Even if you're aiming to lose weight, it's advisable not to skip meals or snacks.

As long as you avoid intensely processed industrial products, snacks are an essential element of a healthy lifestyle. Natural snacks, made from whole foods, especially vegetables and fruits, provide extra nutrients and energy.

Here are the benefits of snacks, what to avoid, and healthy options to consider.

Integrating healthy snacks between main meals brings you numerous health benefits:

• It helps you control hunger until the next meal. Therefore, you won't indulge in excessive eating afterward;

• This is a strategy to manage unhealthy food cravings. By consuming a nutritious snack, you will reduce the need to eat junk food between meals (such as pastries, sweets and other processed foods);

• You enjoy greater dietary diversity, thus eliminating monotony from your daily menu;

• It provides the body with extra nutrients, such as minerals, vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, proteins, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates;

• It reduces the feeling of tiredness between meals and recharges you with energy. In this way, you will carry out your daily activities more productively;

• For individuals with reduced appetite who cannot consume main meals in optimal quantities, having more snacks per day is an optimal strategy to ensure nutritional and energy needs;

• Considering all the above benefits, healthy snacks are an effective tool for maintaining a normal weight.

Generally, snacks should be taken 2 hours after main meals, with 2-3 snacks per day recommended. It is advisable for these snacks to be nutritionally and calorically balanced. A snack containing around 200 kcal is considered adequate, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Snacks are recommended to range between 150 and 250 kcal.

Many people mistakenly understand the term "snack" to refer to products, such as pretzels, chips, sugary bars, cream biscuits or other processed products, especially those with a crunchy texture. Thus, snacks are often confused with junk food.

As presented by Healthline and the National Health Services UK, intensely processed food products contain ingredients associated with health risks, such as saturated fats, hydrogenated (trans) fats, excess sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, sodium nitrites, monosodium glutamate.

Therefore, the following types of "snacks" should be avoided:

• Bakery products - pretzels, pastries;

• Commercial sweets - refined biscuits, croissants, wafer biscuits, chocolates, confectionery products, frozen desserts;

• Pretzels, chips, sticks, salted biscuits and similar products;

• Roasted and salted peanuts;

• Other heavily processed commercial products.

In addition to harmful ingredients, such a snack can even reach up to 600 kcal, well above the number of calories recommended by specialists for a snack.

When you need to buy a prepackaged snack, opt for the most natural options, such as organic fruit and nut bars, without added sugar and palm oil.

According to the National Health Service UK, it is important to carefully read the nutritional labels of foods. Products with more than 5 g of saturated fats/100 g, more than 22.5 g of sugars/100 g, and those with over 1.5 g of salt/100 g should be avoided.

Snacks between meals can be simple, consisting of a single type of food, or complex, made from several ingredients. Based on the time you have available each day to prepare snacks, you have a wide variety of options to choose from. You can use your creativity to create healthy snacks according to your preferences.

Here are some ideas for healthy snacks, according to recommendations from accredited nutritionists-dieticians, such as Frances Largeman-Roth in the article "Dietitian shares 30 healthy snack ideas for weight loss":

• Fruits: 150-200 g of fruits for a snack is a low-calorie option, but rich in nutrients (fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants). You can consume a whole fruit as it is or you can combine two fruits to prepare a salad or a smoothie;

• A handful of nuts: Walnuts, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, peanuts, Brazil nuts and cashews are other quick snacks, requiring no preparation, rich in healthy fats. These should be consumed in a quantity of approximately 30 g (what fits in your palm). Choose the raw (unroasted) and unsalted ones. These can be paired with fresh/dried fruits or a glass of kefir;

• Wholemeal biscuits with fruits: A fruit can also be consumed with 2-3 sugar-free wholemeal biscuits or homemade oat biscuits;

• Apple with peanut butter: It is a source of healthy fats, plant proteins and fiber. All you have to do is slice an apple and dip the slices in 100% natural peanut butter. Other options include almond butter, pistachio butter, cashew butter or almond butter;

• Vegetable sticks with hummus: Cut a cucumber, a bell pepper or a carrot into sticks and dip them in hummus (chickpea cream). A celery stalk is also a suitable choice. Cucumber, bell pepper, celery and carrot are very low in calories (between 16 and 40 kcal/100 g), but rich in nutrients;

• Crispy chickpeas: Drizzle 100 g of cooked chickpeas (or canned) with a little olive oil, season with paprika and herbs, and bake them in the oven/air fryer until crispy;

• Toast with guacamole: A delicious snack can be made from a slice of toasted wholemeal bread and a spoonful of guacamole (mashed avocado with diced tomatoes, onion, lemon juice, salt, extra virgin olive oil);

• Sweet potato toast: Cut a small sweet potato into slices and bake it in the oven. Spread the slices with avocado paste and season with a little parmesan cheese;

• Energy balls: You can prepare healthy balls from oat, nut or peanut butter and dried fruits - mix them and shape them into balls;

• Yogurt with granola and fruits: If you like sweet and crunchy snacks, natural yogurt with sugar-free granola is a suitable choice. If you prefer a softer texture, you can opt for whole oats and seeds (flax, chia, mixed) instead of granola. Before consumption, oats and seeds should be soaked in yogurt for 20 minutes. Add small amounts of fresh or dried fruits of your choice. Berries are an excellent option;

• Boiled egg with vegetables: The egg is a source of high-quality protein. Combined with fresh vegetables of your choice, it is a delicious and satisfying snack. You can wrap the ingredients in a small whole wheat tortilla;

• Expanded rice sandwich: Spread two rice cake rounds with unsweetened natural peanut butter and jam. You now have a sweet, delicious and nutritious sandwich. Expanded rice cakes are low in calories (approximately 30 kcal per slice);

• Bell pepper and cream cheese: Cut a bell pepper in half and spread it with a tablespoon of natural cream cheese (made only from milk). For added protein, you can also add a slice of prosciutto;

• Whole grain crackers and cream cheese: If you're a fan of crunchy snacks, another option is whole grain crackers spread with a little cream cheese. Additionally, a few slices of tomatoes go well with this;

• Tomato bruschetta: Do you like Italian dishes? Then you can prepare bruschetta from a slice of whole grain bread or 2 whole grain crackers, crushed tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of olive oil and granulated or fresh garlic, salt and oregano;

• Cucumber slices with cheese and tuna: When you prefer an appetizer-style snack, slice a cucumber into thick rounds, spread them with a little cream cheese, add pieces of canned tuna and garnish with bell pepper.

All of these general snack ideas are suitable for clinically healthy individuals. If there are any risk factors or health conditions present, it's crucial to seek personalized nutrition advice from a licensed nutritionist or dietitian.

Therefore, healthy snacks between meals bring numerous benefits, serving as a tool to help maintain a balanced lifestyle. Opt for whole, natural foods, as well as appropriate portion sizes, avoiding excessive consumption.