Snacks: How they fit into your weight-loss plan

Well-planned, healthy snacks can complement your weight-loss plan. Here are creative and healthy ways to satisfy your hunger.

Your stomach is growling, but lunch is hours away. You could indulge yourself with a snack, but you think it's best to avoid treats altogether and wait for lunch. Not so, if weight loss is your goal.

Though you may feel guilty about snacking, snacks aren't necessarily bad. In fact, mini meals several times a day can help manage hunger and reduce bingeing. Eating a healthy snack of low-fat crackers or fruit may stop you from taking second or third helpings at your next meal, dramatically cutting the calories you consume. Also, healthy meals often lose out to busy schedules. A grab-and-go snack could be the difference between some nourishment and none at all.

The key to incorporating snacks into your weight-loss plan is to plan them with variety, moderation and balance in mind.

Choose healthy snacks

Select foods that satisfy your hunger, supply your body with energy and provide important nutrients. Here are some of your best snack picks:

• Whole grains. Whole-grain snacks are rich in fiber and complex carbohydrates, which give you energy with staying power. Look for items such as low-fat whole-grain crackers, whole-grain pretzels and whole-grain crispbreads.
• Fruits and vegetables. Eating fruits and vegetables provides a feeling of fullness with no fat and only a small number of calories. They also provide vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients.
• Nuts and seeds. Nuts and seeds provide protein, so you will feel fuller longer. They can be high in fat, but it's mostly monounsaturated, a healthy kind of fat. Nuts and seeds are high in calories, however, so don't eat them in large quantities.
• Low-fat dairy products. Cheese, yogurt and other dairy products are good sources of calcium and protein, plus many other vitamins and minerals. Dairy products can be high in fat, so choose the low-fat versions. Some yogurts have extra added sugar, so look for low-calorie or "light" varieties.

Though snacks can contribute to a healthy diet, they can also be a source of excess calories if not eaten in moderation. For example, a single serving of almonds (about 23 kernels, or a handful) contains 163 calories. But if you eat a cup of almonds, the calorie count jumps to 800-plus calories.

So what are your best choices? Here are several suggestions:

Source: Department of Agriculture — Nutrient Data Laboratory, 2007

Quick, easy-to-prepare snacks

You'll find it easier to choose good-for-you snacks if you stock your refrigerator and shelves with foods that are fast — not fussy. These ideas for healthy snacks minimize fat and calories and maximize whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

• Toast one-half of a whole-wheat English muffin. Top with one slice Canadian bacon, a tomato slice and one slice low-fat American cheese. Microwave until the cheese melts.
• Mash half a banana into 2 teaspoons peanut butter and spread onto a whole-grain bagel. Large bagels contain up to 300 calories, so choose a smaller 2-ounce bagel.
• Mix 1/4 cup cold leftover chicken or convenience-type chunk chicken with sliced seedless grapes, 1/2 tablespoon sunflower seeds, 1 tablespoon plain yogurt or fat-free mayonnaise, and a dash of curry powder. Stuff into a hollowed-out green pepper or half of a whole-wheat pita pocket.
• Spread 1 tablespoon part-skim ricotta cheese over one-half of a small cinnamon-raisin bagel. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired and top with a thinly sliced apple.
• Layer a 6-inch soft corn or flour tortilla with 2 tablespoons shredded low-fat cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese. Microwave until the cheese melts. Slice into bite-sized pie shapes. Dip into some salsa if desired.
• Spread 1 tablespoon ricotta cheese over a brown rice cake. Layer with fresh strawberries or a tablespoon of sugar-free spreadable fruit. Or try using a spread of herbed goat cheese and sliced olives.
• Top a small baked potato with 2 tablespoons fat-free plain yogurt and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning.
• Spread 1 tablespoon fruit-flavored low-fat yogurt or 100 percent fruit jam over a slice of whole-grain crispbread.

Heed your hunger pangs, but forget the guilt. With planning and a little preparation, you can have healthy foods on hand so that you're ready when temptation strikes.

RELATED

• Getting a handle on meal portions
• Food pyramid: An option for better eating
• Energy density and weight loss: Feel full on fewer calories
• Slide show: Portion control for weight loss
• Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid tool
• Weight management recipes
• Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid: A sample menu

MayoClinic.com Bookstore

• 'The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook,' Concise Edition (Softcover)
• 'The Mayo Clinic Plan: 10 Essential Steps to a Better Body & Healthier Life' (Hardcover)