Recommended Healthy Snack

It's not only necessary to choose meals that fit into the overall food pyramid. Snacks should be chosen from the food groups as well. Snacking refers to the consumption of foods that occurs between the three main meals each day. Most people eat at least one snack daily, and many people snack constantly throughout the course of a day. The snack-food industry is a fast-growing market, and many foods are added to selections available each year. Food manufacturers know that adults and children alike are intrigued by the snacks sold at the grocery stores and that people often buy many of these convenience-type foods to keep handy at home.

But it is not so difficult to alter your eating and buying habits to incorporate healthy snacks. The most important thing to remember is to eat snacks that are nutrient-dense rather than those that are "empty-calorie" choices. Nutrient-dense foods are ones that offer quality nutrition, vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, or other nutrients in addition to calories. Again, those emp^ty-calorie foods offer calories but no other nutrition. Foods selected for snacks should be ones that come out of the various groups in the Food Guide Pyramid, not just the Fats/Oils/Sweet Group.

Keep this in mind next time you grab for that cookie or candy bar. Wouldn't a piece of fruit or some yogurt be a better choice? Healthy snack options include the following:

Fresh/dried fruit

Fruit-filled bars

Fresh vegetable sticks

Graham crackers

Cheese cubes/cheese stick

Rice cakes
Air-popped popcorn

Baked chips

Pretzels

Peanut butter on crackers or celery

Bagel/pica chips

Low-fat yogurt

Mini-muffins

Frozen yogurt/ice milk

Raisin bread

Cottage cheese

Planning your meals and snacks is an essential step in beginning a lifelong plan of healthy eating and ultimately in your controlling body weight. The Food Guide Pyramid is just one tool that can be helpful to you when planning for the dietary needs of yourself and your family.

Not only does this tool assist in creating a healthy diet, it offers guidance on balance, variety, and moderation as well. This tool is also helpful in creating the basis for reducing food intake for overall weight control. As you continue to learn more about nutrition, you will find additional ways to put more of this information into practice.

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