Snacking means eating smaller portions of food between meals. Opt for snacks with protein, fiber, and healthy fats to help keep you full throughout the day.
While research on whether snacking aids weight loss is mixed, some evidence suggests that increasing your meal frequency through snacking may help manage hunger and improve blood sugar regulation (1Trusted Source).
Additionally, snacking can help you increase your intake of nutrient-rich foods like fruits and vegetables — and most people are not eating enough produce (2Trusted Source).
By planning ahead and focusing on nutrient-rich foods, snacks may support your weight management goals by managing hunger and keeping you satisfied between meals
Nuts are an ideal nutritious snack, providing the perfect balance of healthy fats, protein, and fiber.
They’re linked to numerous health benefits and are very filling. Studies suggest that eating nuts in moderation may help you lose weight (6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source). Since they’re high in calories, aim to stick to about 1 ounce or 1/4 cup.
Although all bell peppers are nutritious, red varieties are particularly high in antioxidants. Guacamole is also a rich source of nutrients and minerals (8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source).
Pairing 1 large red bell pepper with 1/4 cup (60 grams) of guacamole combines the best of both foods while keeping the calorie count under 200 (Trusted Source8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source).
Apples are a fiber-rich fruit. Peanuts provide healthy fats, plant-based protein, and fiber — pretty much all of the filling nutrients you should look for in a snack (12Trusted Source, 13Trusted Source).
By combining apples with peanut butter, you’ll enjoy a crisp and creamy snack. Just look for one that only contains peanuts and salt and no sugar.
Cottage cheese is high in filling protein, boasting 25 grams in just 1 cup (14Trusted Source).
Pairing cottage cheese with fruit complements the cheese’s protein and fat content with the fruit’s fiber, resulting in a sweet, creamy, and filling snack. Try it with tropical fruits such as pineapple, papaya, or watermelon.
Kale is incredibly healthy, as it’s loaded with fiber, antioxidants, and minerals and has a lower level of oxalic acid, an anti-nutrient that impairs calcium absorption, than many other leafy greens (17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source).
Pairing kale with olive oil makes not only more delicious and crispy chips but also a more balanced and filling snack.
Dark chocolate and almonds are a fantastic pair. Dark chocolate contains antioxidants, and almonds are a rich source of healthy fats (19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source).
Try a couple of teaspoons of dark chocolate chips or a square of dark chocolate with a handful of nuts.
Cucumber’s fresh flavor and crunchy texture go very well with the rich creaminess of hummus.
Hummus is typically made from chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, and garlic. Thus, it provides a mix of plant-based protein, fiber, and heart-healthy fats (21Trusted Source).
Enjoying 1 cup (104 grams) of sliced cucumbers dipped in 2 tablespoons (34 grams) of hummus will help keep you full for under 100 calories (22Trusted Source, 23).
Eggs are incredibly filling, thanks to their protein content (25Trusted Source, 26Trusted Source).
Although they contain cholesterol, recent studies suggest that moderate egg intake — defined as 3–4 eggs per week — is linked with reduced arterial stiffness, a risk factor for heart disease (27Trusted Source).
Make sure to eat the yolk to get important nutrients like vitamin D and choline (28Trusted Source).
Pairing carrots with a creamy salad dressing or dip is a great idea. Aside from keeping you fuller for longer, fat increases your absorption of carrot’s fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin A (29Trusted Source).
While blue cheese dressing on its own is high in calories, it may help you eat more carrots (or other veggies).
A 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of baby carrots with 2 tablespoons (30 grams) of blue cheese dressing serves as a light snack containing about 190 calories (31Trusted Source, 32Trusted Source).
Cheese is a delicious, high-protein food that’s filling enough to be a snack on its own. However, pairing it with whole-grain crackers or a piece of fruit adds some fiber to your snack.
Cheese delivers protein and calcium, but the amounts of those nutrients vary slightly depending on the type you choose (33Trusted Source, 34Trusted Source, 35Trusted Source).
Beef jerky or beef sticks make excellent high-protein, portable snacks. That said, depending on the brand and flavoring, some are higher in added sugar and sodium.
Look for jerky with as few added ingredients as possible and less than 300 mg of sodium per serving, which accounts for 13% of the Daily Value (DV) of the mineral (36Trusted Source).
