the snack plate
A few years ago I was offered a position at a medical device start-up with an improved syringe for performing epidurals. Mothers are experts on the blessed relief from labor pain given by epidural anesthesia, but often have stories about a complication they or a friend may have suffered. We thought that our device could reduce the risk of certain complications but what we learned was that doctors are reluctant to switch away from whichever epidural method they were first trained to use.
Introducing a new medical device is a tedious process so like many start-ups, this company offered a pantry of free snacks. To keep us near the office, they also provided a free lunch brought in from local take-out restaurants. The dishes were ordered from a stack of menus and were typically fried foods. In the beginning I limited myself to salad for lunch, avoided the free snacks, and mostly drank water. In time I tired of lunching on poorly made salads and began to order cooked dishes—fried in low-cost oils, I suspect. I also began to snack on the chips, candies and soft drinks offered. Just an occasional snack in the beginning, but without really noticing my addiction grew. Within a year I suffered an increase in weight and a troubling decline in health.
Have you or your spouse had this experience? The first thing I did was start bringing my own snacks to eat during work breaks. After I left this company I began to read about healthier eating. I was continually being surprised—about sugar, trans fats, etc.—by things that I didn’t know, or had forgotten, that were essential to healthy living. Two years and perhaps a hundred books later I started this blog. Today’s post is about the snacks we eat—the best indicator of our addiction to unhealthy food. Here are a couple of reports:
• This N.Y. Times article about classic junk snacks has a list that includes Cracker Jacks, Tootsie Rolls, Double Bubble, Twinkies and the Big Gulp/Double Gulp. Read it and weep.
• Breakfast sets up the snacks: Dr. David Ludwig of Tufts University and Children’s Hospital Boston reported that a healthy (low G.I.) breakfast results in 81% less snacking calories during the day, compared to a sugary (high G.I.) breakfast.
• Another N.Y. Times article, discussed how parental guilt and the decline of planned meals add up to giving in to kids on their favorite snacks (typically the worst food available).
• Factoid: this year we’ll average about a dollar spent each day on snacks—redirecting this money to healthy food is the best opportunity to improve your diet on a fixed budget.
Snacks are an enormous business in our society. Take a walk through your grocery store, down the candy aisle, the chip section, the cookie row, and through the cracker area. (You can remember these as the four “C’s”.) If this made you thirsty wander by the aisle for sugary drinks—it’s the biggest section. If there’s an in-store bakery check it out. These are the most toxic section of the grocery store and it’s a big, profitable business. People are starting to wise up on toxic snacks and this makes Food Inc. nervous. They monitor us through research like “Mintel’s Healthy Snacking Report”. Some recent observations:
• The snack market is divided into 20 snack categories: cereal, cheese, crackers, cookies, fruit, ice cream, meat snacks, dried fruit/fruit snacks, trail mix, popcorn, chips, pretzels, raw veggies, rice cakes, snack bars, yogurt, bagels/bialys (a flat bread), canned soup, chocolate candy bar, nuts/seeds.
• Food Inc’s big question: How much taste will we give up for our health?
• Consumers want healthy but they also want tasty. Corn and potato chips are an example of our bipolar behavior: 72% of consumers eat them but only 4% think they’re healthy. Ditto for packaged cookies.
• At the other end of the spectrum are nuts and seeds: 79% of us eat them and 87% think they’re healthy. More expensive, but you get both taste and health. Add fresh fruit: though just 66% partake regularly, 96% see them as healthy. (What is the other 4% thinking?)
A high dependence on snacks is an indicator of poor health. But even healthy people need a mid-morning or mid-afternoon refresher. Just remember, the more sugar in the snack, the sooner you’ll crave more. So what to eat? Here are our favorites:
• Raw vegetables like carrots and celery. Actually these aren’t my favorites, but it’s hard to get five vegetable servings a day if you don’t get at least one snacking.
• Fruit. We all have our favorites but cantaloupe and watermelon are underrated.
• Nuts and seeds—not the cheapest snack but a good health value.
• I like nut/dried fruit mixtures: dates with walnuts, or dried mangos with pecans.
• Popcorn, but not the sugared or microwave products. Is there a better mix of taste and value than homemade popcorn?
• Yogurt—buy the brand with the least added sugar and add your own fruit.
• Dark chocolate. I like dark chocolate chips with almonds or walnuts.
• Granola or its cousin, trail mix—purchased or homemade.
• Crackers that meet the grain rule (whole grains; more grams of natural fiber than added sugar). Yes, I’ll visit the cracker aisle and give a list in a future post.
