The Real Skinny on Snacking

I review food logs for my patients and magazines, and one very common thing I've seen is most people do not know the difference between a treat and a snack. A treat is something that is not filling and has no nutrition, whereas a snack is something that is filling and gives you vitamins and minerals. For example, a treat is a 100-calorie pack of Oreos or low-fat fudge pop, whereas a snack is celery with peanut butter.

Snacking is a very healthy habit; in my experience, people who lose weight and keep it off snack once or twice a day. A snack is a bridge between meals... It helps you get to the next meal with a less ravenous hunger so you are better able to control your food choices and portions at mealtime. On the other hand, treats taste good for the moment but don't have the staying power to keep your hunger at bay or energy levels steady. Treats can't control your appetite and don't contribute to your overall wellbeing, so in the end... Treats are something we need to limit (even if they seem innocent because they are only 100 calories or low-fat or low-sugar).

Bottom Line: Snack Daily, Treat Occasionally.

Many patients and magazines ask me to come up with clever, creative and delicious snack ideas, but snacks shouldn't be glamorous, nor should they be something we look so forward to eating. Snacks should just be a tide-me-over until I can get to a meal I will enjoy. Think of them as just a meal-to-meal bridge. It tends to be the opposite in our diet-obsessed culture -- many people load up on low-calorie, boring "diet" food at meals, which isn't satisfying, and then scavenge for delicious and exciting treats all afternoon and evening. Consider this the new norm: Enjoy creativity and variety at meals, but snack simply on filling and nutritious food.

Simple Snack Guidelines:

• Between 100-200 calories


• Contain the powerful combination of produce and protein


• Eaten only once or twice a day when it is most needed/hungriest time of day


• Limited in variety -- too many choices at snack time can lead to overeating

My Top Ten Snack List
Each is about 150 calories and contains produce plus protein:

1. Apple (small) and almonds (10)


2. Celery (3 stalks) and peanut butter (1.5 tablespoons)


3. Peaches (1/2 cup canned in juice) and low-fat cottage cheese (1/2 cup)


4. Grapes (half a cup) and soynuts (1/4 cup)


5. Carrots (1 cup) and hummus (4 tablespoons)


6. Melon (3/4 cup) and cheese (1-ounce wedge)


7. Berries (1/2 cup) and low-fat plain yogurt (6 ounces)


8. Cucumber (1 cup) and tuna (3 ounces with 1 tablespoon light mayo)


9. Tomato juice (1 cup low-sodium) and pistachios (30)


10. Pear (small) and string cheese (1)

For more by Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, CSSD, LDN, click here.

For more on diet and nutrition, click here.

 

 

 

Follow Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, CSSD, LDN on Twitter: www.twitter.com/djblatner

Comments

[Debby Carroll]

11:40 AM on 06/02/2012

I get the difference between snacks and treats but I'd like to believe that a snack can be tasty enough for me to look forward to it. Half of a banana and peanut butter works for me. I see no big problem with a few dark chocolate chips and 10 almonds. I bake oatmeal raisin cookies with whole grain and very little sweetener (supplemented with Stevia extract with vanilla) and one of those with a bit of Greek yogurt is a treat/snack. Mango salsa and a few whole grain crackers with some thinly sliced turkey works for me, too. If I can't enjoy eating the snack, I'm probably going to want a "treat" instead so I have to find things that are "fit" and "fun."
thejoyoffitness.wordpress.com

[goldy67]

08:06 PM on 05/31/2012

Only 2 snacks? I eat pretty much every 2 hours. Always nutritious food, and my weight stays the same.

[Karl Wilder]

12:26 PM on 05/30/2012

I don't have enough appetite for snacks very often. It would be hard for me to eat more.

[WishfulThinkingRulesAll]

01:37 PM on 05/30/2012

Then don't do it. But if you are hungry between meals, this article has a great list of healthy snacks.

[TYLER DARY]

02:37 AM on 05/30/2012

I love the idea of counting calories. I use an interesting site at www.100caloriebags.com to create my own 100 calorie snacks without paying for them!

