Healthy Snacks By The Numbers

by | Jun 8, 2010 | American Food, Healthy Living Tips, International Food

This is to our health!  Today in the supermarket there are so many different varieties of snacks that one will definitely get confused. I am more interested in our young people who are on their own and often get lost in what is a healthy or unhealthy snack. I ran across an article in National Geographic that had the following cheat sheet. This rating was developed by Yale University.  The Overall Nutritional Quality Index is based on nutrients, vitamins, sugar and salt as well as the impact on blood pressure and other health concerns.  I hope this guideline will make it very easy to snack on healthy snacks.  I know my readers will definitely enjoy this!

Broccoli 100  Apple Chips 24
Blueberries 100 Bagel 23
Orange 100 Canned Tomato Soup 23
Green Beans 100 Reduced Fat Sour Cream 22
Pineapple 99 Instant Chocolate Pudding 20
Radish 99 Swiss Cheese 17
Squash 98 Bacon 13
Apple 96 Dark Chocolate 10
Cabbage 96 Hot Dog 5
Tomato 96 Milk Chocolate 3
Clementine 94 Saltine Crackers 2
Watermelon 94 Milk 1%    81
Mango 93 Couscous 72
Nonfat Milk 91 Oatmeal 61
Fresh Eggs 91 White Rice 60
Grapes 91 Milk 2% 55
Banana 91 Whole Milk 52
Avocado 89 Canned Peas 49
Oatmeal 88 NY Strip Steak 44
Blackberries 83 Orange Juice 39
Salmon 82 Canned Peaches 37
Almonds 82 Dried Apples 34
Pecans 82 White Bread 32
Brown Rice 82 Hamburger 25
Snapper    82 Green Olives 24
Shrimp      75 Peanut Butter 23
Pistachios 70 Sherbert 23
Canned Pineapple 60 Roasted Salted Peanuts 21
Club Soda 56 Fried Egg 18
Canned Kidney Beans 53 Diet Soda 15
Pasta 50 Pretzel Sticks 11
Prunes 45 Salami 7
Vanilla Yogurt 43 Cheese Puffs 4
Chicken 39 Apple Pie 2
Lobster 36 Popsicle 1
Tomato Juice 32 Soda 1
Raisins 26

I found few handy snacks that are a “must” to buy:
  1. Blue Diamond Natural Almonds, Oven-Roasted, No Salt: High in omega 3 fatty acids.
  2. Sun Sweet California Prunes, Individually Wrapped:  Easy to take along.  Good fiber and fruit count, they are surprisingly good.
  3. I keep mix of dried cranberries, almonds, cashews, raisins, roasted soy beans and walnuts.  This makes an instant handy snack in a Ziploc bag that travels well and is easy to carry.
  4. I buy blueberries and then wash and drain them in their plastic container. They’re easy to put in cereals or to munch on as a snack.
  5. I buy fresh bananas and different kind of berries, apples, and grapes.  Then I wash, cut and mix them together, sprinkle on chat masala and WOW! Instant fresh food.  Impress your date without much effort.
  6. Left over fresh fruit that’s about to go bad: Wash, cut and freeze them.  Make a smoothie by adding milk and blending.  Bingo.
  7. I’ve found that yogurt is a great snack with high protein values.  Greek yogurt has double the protein.  It is available without gelatin also.
  8. A Pear provides one full day’s source of fiber which keeps your digestive system healthy.
  9. An apple a day keeps doctor away.
  10. Carrot and celery sticks with peanut butter is another popular snack.