Balanced Snacking for Optimal Nutrition and Energy

Snacking refers to consuming small portions of food between meals. Healthy snacking choices can provide energy and nutrients, while excessive snacking may lead to health issues.
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Nutrition | Healthy Eating Habits | Snack Planning | Snack Options | Nutrient-rich Snacks | Snacking Tips
Prepared by Lee Cheng, reviewed by Jane Cox

Snacking FAQ


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What does snacking mean?

However, snacking simply means to eat or drink something between meals, regardless of whether the food is healthy ( 1 ). Hunger is the main motivation behind snacking, but factors like location, social environment, time of day, and food availability contribute as well.

What is considered a snack?

Generally, a snack is considered any food that is consumed between the main meals of the day (usually breakfast, lunch, and dinner). A snack tends to be smaller in portion size (and hopefully calories) than a meal as well.

What are “snacks”?

Although several different definitions have been proposed in the literature, in this review “snacks” will refer to eating foods or consuming caloric beverages between regular meals ( 7, 11, 14, 17, 21, 23, 24 ).

Do you need a snack?

Not everyone needs or want to snack, but if you do, the key is to think about why you’re snacking and which snacks to choose, and make sure they don’t add more calories than you need over the day. Use these ideas and tips to help. Choose snacks low in saturated fat, salt and sugar.

How to eat a healthy snack?

Use these ideas and tips to help. Choose snacks low in saturated fat, salt and sugar. Some snack foods can add extra fat, sugar and salt to your diet, so choose carefully. Check the food labels to help you, use this example for saturated fat. watch the portion sizes and go for foods rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre.

How do you know if a snack is food?

Food is food. Snacks are digested and shipped to the body just like breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Since there isn’t a special category for snack calories, you need to make sure they fit in your targeted calorie count for the day. Also pay attention to the amounts of macronutrients—fat, protein, and carbs—in your snacks.

What does it mean to eat a snack?

Snacking is when you consume food or beverages between your regular main meals. The term “snack foods” is often used to refer to processed, high-calorie items like chips and cookies. However, snacking simply means to eat or drink something between meals, regardless of whether the food is healthy ( 1 ).

Snacking References

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