“Only 100 Calories,” You Say?

BY: Tara DelloIacono Thies

Straying from the produce section of the grocery store, you wander into the snack food aisle to find something new that will satisfy your mid-afternoon munchies. Looking at all the snack foods, you see claims like ‘Only 100 Calories!’ or ‘Smart Choice!’ These snacks MUST be good for you, right? Not necessarily.

Portion control is one of the best ways to eat things you enjoy and still maintain a healthy weight. Pre-portioned food packs can be a great benefit because we all know how challenging it can be to eat just one cookie or 10 crackers.

Portion-controlled snacks are not new but have had a recent rise in popularity. Unfortunately, these pint-sized grab bags often lack nutrition and leave you hungry. When a snack attack hits, ask yourself a few questions:

“Will this hold me over?”
“Does it provide me with nutrients?”
“Does it actually taste good?”

Portions are important, but so is a food’s ability to nourish and sustain you.

In my opinion, most 100-calorie packs fall short on nutrition, taste, and the ability to satisfy a hungry stomach; who decided that 100 was the magic number? Look past the zeros and recognize that the snack could be one-hundred calories of nothing but artificial ingredients. Corn syrup sourced from genetically modified corn, partially hydrogenated oils, artificial flavors, and artificial colors are often high on their ingredient lists. One-hundred calories of “empty” ingredients like these are likely to leave you reaching for more in a half hour. We learned this lesson in the 90s when we all furiously munched on anything labeled as ‘fat-free.’

If you are looking for a snack that will hold you over and be moderate in calories, I’d suggest some of the following:

• An organic Fuji apple with a spoonful of almond butter
• Plain yogurt with a dollop of jam or honey
• A CLIF® Mojo bar

Or if your sweet tooth needs a little love, make sure your snacking on more than just sugar:

• A LUNA Mini (Nutz Over Chocolate is my fave!)
• Two cubes of organic chocolate
• A homemade chocolate chip cookie

These snacks contain between one hundred to two hundred calories and carry nutritional clout.

While pre-portioned snacks sound good, what you really want is something that provides you with good ingredients (whole grain oats, organic fruit and nuts for example), and good nutrition (calcium, protein, fiber, and vitamin C).

You don’t need to waste calories on a snack if it doesn’t taste great. Pure chocolate, natural flavors and a touch of mild sweetener in your snack can have added value in small portions. Combine these indulgent tastes with other wholesome ingredients and you have a satisfying mid-day snack that doesn’t leave you feeling the need for more.

So go ahead, allow yourself to snack on one hundred to two hundred calories. Just make it worth your while with something tasty and nutritious!