Children naturally understand healthy snacks. A mom told of overhearing her children playing a made-up game: create a healthy snack. The daughter was the judge of her brother’s entries. The first brother’s snack was slices of carrot on a Graham cracker. The next entry was a child’s multivitamin covered with honey. They have much to learn, but children are teachable and more observant than we realize.
Impulse often drives our snacking and the lack of planning makes for less healthy snacks. We can also lose track of how much we nibble on in a day. The solution: Make a snack plate about mid-morning, or whenever you can. Lay out a healthy mix of snacks for the day and enjoy. (When I forget to do this, I regret it.)
(Or a snack bag instead of a plate if you work away from home.)
Please comment on your favorite healthy snacks. (I’m expecting a LOT of comments, please.)
Need a reminder? Download our Healthy Change reminder card. Print and fold, then place in your kitchen or on your bathroom mirror to help you remember the Healthy Change of the week.
Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 7:54AM | by Skip Hellewell | 52 Comments | 6 References | Share Article | in healthy change, snacks | Email Article
Reader Comments (52)
My daughter and I really love popcorn. We make it in the microwave just using popcorn kernels and a paper bag. No oil necessary! If you fold over the bag a couple of times to keep the popped kernels in, it takes almost exactly the same time that the store-bought microwave popcorn takes. We put melted butter on it afterward, and sometimes a sprinkling of parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast but it's very nice plain too. We got some of the Celtic salt you recommended in a previous post and it's just amazing on popcorn.
Skip,
What a wonderfully written blog that I happened to stumble upon at just the perfect time! I've got a 19 month old and a 5 month old at home and I'm trying with all my might to keep my boys healthy from the word go. Snacks are a huge part of our day- the oldest is a great eater, but with all the energy he exerts he needs his snacks. Some of his favorites are grapes, blueberries, crackers, oranges, raisins and the occasional pistachio (crushed up, of course). Sometimes I feel badly about all the snacking, but I try to keep it healthy so the guilt level stays low- and because of course, whatever he's eating, I've got to sample.
Thanks for such a wonderful blog. It's inspiring and keeps me on track.
Hummus!
Hummus with veggies
Hummus on bread with cucumbers
Hummus with some fiber/sugar appropriate crackers.
HUMMUS!
Hi Skip,
Great post as usual. Couple of things I would add of note to commenters as FYI. Yogurt covered raisins, dried fruits and craisins, I've noticed, have LOADS of added sugar. It's not that easy to find the dried stuff where the only ingredient is what the item is itself, like: raisins or peanuts or mangos without also seeing the second ingredient as sugar and sometimes a third ingredient that I can't recall the name of that is a preservative. I've found Trader Joe's has a dried fruit section where I can find just the fruit itself, dried. Also, as a side note, dried mangos and dates are like candy to me. And I KNOW candy all too well I'm afraid :(
Regarding the dark chocolate. I just recently took a tour of Theo's Chocolate factory here in Seattle. They are one of the few who make their chocolate straight from the caocao bean. Our tour guide mentioned that the truly healthy dark chocolate (with all the anti-oxidant benefits, etc.) must be 70% or more caocao (quite bitter - though I love it that way). She also mentioned that the FDA only requires 30% caocao to call something "dark chocolate" and 10% to call it "milk chocolate, such as in a candy bar. I can only guess what the remaining 70-90% of those "chocolate" bars is made up of. Something to be aware of when you are looking to get all the benefits of dark chocolate.
I noticed you didn't mention cheese at all. It's high in fat, I know, but also has some protein, right? In moderation is it a go or no? If yes, what would define "moderation" - one string cheese/laughing cow per day or per snack (assuming you snack twice daily to get in 5 little meals)? Cottage cheese - isn't that the best source of protein in a cheese? Can we make any exceptions for that on the healthy snack list?
Finally, and on a slightly different note, will you be doing a post on the whole carb vs. protein thing? I'm eating tons healthier, i.e. less red meat, more whole grains, fruit and high fiber foods, but in the weight-loss department it's made zero difference. My brother thinks I'm still eating too many carbs even though they may be healthier. Without nuts, cheese and eggs (high fat items) and eating less of the meat, I'm not sure where else to get the protein and which carbs to loose.
Oh, I forgot that I wanted to mention Veggie Pirate Booty as a healthy snack in our house. It's like popcorn, its got kale in it and what not and my 4 year old love, love, loves it (I like it too).
I love your blog, thanks for all the great info. We love to snack on apples, grapes, strawberries, and hummus. I need to add some carrots and nuts to the mix!
