Better Nutrition With Your Dietitian: Healthy Snacks With our over-filled days and overwhelmed minds, healthy eating can be easily pushed aside by convenient packaging and copious restaurants. Healthy snacking can be especially challenging but with a little planning ahead it isn’t as daunting as you may think. Put down that Snickers bar and read on as Shannon Schaack, RD, LN, at Vermillion Hy-Vee and Elizabeth Volzke, RD, LN at Yankton Hy-Vee give their suggestions to improve your snacking habits. Volzke suggests aiming for a snack around 200 calories and diabetics should stick to 15g carbohydrates, making sure they include some protein with that snack such as an apple and a quarter cup of nuts or cheese and Triscuits or Wheat Thins. “Snacks are a part of everyday life,” she states. Schaack adds that snacks are helpful to fill in nutritional gaps. If you need more fruits or vegetables in your diet, eat them as a snack to assure you are getting the nutrients your body is missing. Though it gives me some comfort knowing that snacking is not a bad thing, I am sure many of my favorite snacks do not quite make their top ten lists. Volzke’s favorite portable snack is LARA bars. “These are great because they are low in sugar and high in fiber and made from whole/natural ingredients so great for kids and adults,” she explains. LARA bars are also Schaack’s favorite bar. “I love that they are made with simple ingredients like dried fruit and nuts. My favorite flavor is peanut butter cookie which contains just peanuts, dates, and sea salt. They taste great and keep me full until my next meal.” Other popular bars noted were KIND, RXBAR, and Go Macro which all provide a mix of carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Schaack suggests trail mix to satisfy those sweet Shannon Schaack, and salty cravings, noting RD, LN that it’s easy to make by combining an assortment of nuts, dried fruit and even a few dark chocolate chips if desired. She warns not to over-indulge though, typically a ¼ cup is considered a portion size. She also suggests portable fruit such as apples, oranges, pears and bananas. For portability, Volzke suggests individual cups or packages of unsweetened Elizabeth Volzke, applesauce, string cheese, RD, LN and 100-calorie pack almonds. The trick to keeping your snack healthy is to portion out the serving size according to the suggestion on the box. Ziploc baggies are available in a small snack size to help control portion sizes. Don’t forget the veggies. Schaack admits that they are “not as easy to grab as fruits because they do require a little bit of preparation, but baby carrots, celery sticks, and cauliflower/broccoli florets stored in sandwich baggies are great snacking veggies.” Volzke’s list also includes whole fruits and Your Comfort System Specialists Now is the time to make sure your system is ready for winter! Kaiser Heating & Cooling 808 W. 23rd, Yankton • 665-2895 • www.trane.com 18vHERVOICEvSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016