Most beef jerky and sticks contain about 9 grams of protein per ounce (28 grams) (37Trusted Source).
A protein smoothie can be a filling snack for when you need something substantial until your next meal.
They’re an easy and convenient way to increase your protein intake. You can add just about any other ingredient to the mix, from fruits and veggies to healthy fats like avocado, nut butter, or chia seeds, for a nutrient-rich snack.
You can also try Greek yogurt or silken tofu to boost the protein content of your smoothie (38Trusted Source, 39Trusted Source).
Canned fish is a fantastic option that requires no refrigeration. In particular, salmon and sardines are incredibly high in omega-3 fatty acids, which decrease your risk of heart disease (40Trusted Source, 41Trusted Source).
Topping a piece of whole wheat toast with canned fish will give you a highly nutritious snack that will leave you feeling full until your next meal. For something smaller, try a few whole-grain crackers with tuna or salmon.
Oats are a nutritious whole grain that provides a good amount of fiber and a high protein content compared with other cereals (44Trusted Source)
You can satisfy your sweet tooth with oatmeal topped with fruit, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips, or go for a savory version by adding eggs, avocado, and veggies like mushrooms or tomatoes.
Pear slices and ricotta cheese make a satisfying snack with a sweet taste and creamy texture, and it provides fiber and protein (45Trusted Source, 46Trusted Source).
22. Homemade trail mix
Make a trail mix by combining dried fruit and nuts for fiber, protein, and healthy fats. Choose fruits without added sugar and get creative with flavors (48Trusted Source).
While homemade trail mix is perfect for on-the-go snacking, stick to modest portion size, as dried fruit and nuts are calorie-dense.
Turkey contains high-quality protein, which helps you feel satisfied and is linked to beneficial effects on weight management (47, Trusted Source48Trusted Source).
Try rolling up a slice of turkey with a slice of cheese and some vegetables for added crunch and nutrients.
Olives are one of the nutritious staples of the Mediterranean diet.
They’re very high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and provide powerful antioxidants (49Trusted Source, 50Trusted Source).
Combine olives with feta cheese for a Greek-inspired snack that’s rich in protein and healthy fats. You could eat them by themselves or serve them with some complex carbs (51Trusted Source).
Cantaloupe is a nutritious, delicious fruit that delivers fiber and vitamins A and C (56Trusted Source).
Combining cantaloupe with prosciutto (dry-cured ham) creates a balanced, sweet-and-salty snack.
Try wrapping 4 medium cantaloupe wedges (276 grams) with a thin slice of prosciutto each for a snack under 170 calories (57Trusted Source, 58Trusted Source).
One great way of taking advantage of your leftovers from a nutritious lunch or dinner is by having them as a snack.
By getting a smaller portion of a previous meal, you’ll enjoy a complete and balanced snack in seconds.
Just make sure to store your leftovers in the refrigerator to keep them from spoiling quickly.
Snack
A small portion of food
A snack is a small amount of food that is generally eaten between meals. It can be a light meal that is eaten in a hurry or in a casual manner 1. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home 2. Some examples of snacks include chips, nuts, fruits, and vegetables 3.
Too much snacking can reduce hunger at meal times or cause one to skip a meal entirely, which increases the risk of losing out on important nutrients.
You can typically eat a small handful of each and still fall within 200 calories. It’s important to consume your snacks in moderation. However, you can also eat multiple snacks in the same meal.
In the United States, a popular snack food is the peanut. Peanuts first arrived from South America via slave ships and became incorporated into African-inspired cooking on southern plantations.
For other uses, see Snack (disambiguation).
Trail mix is a classic snack food; here it is made with peanuts, raisins, and M&M's.
A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals.[1] Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home.
Traditionally, snacks are prepared from ingredients commonly available at home without a great deal of preparation. Often cold cuts, fruits, leftovers, nuts, sandwiches, and sweets are used as snacks. With the spread of convenience stores, packaged snack foods became a significant business.
Snack foods are typically designed to be portable, quick, and satisfying. Processed snack foods, as one form of convenience food, are designed to be less perishable, more durable, and more portable than prepared foods. They often contain substantial amounts of sweeteners, preservatives, and appealing ingredients such as chocolate, peanuts, and specially designed flavors (such as flavored potato chips).
