If you’re like me, somewhere between breakfast and lunch, I crave a snack. If I have the right ingredients on hand, it can be a healthy one.

                According to the Academy of Nutrition Snacks, snacks can fit into a healthy eating plan and provide an energy boost between meals, if they’re planned right. Choosing nutritious foods from all the food groups can help increase variety and reduce sources of empty calories and added sugar.

                It’s important to find the right snack that fits your eating style and activity level.

Keeping snacks to 200 calories or less can be reasonable for most people. Adults and teens who are more active or eat smaller meals throughout the day may want to aim for 200 to 300 calories per snack.

                The academy provides these tips for making snacking a smart habit.

• Snack only when you are hungry. Eating out of boredom or for emotional reasons can lead to weight gain. Rate your hunger before reaching for a snack and avoid mindless eating.
• Have snacks planned and portioned out ahead of time: Fixing snacks in advance, like washed and cut-up fruits and vegetables, air-popped popcorn, and low-fat cheese, can save time later on. *
• Practice food safety by keeping perishable food refrigerated or in a cooler bag with ice packs to help reduce the risk of food poisoning.
• Make snacking simple by choosing different fruits and vegetables, depending on what is in season or on sale. Fresh, frozen, canned, or dried are all good options. Compare labels to limit items high in sodium, saturated fat and added sugars.
• Include snacks that contain grains, especially whole grains, lean protein and healthy fats. Some examples include fat-free yogurt with fruit, whole-grain crackers with low-fat cheese or raw veggies with hummus.

Here are some ways to make your own convenient and ready-to-eat snacks at home:

• Make your own trail mix by combining whole grain cereals, unsalted nuts or seeds and dried fruit. (Tip: portion into ¼ cup servings)
• Blend your own smoothie by adding 1 cup fat-free milk and frozen fruit to blender.
• Mix 3 cups of air-popped popcorn with grated cheese or dried spices
• Roast chickpeas (or garbanzo beans) and season with spices.
• Make a dip using low-fat cottage cheese or Greek yogurt for raw vegetables.
• Cup up fruit to make kebobs and serve with low-fat yogurt dip.
• Slice a medium apple and eat with 1 tablespoon of peanut, almond, or sunflower seed butter.
• Mix equal amounts of fat-free plain or flavored yogurt with 100 percent fruit juice, then pour into paper cups and freeze for a tasty treat.
• Top graham crackers with nut or seed butter or dunk them in low-fat vanilla yogurt.
• Cut a whole-wheat pita into wedges and serve with 2 tablespoons of hummus or bean dip.
• Make a veggie pizza by topping a whole wheat English muffin or pita with 2 tablespoons tomato sauce, ½ cup diced fresh veggies, and 1 ounce low-fat mozzarella cheese.
• Create a yogurt parfait by layering 6 ounces of fat-free yogurt with ½ cup fresh or frozen fruit, then sprinkle ¼ cup (or less) low-fat granola on top.
• Prepare instant oatmeal using fat-free milk, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and ¼ cup dried fruit.
• Build veggie skewers with cherry or grape tomatoes and cubes of low-fat cheese or cooked tortellini and lean luncheon meat.
• Make a tuna apple sandwich by combining a 5-6 ounce can of tuna packed in water (drained), 1 small apple (peeled and sliced into chunks), 1 tablespoon light mayo, then spread it on two slices of whole wheat bread.

Eating different combinations of foods can be very satisfying and help to curb hunger. Snacks that include fruit can also satisfy a craving for something sweet. I hope this list gives you some ideas for making your own healthy snacks.

Laurie Sidle is an Ohio State University Extension Family and Consumer Sciences and 4-H program assistant and may be reached at 330-264-8722 or sidle.31@osu.edu
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This article was previously published in The Daily Record.