If your snack foods aren't healthy foods, you're probably getting too much salt, sugar, fat and cholesterol in your diet -- like most Americans. When you're in a hurry and out of ideas, fast food and candy may win by default.
Prepare to eat more nutritious snacks on the go by stocking the freezer, fridge and cupboards with nuts, seeds, cut fruit, cheeses and other high-energy foods. Eating snack foods with less sugar and greater vitamin, mineral and protein content will keep you full and active until your next meal.
Packaged Snacks
Low-fat baked pretzels and potato chips, unflavored air-popped popcorn and plain graham crackers are all good grain additions to your snack repertoire. You shouldn't replace less sugar with more salt, however, so limit the saltier snacks. Small containers of low-fat yogurt and cottage cheese make filling to-go snacks.
You can save money on snack foods by buying nuts, seeds and dried fruits in bulk and repackaging them yourself. All your favorite ingredients can go into a homemade trail mix: peanuts, roasted soybeans, almonds, cashews, raisins, sunflower seeds and chocolate chips. It's easy to grab small bags from the freezer on your way out the door. The nutritionists at Mayo Clinic suggest limiting high-calorie snacks like these to 1-oz. portions.
Raw Snacks
Dining while dashing can be a good opportunity to fulfill your daily fruit and vegetable serving quota. You'll crave less sugar if you get yours naturally from apples, bananas, grapes and berries. Vitamin C snack foods such as tangeloes, oranges and tangerines offer big taste and thirst-quenching benefits. Many grocery stores also offer cut-fruit medleys, such as melon, pineapple and berries, already packaged in travel cups, or you can cut your own before you leave home. Supermarkets also sell platters and packages of precut veggies for more go-to healthy snacks.
Assembled Snacks
The mini-sandwich combines a whole grain product with a protein topper for a filling snack that emphasizes healthy foods. You can start with a base of rye crackers, whole wheat pita chips, tortillas or bagels with seeds. Spreads and toppings include almond butter, chickpea hummus, refried beans, guacamole, nonfat tuna salad and any type of cheese.
For less sugar in almond or peanut butter snacks, you can choose fresh-ground from machines found in the natural food sections of stores. These healthy foods are also good paired with fresh apple slices. Cut fruit and vegetables make nutritious dippers for yogurt or nonfat sour cream.
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