks such as hummus and other low-fat spreads, yogurt and boiled eggs.
• Stay away from vending machines that are usually stocked with items high in fat, sugar and salt, and don't be tempted by calorie-dense foods like muffins, donuts and cookies.
• Serve whole grain, low-fat breads and muffins and fresh fruit at meetings.

At school

• Cut up fresh vegetables and fruit and pack containers of these easy-to-eat snacks with low-fat dip.
• Pack a mix of dried fruit or low-fat fruit sauce.
• Freeze a batch of low-fat muffins so you always have some on hand to include in a lunch box for a quick and delicious snack.
• Pack bottles of water or 100% fruit juice.

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