KIND Nuts & Spices Bar with only 5g sugar (free sample courtesy of KIND Snacks)
“Is this healthy to eat?” This is one of the most common questions my clients ask as they show me a protein bar, nutrition shake or packaged snack food. Perhaps you, too, have been wondering how to level up your snacking game. Keep reading this tip-filled post to learn how to answer this question for yourself and snack like a pro!
More people are snacking than ever before. According to a 2014 Mintel research report on snacking trends, 94 percent of Americans snack at least once daily, while 50 percent of adults enjoy snacking two or three times daily. And 24 percent of Millenials eat up to four snacks daily to improve function, focus and energy.
The good news is that 33 percent of consumers want healthier snack options, and they care as much about the quality of ingredients as the taste. The bad news is that higher snacking frequency is associated with increased caloric intakes of up to 50 percent, leading to weight gain, obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
So, what’s driving this snacking trend? Most people snack to satisfy hunger or cravings, while others snack to relieve emotional stress, boredom or fatigue. Perhaps you work in an office where food and snacks are always available and you can’t resist indulging. Or you might have a snack before a high-intensity workout to improve your performance.
When you make smart choices, snacking becomes another eating occasion to meet your nutrient needs. Learn how to boost your energy with the right snack at the right time for pre- and post-workouts, between meals, at happy hour, in the office, and on special occasions.
What is a snack?
Every day, we have many eating occasions, both meals and snacks, which provide our total energy intake. Ideally, meals are comprised of a balance of macronutrients (protein, fat and carbohydrates) that provide most of the calories we need. A snack is typically smaller (150 to 200 calories) and may only provide one primary macronutrient such as carbohydrates in a piece of fruit.
When to snack?
Snacks are optional, but the best time to snack is when you need energy to fuel a long, high-intensity workout, or to tide you over to your next meal when more than four hours have passed since your last meal and you’re truly hungry.
When NOT to snack (and what to do instead)
Think about snacking as a way to meet your needs for nutrients and extra energy throughout the day. It’s fine to have an occasional treat when you eat mindfully.
You don’t need pre- and post-workout snacks if you sit at a desk all day long and the only exercise you get is when you leisurely walk your dog for 20 minutes.
Don’t feel obligated to indulge in the food that magically appears in the office. It seems like every day is a special occasion: a holiday celebration (e.g. National Cupcake Day), a potluck fundraiser, monthly birthdays, or leftovers from a catered lunch meeting.
If you just ate a few slices of cheesy pizza for lunch, then you don’t need to eat a piece of the birthday cake that just appeared in the break room—even though you want to.
Plan ahead if you want to have a mid-afternoon treat. For lunch, choose a low-carb green salad with salmon or chickpeas, skip the bread and croutons, swap the creamy dressing for balsamic vinegar, and drink water instead of a sweetened beverage. You’ll still be able to enjoy a cookie or small piece of dark chocolate without over-indulging.
If weight loss is your goal and you KNOW that you can’t stop grazing on food all day, you’ll reach your goal faster if you limit your daily food intake to just three meals with no snacks at all. It’s hard to lose weight when your body is constantly in a fed state. Honestly assess your eating habits and structure your meal plan to set you up for success.
The hunger scale: how to tell if you’re truly hungry
Learning how to recognize your body’s true hunger and fullness levels will help you snack wisely without overeating. Rate your hunger on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means extreme hunger and 10 means you’re so full that you can’t eat another bite. Wait until your hunger level reaches a 3 before you eat your next meal or reach for a snack.
How to create the perfect snack
The supermarket is filled with packaged snack foods, protein bars, shakes and sports drinks with labels that promise better health and performance. You must read the nutrition labels and ingredient lists like a detective to know what’s really in these foods. You may think that a packaged snack food is healthy because it’s labeled organic or vegan, but these healthy-sounding labels can have a “health halo” effect. Organic snacks often contain just as much added sugar, salt and oil as similar conventional snacks. Your best bet is to snack on nutrient-rich, whole foods and to drink water.
Avoid processed snack foods made with isolated soy protein, tropical oils, trans-fats, artificial colorings and “natural flavors”. Avoid snacks with more than 5 grams of added sugar, of which there are at least 50 different types! Do check the ingredient list and nutrition facts panel, and don’t rely on the “healthy” marketing terms on the front of the package.
Packaged snack foods and sports drinks can be a good choice when your environment makes it difficult to eat whole foods. When you’re cycling or running long distances at a high-intensity level for more than an hour, you need to replace fluids and electrolytes lost in sweat, as well as replenish depleted glycogen stores.
