Snack smart with raw fruits and veggies

Snacks can silence hunger pangs and provide an energy boost between meals as long as you make smart choices. These mini-meals are also an excellent way to add fruits and vegetables to your diet and avoid turning to high-calorie alternatives.

Children and seniors in particular can benefit from snacking as they often can’t eat all the foods they should at mealtime.  Having at least one vegetable or fruit at every meal and as a snack should provide the amount of vegetables and fruit needed each day.

Food guide recommendations range from four servings of fruits and vegetables per day for children two and three years of age, all the way up to seven servings per day for females aged 14 and up. The guide suggests that males from their teen years through adulthood eat about eight servings of fruits and veggies each day. One piece of whole fruit or 125 mL or ½ cup of fresh, frozen or canned fruit or juice is considered one serving. One cup or 250 mL of leafy raw vegetables or salad, or ½ cup of cut up raw veggies is equal to one serving.

Plan your snacks and prepare them in advance to take to work or pack in a school lunch. It's also a good idea to keep some ready in the refrigerator at home to grab instead of chips or cookies.

Smart fruit and veggie snack ideas include:

1. One of the easiest on-the-go snacks is to pack some carrot sticks or cherry tomatoes in a sandwich bag.
2. Take along a container of raw vegetables such as carrots, peppers, zucchini, cherry or grape tomatoes. Pack a veggie dip of low-fat sour cream or dressing or bean dip to add flavour to the snack.
3. A small container of a green leafy salad tossed with orange sections and almonds or other fruit will make snack time anything but boring.
4. An apple, banana, other fresh fruit or individually-packed containers of cut-up fruit are perfect for morning or afternoon snacks.
5. Add some interest to snack time by combining fresh, frozen or canned fruit with low fat yogurt or blended in a smoothie.
6. During the summer, both children and adults will enjoy frozen pops made with 100% fruit juice.

Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories and are quite filling. Snacking on fruits and veggies is a good idea for people wanting to keep their blood sugar level balanced or to manage their weight by monitoring the GL or Glycemic Load of the food they eat. Glycemic Load is a unit of measurement that indicates what the impact of a particular food will have on blood sugar levels. Foods with a low GL encourage the body to burn fat. For example, a medium peach or plum has a GL of only five. An apple has six. Choosing a high-calorie snack such as a 50 gram or ¼ cup amount of corn chips instead would net out at a GL of 17.