Healthy Snack Tips
BEST “EVERYDAY” FOODS
These foods should be your first choice. They provide lots of nutrients for our bodies. All fruits and vegetables in their raw, natural state are best “everyday” foods.
Whole Fruit apples, bananas, grapes, oranges, pears, berries, kiwi
Chopped Fruit melon, pineapple, mango, papaya
Raw Vegetables cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, sliced peppers, cucumbers, celery
Water plain, seltzer
GOOD “EVERYDAY” FOODS
These foods can be healthy, but the amount of fat, sugar, and sodium varies amongst brands. Read the Nutrition Facts label along with the ingredients list to find the best product. Look on the back of this sheet to find out certain ingredients to avoid.
Nuts, Seeds, and Nut Butters unsalted peanuts, almonds, unsalted sunflower seeds, peanut butter
Handmade Trail Mix mix dried fruit, whole grain cereal, and seeds or nuts, with whole grain cereal as the main ingredient
Low-fat Cheese string cheese, 2% reduced fat or 50% reduced fat cheese
Milk 1%, fat-free, unsweetened soy milk
Low-fat Yogurt choose plain or flavored yogurts with little or no added sugar
100% Whole Grain Crackers, Bread, and Cereal try to choose unsweetened varieties
Popcorn no added butter or salt
Dried Fruit fruit with no added sugar
Natural Applesauce unsweetened
Canned Fruit packed in water or fruit juice, not syrup
100% Juice check the label to make sure there are no other sugars
FOODS TO AVOID
These foods have a lot of added sugar, salt, and fat. They do not provide nutrients or lasting energy for best performance at school. They should be consumed once a week or less.
Cookies
Candy and Gum
Chips
Chocolate
Donuts and Honey Buns
Lunchables
Soda and Quarter Waters
Gatorade, Vitamin Water and Energy Drinks
Sweetened Ice Teas
Fruit Drinks: Hawaiian Punch, Lemonade, Sunny D
INGREDIENTS TO AVOID
These fats and sugars are commonly found in packaged snack foods. Check the ingredients list on the package to make sure they don’t contain any of these.
Oil hydrogenated oil, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, palm oil, mono and diglycerides
Sugars high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, dextrose, glucose, maltose, malt syrup, molasses, corn sweetener, sucrose, cane sugar, brown sugar, fructose
