Smart Snacking
Not only are snacks okay, but some nutrition professionals claim that it’s better to eat many times throughout the day to keep your metabolism working at its best. With the smaller capacities of their tummies, being fed many times a day is also easier on children than having the traditional three big meals a day.
Rather than eating just anything that appeals, though, snacking should help provide the servings of nutrient-dense foods that you need each day. Foods that have mostly fats and sugars often give you only extra calories that you probably don’t need. Instead, choose snacks from the main food groups of www.MyPyramid.gov.
Pick one food alone or put two or more foods together. For example, you can make a mini pizza by spreading pizza sauce on a toasted English muffin half, a tortilla or a piece of pita bread. Top it with a scrambled egg or hard-cooked egg slices and, if you like, some shredded cheese. Here are some other foods you might want to pick for a good snack:
| Grain Foods |
Vegetables |
Fruits |
Fruits |
Milk & Meat Foods |
| bagel |
beet slices |
applesauce |
kiwi slices |
cheese cubes |
| bran muffin |
broccoli florets |
apple slices |
litchi |
cottage cheese |
| bread or toast- enriched or whole grain |
carrot shreds or sticks |
apricots - fresh or dried |
mango slices |
milk |
| breadsticks |
cauliflower florets |
banana |
melon cubes |
ice milk |
| cornbread |
celery sticks |
berries |
nectarine slices |
low-fat yogurt |
| crackers |
cucumber slices |
carmbola/star fruit slices |
orange slices |
pudding cup |
| English muffin |
greens |
cherries |
papaya slices |
lean cooked beef, lamb or pork slices |
| fruit muffin |
radishes |
dates |
peach slices |
lean cooked chicken or turkey slices |
| plain rice cake |
salsa or tomato, pizza, spaghetti or taco sauce |
figs |
pear slices |
water-packed tuna |
| ready-to-eat cereal |
summer squash slices |
fruit butter |
pineapple slices |
cooked egg |
| pita bread |
sweet pepper strips |
fruit cup |
plum slices |
pickled egg |
| pretzels |
tomato slices or cherry or grape tomatoes |
fruit juice |
prunes |
peanut butter |
| roll or bun |
vegetable juice |
grapes |
raisins |
garbanzo or other cooked dry beans |
| tortilla |
yam or sweet potato slices |
guava slices |
tangerine slices |
tofu cubes |
|
