Written by Rebecca Evans [B. Hlth Sci (Nut & Diet) (Hons.), APD, AN B App Sci (HMS) (Hons.)]
Generally a snack would ideally include a combination of the macro nutrients (I.e. Carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats). As the word describes, a ‘snack’ should be a small meal that is used to minimise hunger (and ideally prevent over eating), keep your metabolism kicking, to help stabilise your blood sugar levels and to maintain your energy levels throughout the day. So what are some guidelines for a good healthy snack?
It is recommended that the average healthy Australian adult should consume 8700 kilojoules (or about 2000 calories) per day. So if we break this down, a meal for the average person would therefore contain between 300-500 calories (1260-2310kJ) and a snack should contain 100-200 calories (420-840kJ) of energy. Eating infrequently throughout the day and allowing over 5 hours between meals has been correlated with poor food decisions, risk of developing chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, increased fat stores and decreased metabolism.
When choosing snacks it’s important to understand the general guidelines to the amount of energy you should be consuming per snack. For instance….
For weight loss Choose 100 Cals/ 420kJ at each snack.
For weight maintenance Choose 200 Cals / 840kJ at each snack.
For weight gain Choose 300 or more Cals / 1260kJ at each snack.
Examples of snacks equal to 100 calories:
- 1 large apple OR pear
- 2 punnets of strawberries
- 5 prunes
- 1 small mango
- 14 (20g) Almonds or Cashews
- 4 (20g) brazil nuts
- 2 tbs (20g) pepitas seeds or pinenuts
- 1 x 200g Nestle Diet Yoghurt (All flavours)
- 1 x 170g Dairy Farmers Thick & Creamy Light yoghurt (All yoghurt)
- 1 x 200ml glass Light, Skim or Soy milk
- 2 Vita wheats + 1 slice Bega Extra light cheese
- 1 x 200ml Skinny Cappuccino or Latte
- 1 x Be Natural Trail Bar (most flavours)
- 1 x Weight watchers Apple crumble or Lemon Delight Bar
- 13 x Sakata Wholegrain rice crackers
- 30g Hummus + Carrot and Celery sticks
- 1 slice Raisin Toast with a scrape of jam
- 1 slice toast with tomato and herbs
- 1 x Arnotts individual Tim Tam biscuit
- 1 x Lindt Lindor Ball or 1 Cadbury Freedo Frog or 1 Milky way
Examples of snacks equal to 200 calories:
- 1 slice wholemeal toast with margarine and peanut butter
- ½ English breakfast muffin with 1 slice (20g) cheese
- 1 sachet of instant porridge with 100ml low fat milk
- Kids size low fat boost juice
- 1 x Carmen’s muesli bar OR Carmen’s Muesli Round
- 1 x Be Natural Nut Bar
- 1 x 150g tub Yoplait Le Rice (most flavours)
- 1 cup Plain Greek No Fat Yoghurt OR ½ cup Greek Style yoghurt
- 200g Jalna Low Fat Yoghurt
- 3 x small pikelets with spread
Enjoying a wide variety of foods on a weekly basis helps to achieve your bodies energy and nutrient requirements. Keeping in mind that reducing/removing bad fats (Saturated and Trans fatty acids) from your diet but introducing good fats such as poly- and mono- unsaturated fats can help to keep your body fighting fit and weight under control.
For more information about healthy snacking, or to give your meal plan the once over, book in to see one of our Accredited Sports Dietitians