[fit4ufor3rd]

07:11 PM on 05/29/2012

at this point in time i think of all of my eating as snacks, small and throught the day with good nutritional backing for each

[fit4ufor3rd]

07:11 PM on 05/29/2012

rice cake with almond butter, raisins and banana slices with skim milk : D

[ginadeoliveira2008]

06:08 PM on 05/29/2012

Great snack tips. I only disagree with the twice a day. Not for me. Not at all! I eat about 5 snacks a day, I guess. Sometimes one of those instead of lunch. Along with glasses of water I guess they are responsible for my keeping my (ideal) weight.

[kcrom]

05:03 PM on 05/29/2012

Banana soft serve..... so good.
Cut 2 banana's in chunks. Freeze until firm. Puree in blender until like soft serve ice cream.
I allow the banana to sit out for a few minutes after it is frozen to puree a bit easier.
You will be addicted!

[Niki Sloan]

10:09 AM on 05/30/2012

I do this too, but I add a little bit of cocoa powder...it's like a frozen chocolate treat!

[WishfulThinkingRulesAll]

01:37 PM on 05/30/2012

I just eat the frozen banana right after I take it out of the freezer.

[peppertrekker]

03:42 PM on 05/29/2012

half a cup of anything whole grain with either hot sauce or salsa on it is very satisfying

[Yogamum]

02:46 PM on 05/29/2012

Sprouted raisin bread toasted with almond butter. Yummy and good for you too.

[mlic975220]

02:04 PM on 05/29/2012

Good article - I eat 3 nutritious meals a day, plus 3 snacks (one between each meal & one before bed), lots of water, "treats" once in a while, work out every day & I'm a very healthy weight. For me though it's the combo of all of these that keeps me this way. My hubby thinks the less you eat, the more you will lose weight but I've found I need "fuel" to keep me going & lose weight.

[Ludomancer]

01:39 PM on 05/29/2012

I like the phrase "produce and protein".
Whenever I pull out a bit of food like this, it seems to get attention from coworkers because it doesn't match anything in the building's vending machine. They sigh and say "that looks so good" with a sort of fond nostalgia which is strange because it's not expensive or difficult to find. It seems like many people choose food based on novelty and visual cues and forget about all the classic staples.

[WishfulThinkingRulesAll]

01:38 PM on 05/30/2012

Don't eat staples, they are sharp.

[Bellalina]

01:23 PM on 05/29/2012

Well its some nice guide lines, but I noticed a number of people stay a healthy weight by grazing all day instead of eating three big meals. My hubby used to nibble all day and he always stayed a healthy weight and had plenty of energy. Now he doesn't do that and he is gaining weight and feels tire a lot. I do better nibbling and not eating big meals. I stay full and have more energy and stay a stable weight. But the bottom line really is exercise....

[open2facts]

12:37 PM on 05/29/2012

I'm an all day grazer, but almost always a small meal eater, I've pretty much always been that way, I don't why--weird metabolism? My favorite grazing foods are grape or dried tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, edamame, blueberries, icy cold cucumbers, carrot sticks, strawberries, cheese sticks and spoonfuls of peanut butter out of the jar ;) You'd think by eating all day that I'd have gained a lot weight, but even after 5 kids and 3 plus decades, I weigh just 5 pounds more than I did when I graduated high school. Maybe grazing works for others, any one else out there a grazer?

[OutAtFirst]

01:09 PM on 05/29/2012

Both my kids are. Constantly snacking and both skinny as rails.

[Yogamum]

02:50 PM on 05/29/2012

You must be my long lost twin!! Same here, I eat small healthy snacks all day long and weigh 133 at 5'8" after 4 kids. I eat spoonfuls of peanut butter and almond butter out of the jar - usually about 4 tablespoons or more everyday, so I laugh when people say PB is fattening.

[open2facts]

06:29 PM on 05/29/2012

Thanks for the replies outatfirst and yogamum! I'm glad to hear I'm not so strange in my eating habits. Yogamum, maybe not indentical twins--I'm 4'11" and 109 llbs ;) but twin grazers, yes. Hooray for you, and for grazing!

[babybelle]

12:27 PM on 05/29/2012

I eat 3 meals a day. never snack, except for a bowl of crushed ice .
I maintain my weight at 102 pounds.
Snacking between meals screws up the hunger hormone Leptin.