I love a bell pepper cut into straws. Other favorites include small oranges, apple or pear slices and a bite of cheese, and greek yogurt.
My toddler's daycare asks each family to send snack once a month--I always send fresh fruit (and possible string cheese) to break the processed monotony. It is always greatly appreciated by the staff.
I recently came across your blog and I really enjoy reading it. I love your insights and motivation. Snacking is a huge problem, mostly for me than my four kids! This post really helped motivate me. We are trying to eat more fruits and veggies for snacks. Funny how it is such a mind-game. Kids think snacks have to be certain things (like crackers) or it isn't a snack. Yes....apples can be a snack! I find that just not buying those things like crackers, and other packaged snacks, really helps. I stopped buying my kids fruit snacks a few years ago and it was the best decision I made! And it didn't take them long to forget about them.
I usually have an apple, some crackers (TLC, I know they aren't whole wheat but I love the taste) and some almond butter (100% almonds and nothing else).
Sometimes I also love some grated carrots with a little bit of orange juice.
thanks for putting in the time and effort in your blog. i love it. it helps me to keep making healthy changes and reminds me why this is the best way to eat and live!
as a nursing mother, i feel like all i do is snack all day long! i keep a large bag of carrots in the fridge and grab one when i'm feeling snacky-but not necessarily hungry. i love an apple or banana with homemade nut butter or with string cheese, GM smoothie (frozen banana,frozen strawberries, milk and a handful of spinach), at night i enjoy 100% unsweetened dark chocolate with dried cranberries or pineapple (to offset the bitter). i try to make as much of my own food at home- including granola bars and lara bar type munchies, homemade tortillas baked into chips are great, homemade "wheat thins", baked kale=kale chips. homemade popcorn is delicious! i love homemade hummus with any raw veggie. also, another favorite is banana soft serve which is just blended frozen banana! tastes like ice cream to me!
Hi, I also love reading your blog. My sister told me about it. She is friends with your daughter. I love all the science you put behind your reasonings (show me the facts). It has helped me to make a lot of changes in my life. I've recently gave up my love affair with white bread and now margarine. I don't snack very often. I found that if I eat 3 very healthy square meals a day, my body doesn't crave snacks. But ok, very so oftern I do crave a little something, something. My sister gave me a recipe to make your on trail mix and we are both in love with the recipe. Maple syrup on it might not be the best thing for you but I buy the organic kind to make it a little healthier. Anybody who has kids must try this recipe. Go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/claire-robinson/pumpkin-seed-dried-cherry-trail-mix-recipe/index.html. I vary the recipe a little and put some other dried fruits and some walnuts in it. Hope you love it as much as we do. Thanks for the great blogging.
I love hummus and veggies to dip.
I want to eat your snack plate! That picture looks so good! I love to have plain yogurt (I sweeten it with a little agave and organic vanilla) with fruit and nuts. Sometimes I add granola if I have it available.
I'm a nursing mom, so I need lots of snacks! I love grapes and cheese, apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon or with peanut butter, and toast with a little freezer jam on it. I make my own and put a lot less sugar. My all time favorite is dark chocolate, but it's pretty addicting. :)
My friend Emily says she took your snack plate idea and now offers her kids a snack bowl. Her kids were always coming home from school starved and raiding all the cupboards (eating all the granola bars and other school lunch treats), so now she washes up some fresh fruit and other items and puts them all in the "snack bowl". The kids know right where to go when they need a snack.
I have recently started switching to eating healthier (much to the dismay of my 3 year old), and this post is wonderful! It is exactly what I have needed, and it makes me excited to start snacking right.
My favorites are crisp apples with peanut butter or hummas with whole grain chips/pita. Thank you for doing so much research for this blog. I love reading your posts. They remind me to make healthy choices. I've noticed that working full time has taken it's toll on my eating habits.
I love raw sugar snap peas. Amazing! I love your blog. Thank you!!!
Homemade hummus with bell peppers. Green smoothies. Greek yoghurt with blueberries, wheat germ, and honey. And...because I'm human...dark chocolate in any non-Hershey, non-disgusting form!
Reading everyone's comments, I have similar approaches to healthy snacking (preparation, types, etc.). While I do not have any children of my own, one suggestion for mothers whose kids are eating lots of veggies--but maybe getting bored of them--is to serve them with a healthy homemade dip. Maybe you already do this, but some options are a tzatziki using Greek yogurt, minced garlic, shredded cucumber, lemon juice, and maybe some other spices...or try a homemade baba ganoush or hummus--prepare a big batch on the weekend for the family to use throughout the week.