Healthy Ideas for Snacks

In today's busy world in can be tough to find snack foods that are not only easy to prepare, but also healthy. Too often 'convenience foods' are highly processed and loaded with unhealthy fats, refined sugars, or too much salt. Grabbing something healthy to eat doesn't have to mean eating prepared foods that are packaged and sold as 'snack foods'. Try some of the ideas below and you'll soon find that healthy snacking doesn't require a lot of time and effort.

Dairy
Cheese sticks
Yogurt
Frozen yogurt
Milk
Pudding made with milk

Protein
Nuts
Turkey slices
Hard-boiled egg
Edamame
Cottage cheese (try it with fruit)

Fruit
Sliced apples or oranges
Raisins
Dried cranberries
Grapes
Try slicing a banana, then freeze. Tastes like ice cream!

Vegetables
Carrot, celery and zucchini sticks with yogurt dip
Cherry tomatoes
Sliced bell pepper
Marinated artichoke hearts

Grains
Whole-grain crackers
Pretzels
Popcorn
Bowl of cereal
Rice crackers, rice cakes
Cookies made with whole grains and/or real fruit