We all know there are lots of calories in snacks, but do you know how many?
The calories in snacks will vary widely depending on what you choose. For example, something simple like an apple has 50 calories (kcal), while a banana has around 100 - but as soon as you turn to the processed options, then the calories in snacks start to mount up fast - for example a typical 50 gram bag of crisps clocks in at around 250 kcal!
The answer is to stick to fresh, natural ingredients as far as possible - fruit, nuts (unsalted if possible), dried fruit, rice cakes. But to give you an idea of what you might encounter, here's a list of some popular choices:
- Cheesy Wotsits - 475 kcal per 100 grams
- Blockbuster Toffee Popcorn - 440 kcal per 100 grams
- KP Mixed Nuts & Raisins - 540 kcal per 100 grams
- Walkers Chargrilled Steak Crisps - 525 kcal per 100 grams
- Doritos Extreme Chilli Heatwave - 500 kcal per 100 grams
- Yorkie chocolate - 540 kcal per 100 grams
- Kit Kat Chunky Milk - 525 kcal per 100 grams
- After Eight Bitesize - 431 kcal per 100 grams
- Peanut M&Ms - 500 kcal per 100 grams
If you want to avoid these high-cal snacks, consider some of these possibilities:
- Hard-boiled egg - packed with protein, and just 80 kcal each
- Cheese strings - lots of calcium and protein, and only 80 kcal each
- Hummus with pita bread, celery, or carrot sticks
Each of these not only tides you over between meals, they also add something extra to your diet - calcium, vitamins, protein etc.
