A snack can be a tricky thing to navigate especially when you are looking to or actively making changes to your diet.
Overall calories and serving size
Think about a snack as a way to hold your hunger over until the next meal. Depending on your goals or if you are simply following a hunger cue we want the snack to be roughly 100 calories per hour you are away from eating your next meal. So if you are 2 hours away from a meal, the snack would be 200 calories. While calories aren’t everything, they are a good starting point. Serving size can also be helpful when determining what will fill you up best. So for 200ish calories you might indulge in a small handful of nuts or a Greek yogurt with some ranch seasoning and a whole cucumber. You know your body best - choose what you need.
First look at the nutrients
Things like added sodium, protein, and added sugar will be the top three things to be cognizant of in our eyes when choosing a snack. We want to find something balanced to sustain your energy. While true “snack” items are generally higher in sodium and sugar, we challenge you to get familiar with labels and choose the best option for you.
Ingredients
Some snacks can be simplistic in nature or can be more along the lines of “ultra-processed”. Pending on the mood of the snack one can go either way. Most of the time we suggest opting for one that is simplistic in nature that has only a few ingredients. Something like edamame, hard boiled eggs, trail mix, popcorn with melted cheese, roasted chickpeas, dried dates with a nut butter would all be more simple foods we’d suggest outside of just a fruit or vegetable.
