Nutritious Snacks: Defining Healthy & Nourishing Options

A nutritious food is simply one that provides nourishment. But the key to understanding nutritious snack foods is knowing what constitutes "healthy" from each food group.

Nutritious Dairy

• Nutritious dairy snack foods are those that are low in fat, sugar and sodium. Some examples of healthy dairy foods include egg whites, skim milk, reduced fat cheeses and yogurt.

Nutritious Fruits and Vegetables

• This is an easy one because all fruits and vegetables provide nourishment for the body and are therefore nutritious snack foods.

Nutritious Meats

• Nutritious meat-based snack foods are those that are low in fat and sodium. Certain meats are nutritious because they provide protein for the body and and are low in fat. Chicken, turkey and fish are examples of nutritious meats.

Nutritious Fats

• There are certain fats that fit the definition of a nutritious snack food and certain fats that do not. Foods high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are considered heart healthy because they can help lower your risk of heart disease while foods high in trans fat and saturated fat are not nutritious because they raise your risk of heart disease.

Nutritious Grains

• Whole grains are the most nutritious type of snack food so always be sure to choose "whole wheat" and "whole grain" food products.