A snack eaten shortly before going to bed or during the night may be called a "bedtime snack", "late night snack", or "midnight snack".
In the United States[edit]
In the United States, a popular snack food is the peanut. Peanuts first arrived from South America via slave ships and became incorporated into African-inspired cooking on southern plantations. After the Civil War, the taste for peanuts spread north, where they were incorporated into the culture of baseball games and vaudeville theaters.[2]
Along with popcorn (also of South American origin), snacks bore the stigma of being sold by unhygienic street vendors. The middle-class etiquette of the Victorian era (1837–1901) categorized any food that did not require proper usage of utensils as lower-class.[2]
Pretzels were introduced to North America by the Dutch, via New Amsterdam in the 17th century. In the 1860s, the snack was still associated with immigrants, unhygienic street vendors, and saloons. Due to the loss of business during the Prohibition era (1920–1933), pretzels underwent rebranding to make them more appealing to the public. As packaging revolutionized snack foods, allowing sellers to reduce contamination risk, while making it easy to advertise brands with a logo, pretzels boomed in popularity, bringing many other types of snack foods with it. By the 1950s, snacking had become an all-American pastime, becoming an internationally recognized emblem of middle-American life.[2][3]
In Asia[edit]
India[edit]
Main article: List of snack foods from the Indian subcontinent
Indian snack foods are typically called "chaats". Indian snacks like Pani Puri and samosas have become world-famous enticing people with their complex and robust flavours. Most of the traditional snacks are homemade or sold by street vendors. As for packaged traditional Indian snacks, Haldiram's is one of the top-selling and famous Indian snack brands around the world.
Indonesia[edit]
Kue[edit]
Main article: kue
Indonesian snacks, such as tahu isi, pisang goreng, risoles, timpan, lemper, and kue pisang
Indonesia has a rich collection of snacks called kue (cakes and pastries), both savory and sweet. Traditional kue is usually made from rice flour, coconut milk, and coconut sugar, and is mostly steamed or fried rather than baked. Traditional kue popularly known as kue basah ("wet kue") has a moist, soft texture because of rich coconut milk. Kue kering (dried kue) is the local name for cookies. Indonesia has several variations of kue, both native and foreign-influenced.[citation needed]
Traditional crackers are called krupuk, made from bits of shrimp, fish, vegetables, or nuts, which are usually consumed as a crunchy snack or an accompaniment to meals.[4] These crispy snacks are sometimes added to main dishes for their crunchy texture; several Indonesian dishes such as gado-gado, karaoke, ketoprak, lontong sayur, nasi uduk, asinine, and bubur ayam are known to require specific types of krupuk as toppings. There are wide variations of krupuk available across Indonesia. The most popular ones would be krupuk udang (prawn crackers) and krupuk kampung or krupuk putih (cassava crackers).[citation needed]
Other popular types include krupuk kulit (dried buffalo-skin crackers), emping melinjo (gnetum gnemon crackers), and kripik (chips/crisps), such as kripik pisang (banana chips) and keripik singkong (Cassava chips). Rempeyek is a flour-based cracker with brittle peanuts, anchovies, or shrimp bound by a crispy flour cracker. Rengginang or in the tip (Javanese) is a rice cracker made from sun-dried and deep-fried leftover rice.[citation needed]
Japan[edit]
Main article: List of Japanese snacks
Japan has a very wide range of snack foods, some of which are internationally popular, ranging from onigiri to melon pan.
