Snack Attack
Metro Creative Graphics
Having healthy choices available, involving the children in making the snacks and by being a healthy eating role model helps children make the right snack choice.
Zack
Marshall
Pfarr
Food, specifically when it is part of a meal, plays an important role in many cultures around the world.
People gather together for a meal to celebrate, families will often join around the kitchen table to enjoy dinner, and it has often been proclaimed that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
In between breakfast, lunch and dinner, it is possible to become hungry and want something to satiate a rumbling stomach.
This is where a snack comes in.
According to Brittney Zack, MS, RDN, LDN, clinical dietitian at Uniontown Hospital, a snack is any food eaten between meals.
However, it is important that whatever snack is chosen, it should be picked for its nutritional properties.
鈥淲hen choosing the right type of snack at the right times, they can actually be a helpful addition to the diet for most people. When incorporating healthy snacks, they can help to balance blood sugar levels, prevent you from gaining weight by overeating at the next meal, help to fight cravings and they can help to keep you full longer,鈥� said Jessica Marshall, registered dietitian and board certified holistic health practitioner. 鈥淚t is important to note that there are a small percentage of people that don鈥檛 do well with snacks because they end up grazing all day and over-indulging. In that case, the three-meal-per-day pattern works best for them because it teaches them that there are start and stop times to eating.鈥�
Another factor that makes choosing the right snack more difficult is the way some junk food can masquerade as 鈥渉ealthy snacks.鈥�
For example, the Hershey company, known for their chocolate bars, has been trying to make their treats healthier by offering a bag of 鈥渟nack mix鈥� that mimics trail mix but includes Reese蘑菇视频 peanut butter cups and mini chocolate bars for 280 calories per package.
鈥淧eople are snacking more and more, sometimes instead of meals, sometimes with meals, and sometimes in between meals,鈥� said Marcel Nahm, the head of North American snacks for Hershey, in an interview with AP.
He added that, according to the company蘑菇视频 research, some people are snacking up to 10 times a day.
Kellogg蘑菇视频, the popular cereal company that was losing financial footing, also jumped on the snack bandwagon with the creation of their 鈥淭o Go鈥� pouches that hold larger pieces of their cereal, created to be eaten by hand, are 190 calories.
And for those who prefer something a little more salty than sweet, Hormel, the canned meat manufacturer, is currently in the testing phase of 鈥淪pam Snacks,鈥� dried hunks of meat in resealable bags for 220 calories per bag.
鈥淭he majority of people are likely very aware of what types of snacks are less healthy. It is no secret that products like fast food, potato chips, cookies and candy bars are not optimal options. But these tend to be our biggest guilty pleasures. We are all humans, and we all have cravings that sometimes cannot be avoided,鈥� said Zack. 鈥淲ith that and the key word of 鈥榤oderation鈥� in mind, if you must indulge in potato chips, be mindful of your portion sizes. Read the nutrition facts on the products that you choose and factor these into your allotted daily calorie intake. (One serving size is 15 chips by the way). Incorporating an appropriately-sized guilty pleasure snack a few times each week will satisfy a craving while teaching portion control, which can play a key role in weight reduction.鈥�
While it can be confusing to determine what would make a good snack choice, Michelle Pfarr, RD, LDN, clinical nutrition manager at Monongahela Valley Hospital, offers some tips.
鈥淒efinitely low-calorie, low-fat, high-fiber, maybe a healthy source of protein and nutrient dense鈥� she said about what to look for in a snack. 鈥淪omething like fruit, vegetables, yogurt, string cheese, pretzels if you need something with salt, as long as you watch your portions. Portion control is important. Whole grain toast with some peanut butter, vegetables and hummus; even a glass of milk.鈥�
Marshall said that people should also search for foods that help to stabilize blood sugar levels, have a little protein, healthy fat or fiber.
鈥淚f looking for some crunch, go with carrots, celery or mixed nuts. If looking for something sweet, [choose] Greek yogurt and berries or whole fruit. If needing something salty [choose] olives, pickles or pickled vegetables, seaweed chips, air popped popcorn with olive oil and salt, or whole grain or bean chips (preferably baked not fried) with salsa. If looking for something creamy [try] avocado or guacamole, hummus or nut butter,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hese snacks have a good balance of fat-to-protein-to-carbohydrate.鈥�
One of the biggest fans of snacks can be children, especially after school.
In order to help them make healthy decisions when choosing a snack, Pfarr suggests letting children participate during the preparation of the snacks and to make the healthiest options available.
鈥淚t is truly what is available in the house. What you bring in and promote is apparently what your children are going to eat. If you have vegetables cut up in the fridge, that is what they are going to grab. It is modeling as a parent. If we are modeling good choices and behaviors our children will do the same,鈥� Pfarr said. 鈥淎lso, if you are preparing something like the vegetables or the granola snack for the week, if you have your children help you they are more likely to enjoy it. That is a way to get your kids interested in eating healthy; to prepare healthy items.鈥