Snacking can get a bad rap. But when it’s done well, it can be a helpful bridge between meals to manage blood glucose, support digestion and make sure you have the energy and focus you need to get through your day, nutrition experts say.
Snacks can also help to close nutrient gaps by adding diversity to your diet, incorporating things you might not be getting enough of during your typical meals, said Emily Wilcox Gier, a dietitian and associate professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University. “If we choose our snacks appropriately, we can help meet our goal for vegetables or whole grains,” she said. Smart snacks can also help you increase your intake of fiber, protein and micronutrients.
With that in mind, New York Times Cooking, Well and five nutrition experts teamed up to create this guide to healthy snacking, including a few brand-new recipes. Let’s dig in.
What makes a good snack?
To ensure your snack is nutritionally well rounded and satisfying, aim for including at least two of the three macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates and fat. So if the main component of your snack is, say, a piece of whole grain or sourdough toast (a good source of carbohydrates), top it with something like avocado, peanut butter or bean dip, which are loaded with healthy fats or protein — or both.
Prioritize deliciousness, too. Combine salty with sweet, or crunchy with smooth, and keep tasty toppings handy, such as everything-bagel or elote seasoning, chia seeds, chives, nuts and berries.
“It sounds corny, but we have taste buds for a reason,” said Shana Minei Spence, a New York-based dietitian and author of the book, “Live Nourished.” “The joy in eating comes from different types of textures and tastes,” she said.
How big (or small) should it be?
While a snack should be smaller than your average meal, it’s not one-size-fits-all. Serving sizes mostly depend on individual factors — things like the amount of time you go between meals, how physically active you are and if you have any particular health needs or conditions.
The recommended calorie range for a snack may seem wide — between roughly 200 and 400 calories. But the most helpful tool to measure appropriate snack size may be the hunger scale: If 1 is extremely hungry and 10 is extremely full, a good snack should leave you at about a 7, said Gretchen Wallace, a Saint Louis-based dietitian and author of the newsletter, The Full Life. That way, the snack will mostly satiate you, but you’ll still have room for your next meal.
What’s the benefit of making your own?
Some of the best snacks are the simplest ones: a piece of fruit and some string cheese, or vegetables dipped in hummus. But the ideas and recipes here can help you get out of a snack rut, cover more nutritional ground and make snacking more enjoyable. Homemade snacks, prepped in batches, can be more budget friendly than store-bought options. And they’ll prevent you from hitting the nearest vending machine when you need something, stat (and make it less likely you’ll end up with an ultraprocessed snack that won’t really sustain you).
There’s nothing wrong with an occasional bag of chips, but these snacks below — all developed by NYT Cooking and approved by our panel of nutrition experts — are surer bets when it comes to your enjoyment and health.
Healthy Homemade Snack Ideas
Creamy dips
Dips aren’t just for parties. Make them with nutritional heavy hitters like cottage cheese or Greek or Icelandic yogurt, and you’ll get a hefty dose of protein and calcium along with satisfying, tangy flavors, said Maryann Jacobsen, a San Diego-based dietitian and author of the newsletter, Midlife Strong. You can swap in low-fat versions of cottage cheese or yogurt, if preferred, added Nikita Kapur, a Boston-based dietitian. Use cut vegetables or whole grain crackers for dipping to increase the nutritional value, or just dig in with a spoon.
Recipe: Everything Bagel Cottage-Cheese Dip
Also try: Spinach, Artichoke and Yogurt Dip, White Bean Dip With Cumin-Chile Oil, Mast-o-Khiar (Cucumber Yogurt With Sizzled Mint and Crunchy Pistachios) and Polish Cottage Cheese Dip (Gzik)
Breakfast-inspired bites
Breakfast foods are often some of the most nutritionally complete, packing in fiber and protein with healthy amounts of carbohydrates and fats. They’re convenient, too: The produce-packed harvest muffins and granola bites can be made in big batches and frozen, and the egg muffins are quick to prep and delicious when reheated or eaten cold.
Recipe: Egg Muffins
Also try: Lunchbox Harvest Muffins, Granola Bites, Strawberry-Basil Cottage Cheese Bowls and Muesli
Hand-held nibbles
Grab-and-go snacks like these are easy and satisfying. “They work well if you’re in the mood for that salty snack, and you’d normally just munch on potato chips or pretzels,” Ms. Gier said. “You can get that sensory experience when snacking but without consuming empty calories.”
Recipe: Roasted Chickpeas
Also try: Crisp Kale Chips With Chile and Lime, Salty Sweet Trail Mix, Roasted Pumpkin Seeds and Socca
Hearty salads
These take inspiration from the best picnic and potluck dishes — they’re mostly plant-based flavor explosions with tons of healthy ingredients, and you can eat them on toast, with crackers or just by using a fork. They check several nutritional boxes and feel like a mini-meal, Ms. Wallace said.
Recipe: Microgreens and Tomato Salad With Tahini Dressing
Also try: Easy Chicken Salad, Cowboy Caviar, Silken Tofu With Spicy Soy Dressing and Easy Chickpea Salad
Satisfying sweets
Even dietitians approve of sweet snacks, especially when they incorporate protein and fats to help keep your blood sugar steady. “Occasional sweets are not only OK, they can be normal, healthy and enjoyable,” Ms. Wallace said. “It’s best to avoid an all-or-nothing mentality when it comes to sweets or sugars.”
Recipe: Chia Pudding
Also try: Banana Everything Cookies, Vegan Chocolate Pudding With Cinnamon and Chile, Overnight Oats and Yogurt Parfaits With Cherries and Pistachios
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