Healthy Eating/Wellness: Healthy Snacks HF#171

Snack foods are known to be high in calories and low in nutrition, but they don’t need to be.  Snacks can be varied and can help you meet your daily diet needs, while helping you to avoid overeating at meal times.

 

Snacks Fill a Food “Gap”

 

Snack Ideas: Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

• Apple wedges, orange sections, banana slices, peach slices, pineapple chunks, pear slices, and melon chunks
• Grapes, cherries, blueberries, and strawberries
• Fruit smoothies using fresh or frozen fruit blended with yogurt, milk or dairy alternatives like soy, rice or almond milk.  
• Carrot sticks, celery sticks, turnip cubes, rutabaga slices, and zucchini sticks
• Broccoli, radish roses, and cauliflower
• Cucumber or zucchini slices
• Mushrooms, pepper rings, cherry tomatoes, water chestnuts, and grape tomatoes

Notes:

• Eat these plain or with peanut butter, low fat cream cheese, or a yogurt dip.
• Make a fresh fruit or veggie kabob.  Cheese can be added for protein.
• Shred vegetables and add to pancakes, muffin mixes, and quick breads.

 

Spinach Dip

1 ten ounce pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

½ cup lowfat salad dressing or mayonnaise

½ teaspoon dill weed

1 teaspoon sugar

 

Mix all items together.  Chill at least 1 hour.  Serve with raw vegetables or crackers.

For very young children, cut pieces of vegetables up into small sections to avoid choking.

 

Snack Ideas: Grain Products

• Whole grain, enriched crackers and breads, or low fat muffins
• Melba toast, wasa bread, or bread sticks
• Soft pretzels, popcorn, dry cereal mix, or baked potato chips
• Low fat granola bars
• Instant oatmeal

Notes:

• Make muffins, quick breads, cookies, and bars healthy!  Use items like oatmeal, peanut butter, bran, wheat germ, whole wheat pastry flour, carrots, zucchini, pumpkin, bananas, apples, dried fruit or molasses in them. You can usually decrease the sugar by 1/3 or 1/2 without affecting taste.  Bake, cool and then freeze individual slices, bars or muffins.
• Serve breads and crackers with cheese, cream cheese, or peanut butter.  Dot with raisins.
• Make mini pizza, with whole wheat English muffin halves, pizza sauce, grated cheese and spices. 
• Make half sandwiches using one slice bread and peanut butter, tuna fish, hummus, deli meat or cheese.

 

Trail Mix

2 cups Chex® cereals (can use a mixture of types and can include bran Chex®)

1 cup.small shredded wheat

½ cup.peanuts

¼ cup dried fruit

Avoid giving young children nuts and dried fruit; it may cause a choking hazard.

 

Snack Ideas: Protein Foods

• Nuts, seeds, and nut butters
• Bean dip
• Hummus
• Deviled eggs, hard boiled eggs, or egg beaters
• Refried beans, lentils, or legumes
• Dairy foods (see below)

Notes:

• Mix peanut butter with bananas, raisins, or toasted oats for a tasty spread. 
•  Tofu, cottage cheese, or reduced fat cream cheese can be added to dips and spreads for extra protein.
• Have a small cup of lentil or bean soup.

 

Hummus Dip

1 large can chick peas

Mix items in blender until ice is crushed.  Makes four 1 cup servings.
 

Comments for the Calorie Conscious

 

In choosing low calorie snacks, it helps to learn how to spread them out wisely.  That means eating healthy foods with fewer calories.

 

50 Calorie Snacks:

1 cup raw vegetables	5 mixed nuts	15 pistachio nuts
1 cup popped corn, unbuttered	5 potato chips	50 very thin pretzels
1 piece of fresh fruit	5 cashews	3 macadamia nuts

 

Food portions in the right column are high in fat.  Notice the much smaller portion sizes compared to those snacks in the left column.  Calories can add up quickly in foods when they are high in fats and sugars.

 

Calories in Drinks

Many of us forget about the number of calories in drinks.  Your drink choices may depend on whether you need to add extra calories or are trying to cut down.

 

Drinks with NO alcohol	Calories in 12 ounces
Water	0
Club soda or diet soda	1
Sugar-free beverage with Nutra-Sweet	6
Tomato juice	70
Tonic water	110
Kool-Aid or soda pop	150
Punch	180
Fruit juice	180

 

Drinks WITH Alcohol	Calories
Wine, 3 ½ oz	85
Brandy, gin, vodka, rum, scotch                         or whiskey, 1 ½ oz	105
Beer, 12 oz	150
Light Beer, 12 oz	95
Extra Light Beer, 12 oz	70
Highball, 8 oz	165
Manhattan, 3 ½ oz	165

 

If you are a UW Health patient and have any questions please call UW Health Nutrition at:

 

Nutrition Clinic University Station 2880 University Avenue Madison, WI  53705 (608) 263-5012

Nutrition Clinic UW Health West Clinic 451 Junction Road Madison, WI  53717 (608) 265-7526

Nutrition Clinic UW Health East Clinic 5249 East Terrace Drive Madison, WI  53718 (608) 265-0963

 

 

 

The information provided should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

Last Updated: 07/10/2012

Copyright © 10/26/2011 University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority. All rights reserved. Produced by the Department of Nursing. HF#171

Print Health Fact For You