One-hundred-calorie snack packs are the newest money-making trend for the food industry. The pre-portioned amounts are designed to let you satisfy a snack attack without overindulging. It sounds like a great idea. But does it work? And is it necessary?
Portion Control?
Dietitians have long recommended nutritious low-calorie snacks to curb hunger or between-meal cravings. Healthy snacks can also keep you from getting too hungry and overeating at your next meal.
Unfortunately, the majority of these 100-calorie snack packs are cookies, potato chips and cakes. They offer the same highly processed, empty calories as the large bags.
The supposed benefit is that you will eat less. But if you find it hard not to eat a whole bag of cookies, you’ll find it just as hard not to eat a whole box of six 100-calorie packs. Remember the fat-free craze? Instead of helping Americans lose weight, all the fat-free cakes, ice creams and cookies just made us fatter because we ate more of it.
These snack packs, like their larger cousins, should be an occasional treat.
Grab & Go
These snack packs also offer convenience. There is no preparation required so it’s easy to just throw one in your purse, briefcase or your kids’ lunch boxes. Instead, you can easily (and more cheaply) teach yourself and your family what a healthy snack should be.
Try to find time on Saturday or Sunday to discuss proper nutrition with your family; together you can prepare healthy snacks for the week. Make it fun by figuring out the calories, protein, fat and fiber provided.
All you need are some reusable containers and portable utensils. Try some of my favorites:
- Cheddar cheese cubes and grapes
- Graham crackers and peanut butter
- Yogurt and apples slices (for dipping)
- Orange slices
- Radishes (I love them)
- ½ peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich
- Mixed nuts (just a handful)
- Air-popped popcorn
These snacks are delicious and curb your appetite. And unlike most 100-calorie snack packs, they offer vitamins, minerals and fiber.
© GlobalFit 2008
Nutrition 101 articles offer introductions to basic concepts and are not comprehensive or necessarily applicable to a particular individual’s circumstances. You should consult your physician before beginning any exercise or nutrition program.
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Jyni Holland, MS, RD is an acclaimed nutritionist, a Registered Dietician and the co-author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Weight Loss Tracker (Alpha, 2005). She served as the Nutrition Spokesperson for NYU Medical Center, where she provided the nation's most prestigious media with straight facts on eating well and dieting myths. Additionally, she lectured doctors on cutting-edge nutritional therapies and advised on dietary support for organ transplant recipients, liver disease patients and breast cancer survivors.
Jyni earned her Master's degree in Nutrition from New York University. She is now in private practice, counseling outpatients ranging from diabetics and the clinically obese to pregnant women.
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