Snack time

Are snacks bad for me?

We are often told that snacking is “bad” but it does not have to be. It is natural to feel hungry between meals from time to time. As with all food and drink, what is important is what you choose to eat, how much and how often you are having it.

If you always choose high fat, high sugar and high salt foods such as sweets, crisps, or garlic bread then your body will be getting extra energy that it does not need, but no goodness like vitamins or fibre.

How often should I snack?

Everyone is different and how much you snack can vary day to day and from person to person.

As a general rule it is useful to:

• have no more than 2 snacks everyday, each with less than 100 calories
• eat only if you are hungry, rather than out of habit or just because a food is there
• have a big drink of water before you have a snack to make sure you are not mistaking thirst for hunger
• plan ahead. Take snacks with you when out of the house, add suitable snack foods to your shopping list and have these available and ready to eat
• avoid buying less nutritious snacks such as cakes, biscuits and sausage rolls. Have these infrequently and only buy them when you plan to have them. If they are in your house at all times then they will be eaten more frequently. You cannot be tempted by something that is not there. Make nutritious options more visible so these are chosen.

Try to build your snacks from the main sections of the Eat Well Guide: Fruits and vegetables, starchy carbohydrates (such as bread, rice, pasta and other cereals), dairy and alternatives and protein (beans, pulses, fish, eggs meat and other proteins). The eat well guide

What foods should I snack on?

The list below has some ideas for snacks that you can choose.

• vegetable sticks such as carrots, peppers or celery. Try adding a low fat dip such as a tablespoon of reduced fat hummus, cottage cheese or homemade cucumber and yoghurt dip
• piece of fresh fruit, tinned fruit in juice or 1 tablespoon of dried fruit
• plain or fruit scone
• slice of malt loaf or small hot cross bun
• either 1 slice of wholemeal toast, 2 large rice cakes, 2 crisp breads, 1 wholemeal pitta, 1 English muffin, 1 crumpet or 1 mini wholemeal wrap. Top with thinly spread nut butter, hard boiled egg, homemade salsa and sprinkle of grated extra mature cheddar, reduced fat cottage or cream cheese and cucumber slices, mashed banana, or reduced sugar chocolate spread
• small handful of nuts and dried fruit in a bowl
• hard boiled egg with vegetable sticks
• reduced fat plain yoghurt with fruit or nuts or seeds
• sliced apple with peanut butter
• small bowl (30 grams) wholemeal low sugar cereal with semi-skimmed milk
• small bag plain popcorn or bowl of homemade popcorn
• 2 large individual or 1 small bag flavoured rice cakes
• homemade roasted chickpeas
• homemade egg “frittata muffins”
• any item with less than 100 calories such as Kit Kat or Penguin or multipack bag of crisps (have this less often)
• sugar free jelly
• ice pops
• home made ice lollies or ice cubes made no-added-sugar cordial

Are there any other options?

You can be creative with snacks and come up with your own or look on websites for ideas. Use the NHS Food scanner app to see if there is an alternative to your usual choices. NHS healthier snacks may have some ideas you like.

Alternatively, you can check labels and choose foods that are low in fat, salt and sugar. The numbers in the table are the amount per 100g of the food. Remember to check the recommended portion size. For example, some packets may actually contain 2 servings so you should only eat half the packet.