FOR the majority of us, trying to stick to three meals a day is unthinkable.
In fact, morning and afternoon snacks give us that much-needed break; something to look forward to in the middle of a busy day.
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But snacking is just one way to gain weight, right? Wrong!
The right snacks can actually help you stay in shape because they reduce your hunger and keep you from bingeing on other higher calorie foods.
We’ve rounded up some of our favorite snacks – from staples you’ve dismissed as serious weight loss saboteurs, to new, healthier snacks that are making waves in the snack scene.
Walkers Quavers Cheese 12 x 16g, £ 2.25, Tesco
Calluses: 86 per pack
Forget about 200 calorie snacks; a packet of these classic crisps contains less than 100 calories and for lovers of savory snacks, they are perfect to satisfy that craving for salty cheese.
Tesco British Ripe Cheddar Snack Sticks 5 x 20 g, £ 1.30, Tesco
Calluses: 83 per stick
Are you a fan of cheese? No need to worry about excess calories with these individually wrapped cheddar blocks.
Perfect to put in the fridge and snack on when you need something to snack on.
Slice and place on a cracker for something slightly more filling.
Squirrel Sisters Cacao Orange Natural Energy Bar, £ 1.50, squrrelsisters.com
Calluses: 170 per pack
Imagine a chocolate orange, but a healthier alternative that won’t be too intrusive on the waistline. That’s it.
Plus, this bar contains fiber to help maintain healthy digestion, and there’s no added sugar either, so it won’t ignite those intense sugar cravings!
Lo-Dough Miracle Cake Bars in Lemon Drizzle, £ 2.49, lodough.co
Cals: 140
We’re thankful it’s so low in calories, because we actually ate two of them while trotting.
A dense lemon cake coated in white chocolate, Lo-Dough made a bar containing egg whites, to help reduce fat and calorie intake.
Each bar also has over half your recommended fiber intake with 16.6g of the good stuff.
Munchy Seeds Snack Packs Salted Caramel, 70p, Ocado
Calls: 136
Roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds make a healthier alternative to salted peanuts, while also providing a source of protein, vitamin E, and fiber to fuel your day.
Keep in your drawer when hunger strikes.
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Whitworths Shots Fruity Cookie 4-Pack, £ 1.60, Asda
Calluses: 93 calluses per packet
When you need a quick boost, these little pouches are ideal.
They might be small, but they have just enough of a combination of chocolate, cookies, and raisins to keep you satisfied.
They’re not only great for your purse, they’re also great for kids’ lunch boxes, or even as a breakfast garnish to brighten up a boring bowl of oats.
PLAYin Choc JustChoc Box Organic Peruvian Cocoa M • lk Chocolate 30g, £ 1.69, playinchoc.com
Calls: 183
If you want your chocolate intake to be portion-controlled, this bar is ideal, as inside are three individually wrapped 10g squares of chocolate.
PLAYin Choc says that “a little bit of whatever you want” makes you feel good and we totally agree.
Especially when it’s so creamy, light and deliciously cheeky. But not mean.
Wibble Strawberry Vanilla Flavor 6 x 150g, £ 10, wibblefoods.com
Calls: 33
We go back to childhood celebrations with these mini jars of natural sweetness.
Except these are the adult versions. If you’re a bit of a snacker, you can feel safe knowing it’s hard to go overboard, with less than 35 calories per jar.
Wibble also claims that there is no waste in every jar as they are made from squeezed juice.
Huel Bar v3.1 Peanut Butter, £ 1.30 per bar when bought in bulk, uk.huel.com
Calls: 200
Your snack game just got a whole new turn with these bars which are, in true Huel form, a nutritionally complete snack.
This means they provide the ideal balance of carbohydrates, protein, essential fats, fiber, phytonutrients, and the 26 essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs.
Quite impressive for a snack bar that tastes really good.
These are also plant-based and thanks to their healthy protein intake, they are also a great post-workout snack.
Try melting a bar with a 20 second blast in the microwave; Honestly, the taste just gets even better.
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Itsu with Crispy Seaweed Thins Sriracha, £ 1, Waitrose
Calls: 25
If anyone is trying to tell you that this thin seaweed is like healthy crisps, then they are wrong.
So, we won’t pretend it’s the same as dipping your hand in a bag of Fat and Salty Kettle Chips.
However, these are in a field of their own, offering a light and crispy snack that also contains iodine – important for hormonal health, and vitamin B12, which can help maintain energy levels.
Tribe Choc Raspberry Triple Decker Bar, £ 22 for 12, www.wearetribe.co
Calls: 195
Seriously mean. But nice rascal.
This bar has a layer of granola, followed by a very generous layer of peanut butter, followed by a crunchy chocolate top.
You actually wonder if this should be considered an indulgent dessert, but then you see the calorie count and relax.
This bar also has a healthy dose of protein (keeping you full for longer) as well as 10 vitamins and minerals for energy release, so the 15 hour sleepy lull is a thing of the past.
GrandmaCrunch Cacao, £ 26.48 per 4 x 258g cans, grandmacrunch.co.uk
Calluses: 136 per 31g
With the rise of cereal as a snack, it was only fitting that a delicious, guilt-free brand of cereal came into the picture.
This is a slightly more expensive version of Coco Pops, except that a bowl of these chocolate balls will actually satisfy you and prevent you from dipping your hand into the cookie jar at any time of the day.
Packed with a healthy 16g dose of protein, GrandmaCrunch Cocoa Balls are also sugar-free, so you won’t experience that disruptive sugar roller coaster.
This cereal is also incredibly low in carbs – unlike all other grains – so if you’re on a low carb diet, it will fit in just fine!
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Nick’s Coconut chocolate bar, 75p, Sainsbury’s
Calls: 163
Swedish brand Nick’s made healthy chocolate.
While we would normally be a little careful with a chocolate bar that doesn’t have ‘bad stuff’ in it (because good for you tends to mean dull), we’re big fans of this ideal coconut treat. for any Premium Lovers, you save over 100 calories.
Nairn’s Salted Caramel Cookie Breaks, £ 1.80, Sainsbury’s
Calluses: 63 per cookie
With 40% less sugar than an average sweet cookie, at least you won’t feel guilty if you dabble in a second and third of these caramel cookies.
But the beauty of these is that one packet comes with four individual pouches inside, so you’re less likely to eat the whole batch.
OGGS Bites Chocolate Brownie, £ 2.25 for 9, Sainsbury’s
Calluses: 58 per bite of brownie
Good for the waistline and good for the planet.
Plus, these brownie bites taste like a calorie dense baking brownie plate.
Made from liquid eggs, these bites generate much less CO2 than if real eggs were used.
In fact, for every kilogram of eggs replaced, OGGS saves enough CO2 to boil the kettle 21 times.
Clementine Bonne Maman mousse, £ 1.60 for 2 x 7g, Waitrose
Calls: 119.7
Super creamy, yet super low in calories, this mousse is a perfect after-lunch dessert, if you’re someone who always needs a sweet kick after a meal.
It is also ideal with a cup of tea.
The creamy mousse has a cheeky taste and the sweet clementine is not overpowering; instead, it just tastes fruity with a bit of spice.
Great for waking you up when you start to fall asleep at your desk.
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