It’s 3:30 p.m. and your stomach is starting to growl. Your willpower is waning but a deadline is looming – so you head to the office break room for a quick fix from the vending machine.
Hold on there, ace. Think before you press those buttons. Here are your best and worst vending choices:
Five Healthy Snacks
Planters Sunflower Kernals (1/4 cup)
160 calories, 14 g fat (but it’s the healthy kind), 1.5 g sat fat, 4 g fiber
Baked Lays Original
210 calories, 3 g fat, 0 g sat fat, 4 g fiber
Snyders of Hanover Mini Pretzels (20)
110 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g sat fat
Fig Newtons
190 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g sat fat, 2 g fiber
Smartfood Reduced Fat Popcorn
120 calories, 5 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 2 g fiber
Five Snacking Disasters
Drake’s Apple Fruit Pie
440 calories, 27 g fat, 7 g sat fat, 8 g trans fat
Pop-Tarts Frosted Strawberry
420 calories, 10 g fat, 2.5 g sat fat, 40 g sugar
Austin Cheese Crackers with Cheddar Cheese
210 calories, 10 g fat, 2 g sat fat, 4 g trans fat
Snickers Bar
271 calories, 13.6 g fat, 5.2 g sat fat, 28 g sugar
Hostess Suzy Q’s
460 calories, 18 g fat, 9 g sat fat, 42 g sugar
Best Bet: Pack These Snacks
Save your quarters. Instead of raiding that vending machine, pack your snacks from home for the week and make them healthy choices:
Almonds
1 large handful – 24 almonds – packs a powerful nutritional punch
163 calories, 14 g fat, 1.1 g sat fat, 6 g protein, 3.5 g fiber
Fat Free Cottage Cheese (1/2 cup)
75 calories, .5 g fat, 16 g protein
Hard Boiled Egg
78 calories, 5.3 g fat, 1.6 g sat fat, 6.3 g protein
Frigo Light String Cheese
60 calories, 2.5 g fat, 8 g protein
Apple (1 medium Gala)
74 calories, 0 g fat, 1.5 g fiber
What’s your fancy? Do you have a favorite go-to snack that’s both handy and healthy? Tell us all about it by clicking the “Leave a Comment” link in the title box above!
