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At Work and in Need of a Snack… Now What?
by Cara O'FlynnThere you stand, dollar bill in hand, eyeing the selections. Your expectations are low as far as finding anything healthy and/or nonfattening, but some goodies are better than others. So how best to choose? We turn to our friend Sophie Pachella, R.D. to review the offerings in most vending machines. As a rule,"A good snack raises your energy level with a combination of complex carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats." (Examples include dry-roasted nuts, hard-boiled eggs and yogurt - not exactly typical vending machine fare.)
Bad snacks are typically high in carbohydrates or sugar without any healthy fat or protein. "They cause your blood sugar to rise and then crash about a half-hour later, leaving you rabid with hunger," she says. (Tip: If you must gobble a high-carb snack, pair it with protein, like a handful of nuts, to maintain level blood sugar.)
With these and other considerations in mind, Sophie picks her best and worst choices for office grazing.
Gobbling Guidelines
- Don't let fat fool you: Just because something's fat-free doesn't mean a lot of other things aren't wrong with it - and good fats from natural sources aren't something to run from. "A package of peanuts has 30 grams of fat but is a far healthier choice than jelly beans, which are fat-free but all sugar," Pachella says.
- Avoid products containing hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrup - or try to, anyway (they're in most packaged foods).
- Don't believe everything you read: Some foods marketed as good for you often aren't. Reduced-fat doesn't mean low-fat, just less than the regular version. Granola bars may sound wholesome, but they're usually full of sugar and bad, processed fats.
- In general, look for items that have 1) less than 300 calories; 2) less than 2 grams of saturated fat; 3) 7 grams or more of protein; and 4) 3 grams or more of fiber.
Snacks to Skip:
Dipsy Doodles. Essentially fried corn, these fatty chips have no redeeming nutritional qualities. (Plus, being seen with a product by this name will do nothing for your workplace credibility.)
Chocolate Chip Cookies. This celebration of hydrogenated oil and sugar will spend forever on your hips. And that moment on your lips is so not worth it.
Twix. It might be fun to get two candy bars in one tidy package, but these have as much saturated fat as a McDonald's double cheeseburger.
Skittles. The worst ingredients in food are sugar, corn syrup and hydrogenated palm oil. A bag of these fruity candies hits the trifecta. They're fat-free, but what you eat once the sugar rush ends won't be.
What to Pick When You Make the Trip
Baked Doritos. All carbs, but they're relatively low in calories and fat, and that's about all you can hope for in a junk food. If you're hung over these will satisfy your salt craving for a bit, but not much else.
Stacy's pita chips. These are relatively high in fat and low in protein. But they're made with natural ingredients, so you could do worse. Good when you want to indulge in some mindless carb-crunching.
Snyder's Sourdough Nibblers. These boast few ingredients, which is a plus. They're also free of hydrogenated oil and high fructose corn syrup, making them a decent option for a quick boost.
Crum Creek Trail Mix. This mix of soy nuts, seeds and raisins offers the perfect blend of protein and healthy fat needed to maintain energy and stave off fantasies about your next meal for a few hours.
Visit the Crum Creek Store for healthful snacks!