Healthy Snacking
Choosing healthy foods is just as important at snack time as it is at mealtime. Healthy snacks can add fiber and nutrients to your diet without unwanted calories. They can give you an energy boost during the day and prevent you from overeating at meals.

So forget the bag of chips and reach for an apple, pear, or handful of raisins. You'll get extra fiber, vitamins, and minerals, all for about 50 calories. If plain fruit isn't filling enough, try topping your apple or pear with a tablespoon of peanut butter or ounce of sliced cheese, which will add protein and about 100 calories to your snack (still fewer than that bag of chips that is low in nutrients and high in calories and salt).

To avoid gaining weight from snacking, keep your food portions small and try to space your meals and snacks three to four hours apart, advises Betty Nowlin, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association in Chicago.

Also, keep your snack under 250 calories. Food labels can help you determine the number of calories in packaged foods by portion size. Organizations such as Weight Watchers publish pocket-size calorie counters that list the calorie content of hundreds of foods.

In addition to foods completely lacking in nutrients, avoid fatty foods and salty foods that can dehydrate you, recommends Randi Konikoff, a registered dietitian at Tufts University in Boston. Another snacking no-no, she says, is food that will make you "tired and draggy" after an initial energy boost, like a bag of M&Ms.

For healthy and filling snacks, try these instead:

• Fresh fruit or a handful of dried fruit
• Raw vegetables – carrots, celery, red and green pepper – cut and portioned in small plastic bags (try filling celery with peanut butter or low-fat cottage cheese, or dipping your vegetables in low-fat dressing)
• An English muffin with apple butter and a cup of herbal tea
• A slice of angel food cake with non-fat whipped topping
• Non-fat, whole-grain crackers (could top with cheese or peanut butter)
• Non-fat cottage cheese or yogurt
• Bread sticks or bite-size bagels
• A handful of nuts
• A glass of orange juice or vegetable juice
• A smoothie (blend nonfat milk and/or yogurt with fruit)

With proper portions and healthy food choices, snacking can enhance, rather than hurt your diet. Take Nowlin's advice: "Think of a snack as a ‘mini meal’ that will help you have a healthy diet, rather than as an opportunity to consume treats."

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