A perfect snack has 150 to 200 calories and is comprised of a serving of fruit or vegetables and a source of lean protein or healthy fat. Sliced apples spread with almond butter, or fresh, red bell peppers dipped in hummus make healthy snacks. Get my list of 25 healthy snacks here.
A complete meal provides approximately 400 to 600 calories, depending on your size and activity level, so a 500-calorie banana muffin is not the best snack choice.
Pre-workout snack guidelines
Eating the right amount of the right foods at the right time prior to exercising can boost your energy and performance, while choosing the wrong foods may lead to fatigue or gastrointestinal distress. Sports nutrition is a highly specialized area of nutrition with specific guidelines for athletes of all sizes, performance levels, training seasons and sports. But even recreational athletes and physically active people can improve the quality of their workouts with a pre-workout snack.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada and the American College of Sports Medicine position paper on Nutrition and Athletic Performance outlines the following recommendations for calories, nutrients and fluids required by active adults.
A pre-workout meal consumed 1 to 4 hours before exercising should consist primarily of carbohydrates in the amount of 1 to 4 g/kg body weight. The lowest amount should be eaten closer to the start of the athletic event or exercise session. This snack should be familiar and low in protein, fat and fiber to minimize any gastrointestinal discomfort during exercise. Bananas, sports gels, bars and sports beverages are good choices.
Aim to begin your exercise session in a hydrated state by drinking 5 to 10 ml/kg body weight of fluids during the 2 to 4 hours prior to exercising. Your urine should be light yellow in color when optimally hydrated. Allow ample time to empty your bladder first.
Post-workout recovery snack guidelines
The best time to eat a post-workout snack is within 0 to 2 hours after exercising to replenish glycogen stores and promote muscle protein synthesis. The ideal post-workout snack contains a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrates (1 – 1.2 g/kg body weight) to protein (0.25 – 0.3 g/kg body weight). Popular combinations include fruit with yogurt, a bagel with peanut butter, fish with brown rice or a sweet potato, and a fruit smoothie.
How this snack combination works: the carbohydrates increase blood glucose levels and the pancreas responds by secreting insulin, an anabolic hormone that boosts the absorption of amino acids from the protein to promote muscle protein synthesis.
Be sure to replace lost fluids during your recovery period. Fluid losses vary greatly depending on individual sweat rates, environment, intensity and duration of exercise. Estimate your rehydration needs by weighing yourself before and after exercise. Each 1 kg loss of body weight equals about 1 liter of sweat loss, so you’ll need to rehydrate with fluids in the amount of 125% to 150% of your sweat loss, or 1.25 to 1.5 liters fluid containing water and sodium per 1 kg loss of body weight during exercise.
Snacking strategies for challenging occasions
It’s not always easy to eat healthy when you’re not in control of your environment and the food that’s being served. Here are some strategies to help you make better choices when you’re tempted by food in the office, when traveling or attending a party.
Always pack healthy snacks to eat in case no healthy food is available or your meal is delayed for hours. This is critical when you’re away from home. Anticipate challenging eating occasions and try to eat something that will satisfy you before you get stuck.
If your office always provides donuts, bagels and cream cheese on Friday mornings, don’t skip breakfast at home. Be sure to eat a nutritious breakfast at so you won’t arrive at the office hungry and be tempted to grab the first donut in sight.
Want to join your coworkers for lunch at a restaurant that’s known for its enormous deli sandwiches and mayo-drenched potato salad? Try this strategy. At the office, eat a healthy mid-morning snack. Later, at the restaurant, order the least unhealthy item on the lunch menu and eat just a small portion and you won’t feel hungry or deprived.
Evening events may include an extended cocktail hour with fried appetizers long before dinner will be served. You’ll be less likely to succumb to the mini crab cakes if you curb your appetite before you arrive—even if this means ordering room service at your hotel. Have a small bowl of bean soup, salad or fruit. Set an alcoholic drink limit (1 for women and 2 for men) and stick to it. This way, you can focus on speaking with the people you’ve looked forward to seeing at the event without feeling famished, bloated or tipsy.
For more casual eating occasions such as an all-day picnic at the beach or a Super Bowl game party, offer to bring snack foods that are both fun and healthy if you know that your host usually serves nachos, burgers and soda. Prepare a mezze platter with whole grain pita bread, artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, hummus, grapes, almond milk cheese, tzatziki sauce, roasted red peppers, zucchini and Portabello mushrooms.