Malaysia[edit]
Cincin - a deep-fried dough pastry-based snack popular with East Malaysia's Muslim communities.[citation needed]
Roti John - a spiced meat omelet sandwich, popularly eaten for breakfast or as a snack.[citation needed]
Bakkwa (Chinese: 肉干) - literally "dried meat", bakkwa is better understood as barbecued meat jerky. While this delicacy is especially popular during the Chinese New Year celebration period, it is available everywhere and eaten year-round as a popular snack.[citation needed]
Idli - made from a mashed mixture of skinned black lentils and rice formed into patties using a mold and steamed, idlis are eaten at breakfast or as a snack. Idlis are usually served in pairs with vadai, small donut-shaped fritters made from mashed lentils and spices, chutney, and a thick stew of lentils and vegetables called sambar.[citation needed]
Murukku - a savory snack of spiced crunchy twists made from rice and urad dal flour, traditionally eaten for Deepavali in South India.[citation needed]
Vadai, vada, or vades - is a common term for many different types of savory fritter-type snacks that originated from South India with a set of common ingredients. The most common ingredients are lentils, chillis, onions, and curry leaves.[citation needed]
Tebaloi - is a sago biscuit snack that is traditionally associated with the Melanau people of Sarawak.[5]
Pisang goreng - a common snack sold by street vendors, battered fried bananas are also served more elaborately at some cafes and restaurants as a dessert. Cempedak and various tuber vegetables are also battered and fried in the same manner as variations.[citation needed]
Taiwan[edit]
Taro ball - a traditional Taiwanese cuisine dessert made of taro.
Suncake (Taiwan) - is a popular Taiwanese dessert originally from the city of Taichung, Taiwan.
Aiyu jelly - is a jelly made from the gel from the seeds of the awkeotsang creeping fig found in Taiwan.
Pineapple cake - is a sweet traditional Taiwanese pastry containing butter, flour, egg, milk powder, sugar, and pineapple paste or slices.
Thailand[edit]
Miang kham – dried shrimp and other ingredients wrapped in cha plu leaves; often eaten as a snack or a starter.[citation needed]
Sai ua – a grilled sausage of ground pork mixed with spices and herbs; it is often served with chopped fresh ginger and chilies at a meal. It is sold at markets in Chiang Mai as a snack.[citation needed]
In the Middle East[edit]
Nuts[edit]
A staple of snacks in the Middle East is a variety of nuts[6]. Among the many varieties available within the region, the most popular are almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, and pistachios[7]. According to archeological evidence, nuts have been part of the Middle Eastern diet for centuries with ancient civilizations taking advantage of them for their health benefits[8]. The health benefits of nuts come from them being good sources of protein, healthy fats, fibers, vitamins, and minerals[9]. Nuts have now become a regular snack with a 119 billion dollar market as of 2022 that is projected to continue growing into 2023[10]. Nuts can be prepared in a variety of ways, such as by roasting them with spices and lemon juice or incorporating them into food and desserts such as baklava, knafeh, and kibbeh[11][12][13].
Spreads and dips[edit]
HummusMuhammara
Spreads and dips are eaten with pita bread. The most popular dip in the Middle East is hummus[14]. Hummus is a blend of chickpeas, tahini, lemon, and garlic usually served with olive oil and paprika on top[15]. Hummus's origins can be traced back to a Syrian cookbook from the 13th century[16]. Other dips are also popularly served such as mouhammara and baba ganoush[14]. Mouhammara is a walnut, tahini, and roasted red pepper dip served with olive oil on top originating from the Syrian city of Aleppo[17]. Baba ganoush is a spread made from roasted eggplants, olive oil, and other vegetables[18]. The origins of Baba Ganoush are not clear with many conflicting pieces of evidence pointing to multiple countries of origin[19]. A sweet dip is Ashta, a cream made from milk, rose or orange blossom water, and ghee, which is usually accompanied by honey[20].
Street Food[edit]
Falafel sandwich
Many popular snacks in the Middle East are obtained from street vendors due to the low cost and convenience of eating on the go[21]. Many of these snacks consist of a protein with bread[21]. Falafel consists of many little fried balls of ground chickpeas or fava beans with herbs, and spices served on pita bread with tahini sauce and a choice of vegetables[22]. Falafel is believed to originate from Egypt around 1000 years ago by Egyptian Copts[23]. Shawarma is served in a similar fashion to falafel, pita bread with sauce and vegetables, but instead prepared by slowly cooking layers of meat on a spit before thinly slicing it[24].
The examples and perspectives in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate.(April 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
See also: Grazing (human eating pattern)
Government bodies, such as Health Canada, recommend that people make a conscious effort to eat more healthy, natural snacks, such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, and cereal grains while avoiding high-calorie, low-nutrient junk food.[25]
A 2010 study showed that children in the United States snacked on average six times per day, approximately twice as often as American children in the 1970s.[26] This represents consumption of roughly 570 calories more per day than U.S. children consumed in the 1970s.[27]
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