Good News, Snacking is Healthy — Here’s How to Do it Right

Unhealthy people snack and healthy people only eat structured meals right?

According to survey results published by the NPD Group that might not be a completely accurate assumption. In fact Americans with the healthiest eating habits were twice as likely to snack as compared to their less-healthy counterparts. More specifically people with healthy diets consumed 36 percent more snacks over the year than the average consumer.

It makes sense. Snacking is a great way to curb hunger through out the day and when you curb hunger you’re less likely to overeat at main meals. If 50 calories curbs your hunger 2 hours before lunch it might save you a few hundred when noon rolls around.

Snacking healthy does, however, require a little knowledge. While we all know a bag of chips isn’t a healthy snack, sometimes even “healthy snacks” aren’t that healthy. Here are five “healthy snacks” to watch out for:

1. Dried Veggies: Snapea Crisps for example are not so light on calories: a one-ounce serving, or about 22 crisps, has 150 calories and 8 grams of fat. That puts them in Doritos territory.
2. Veggie Chips: Same story. Terra Chips contain 150 calories and 9 grams of fat in each one-ounce serving.
3. Granola Bars: Healthy grains are a plus, but the sugar and syrup dousing they get isn’t healthy at all. Add in some chocolate, dried fruit and other sugary additives and you might as well grab a cookie.
4. Dried Fruit: It takes more dried fruit to feel full than whole fruit and that equates to more sugar and more calories. Additionally, most dried fruit is also covered in sugar.
5. Bran Muffins: One medium muffin contains 305 calories, 8.4 grams of fat and 9.3 grams of sugar. To compare, a cake doughnut from Dunkin’ Donuts has 280 calories, 18 grams of fat and 6 grams of sugar.