Snack Ideas

Snack Ideas

Regular snacks are an important part of normal healthy eating. Having snacks throughout the day helps you meet your body’s energy needs, satisfy food cravings, enjoy food with other people, and improve your nutritional wellbeing.  

You may have noticed that if you only eat main meals and don’t snack, thereby having large gaps between meals, that this leaves you feeling really hungry or craving by your next meal. This can lead to eating more than you had planned or feeling out of control with your eating. It is recommended to eat every 2-3 hours to fuel your body, regulate your blood glucose levels, and reduce physical triggers for bingeing. A variety of snacks helps to meet your nutritional requirements through a varied diet and adds the satisfaction factor to your eating. 

If you have a small gap between your main meals, a small snack like a piece of fruit may suffice, but if there is a larger gap between meals e.g. between breakfast and lunch, you will likely need a larger snack to keep you satisfied. Something with a combination of carbohydrate and protein/fat will help you feeling fuller for longer. 

Here are some snack ideas recommended by a Dietitian: 

Fruity: 

Fresh or dried fruit Fruit bars 

Fruit juice  

Fruit smoothie or Acai bowl  

Smoothie (with milk, yoghurt, and fruit)  

Milky: 

Milkshake (milk, ice cream, and fruit or flavouring)  

Milk drink (Milo, Sustagen, hot chocolate, chai latte, Ensure, Up & Go) 

Flavoured or plain milk 

Yoghurt with toppings (add fruit, nuts, muesli, granola) 

Frozen yoghurt with toppings 

Dairy-based dessert (mousse, custard, rice pudding)  

Bowl of cereal, muesli, or granola (with milk and/or yoghurt)  

Ice cream or gelato (stick or cone)  

Crispy: 

Crackers with spread (butter and vegemite, nut butter, nutella, cream cheese) 

Crackers with toppings (tuna, avocado, cheese, ricotta and honey, tahini and honey, peanut butter and banana) 

Corn chips with dip (guacamole, hummus, salsa, taramosalata, tsatziki)  

Pretzels 

Packet of chips (potato or corn chips)  

Popcorn 

Bready/cakey: 

Raisin toast or fruit bread with spread (butter, cream cheese, ricotta and jam) English muffins, crumpets, pikelets with spread (butter and vegemite, nut butter, nutella, cream cheese) 

Fresh bread or toast with toppings (cheese and tomato, baked beans, ricotta and jam) Sushi 

Sandwich or wrap with fillings  

Pastry (croissant, danish, lemon tart) 

Baked goods (sweet or savory scroll, scone, muffin, banana bread) 

Piece of cake 

Nutty: 

Nuts 

Mixed fruit and nuts (apricot delights, trail mix, dates, chocolate-coated nuts and fruit) 

Muesli bars or nut bars or seed bars 

Biscuity/chocolatey: 

Biscuits (chocolate-based, plain, sandwich style)  

Slice or cookie (choc-chip cookies, brownie, caramel slice) 

Chocolate bar, pieces of chocolate, chocolate eggs