8 Snacks You Need in Your Snack Drawer This Year

As the winner of the “Greatest Snack Stash in Desk” award for my department, I’m pretty passionate about my snacks and having enough options to not only please me, but my peers around me. One of my personal resolutions for the year is to… wait for it… eat better. With this being said, I figured one of the easiest ways to make a change was with my snack drawer. So, I reached out to our corporate registered dieticians for some help. I found that the majority of Americans snack at least once a day, with more than half of those Americans snacking 2 to 3 times a day. As a guilty party in the latter category, I wanted some advice on how to snack smarter.  What “right” snacks do they recommend keeping at my desk and in the break room refrigerator to fulfill my cravings.

Smart Snacking

Start with these easy guidelines:

• Only snack when you’re hungry: Don’t eat out of boredom. Rate your hunger on a scale from 1 to 10 before reaching for a snack. A 10 would make you uncomfortably full and a one means you’re starving, feeling weak or have other extremely uncomfortable symptoms of hunger. It’s best to stay between a 3-7 on the hunger scale.
• Look for snacks that can help you get in beneficial nutrients, such as fiber, vitamins and minerals: Snacks like whole grains, fruit and unsalted nuts and seeds are good options to start with.
• Hit two to three food groups in your snacks: Use the food groups to help create your snack drawer, looking for snacks that can help you hit more than one group. For example, try sliced turkey, low fat string cheese and whole wheat crackers.
• Watch the calories: Snacks for less active people should contain less than 200 calories per serving; more active teens and adults can look for snacks containing 200 to 300 calories per serving.
• Snack for fiber: Fiber is known to make you feel full, so it may help you eat less and stay satisfied throughout the day. You can find fiber in fruits, vegetables and whole grains like brown rice and whole wheat bread. According to the FDA, it’s recommended that you have 24 grams of fiber each day.
• Don’t let snacking become grazing: Don’t let your snack become another meal for the day. Maintain portion control by pre-portioning your snacks.
• Look for the Better Choice tag when shopping: Our Better Choice tags can help you select snacks with more fiber and less saturated fat or added sodium and sugars.

Snack Suggestions

Here are some of the suggestions our dietitians recommend for your snack drawer to satisfy any craving!

Check out these blogs for more health and wellness tips!