Experts' Choice Slideshow: The Best Healthy Diet Snacks

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The Right Bites
Having a snack attack? Go ahead: give in to it — even if you're counting calories. Just do it the healthy way. To help you navigate your choices, our experts — WebMD's director of nutrition Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD/LD; Carolyn O'Neil, MS, RD; and Lara Englebardt Metz, MS, RD, CDN — put to the test some of the most popular diet treats found in supermarkets. Their criteria: great taste, healthy ingredients, and enough substance to fill you up without filling you out.

Winner: Best Snack Bar

Kashi's TLC Honey Toasted 7–Grain Granola Bar ($4.89) was the clear winner in this category. One serving (2 bars) has just 180 calories and is loaded with a filling 4 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein. Our experts found it delicious — the blend of whole grains gives it a good crunch, and the honey adds just a hint of natural sweetness. Diet tip: eat one bar now, and save the other for later.

Honorable Mention: Best Snack Bar

Quaker's Simple Harvest Honey Roasted Nut Granola Bar ($2.99) earned the second spot for keeping it real with all–natural, wholesome ingredients like whole grains, nuts, and honey. The 2 grams of fiber are less than Metz would like to see in a snack bar but she says, "It is portion controlled and satisfies a nutty sweet craving." True, it does have 7 grams of fat, but most of the fat comes from nuts, which are nutritious.

Winner: Best Yogurt

Stonyfield Farm Fat–Free French Vanilla ($1.49) yogurt won over our judges with its creamy texture and 7 grams of protein. They also loved that it's fat free, has just 130 calories, and is naturally sweetened with organic sugar. This yogurt is satisfying enough to hold you over until the next meal. Plus, each 6–ounce serving has 30% of the bone–building calcium and live active yogurt cultures to help keep your digestive system in balance.

Honorable Mention: Best Yogurt

Fage Total Greek Yogurt 0% ($2.19) is much thicker than its American counterpart, and with 15 grams of protein, it's like a meal. "It really adds to satiety and satisfaction," Zelman says. Still, Fage didn't make our top spot because many dieters might want to add flavor with nuts, fruits, berries, or honey, and too many add–ins can blow your daily calorie quota on top of the 120 calories per serving.

Winner: Best Cracker/Chip

The ingredients in Wheat Thins Fiber Selects Garden Vegetable ($3.79) (carrots, onions, cabbage, tomato, and green peppers) have the makings of a salad, but this crunchy cracker is all snack. With 5 grams of fiber and 2 grams of protein, they fill you up faster than the average cracker, yet they have just 4 grams of fat and 120 calories per serving (15 crackers). Watch the portion size, says Zelman, or "the fat and sodium start racking up."

Honorable Mention: Best Cracker/Chip

Don't let the healthy ingredients (flax seeds, sunflower seeds, and soy flour) in Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Chips ($3.85) frighten your inner junk food lover. These crunchy chips are every bit as easy to munch as potato chips. And, they'll satisfy your salt craving without raising your blood pressure. Each serving has just 80 milligrams of salt — about half the sodium of the average chip.

Winner: Best Popcorn

Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop! Popcorn ($4.09) is as close as it gets to the perfect diet snack. Each portion–controlled bag holds six cups of popped popcorn — and you can eat the whole thing guilt–free. A serving has just 1.5 grams of fat, 140 milligrams of sodium, and a mere 100 calories. "You get a lot of popcorn for your calories," O'Neil says. The serving size and 3 grams each of protein and fiber will hold you over for hours.

Honorable Mention: Best Popcorn

With Newman's Own 94% Fat–Free ($3.45) popcorn you'll have to control your portions, but our reviewers gave this brand high marks for its all–natural ingredients and 4 grams of fiber. You won't have to deny yourself too much if you do wind up eating too much, though, because each serving has just 110 calories.

Winner: Best Cookie

Kashi's Oatmeal Raisin Flax ($3.29) proves that you can have your dessert and diet, too. This cookie is packed with wholesome ingredients -- oats, brown rice, sesame seeds, and raisins -- and has 4 grams of fiber and 130 calories per one–cookie serving. Although each has 5 grams of fat, it's the healthier, unsaturated kind. "These cookies are an excellent indulgence," Metz says. "The fiber keeps you full longer, and they really feel like a treat."

Honorable Mention: Best Diet Cookie

Mi–Del's Ginger Snaps ($4.19) put a modern twist on a classic cookie, revving up the ginger flavor to give your diet "a little va–va–voom," O'Neil says. That intense burst of ginger can help curb dessert cravings and is "a great way to stimulate your mouth," Zelman adds. And, you don't have to skimp with these ginger snaps — you get seven cookies for a mere 150 calories and 4 grams of fat.

How Our Experts' Choices Were Made

To select our WebMD the Magazine Experts' Choice Best Healthy Diet Snacks winners, our three experts considered hundreds of products. Their mission? To find the packaged diet snacks that will keep you satisfied in between meals and are portion controlled; are low in fat, sugar, and salt; and packed with nutrients — including vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein.

About Our Experts:

Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD/LD, is WebMD's Director of Nutrition.

Carolyn O'Neil, MS, RD, is a dietitian and author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous!

Lara Englebardt Metz, MS, RD, CDN, is a nutritionist at Keri Glassman, A Nutritious Life, a New York City–based nutrition counseling practice.

Note: WebMD Experts' Choice reflects the opinions of the editors or experts only, not of WebMD. WebMD does not endorse any specific product, service, or treatment.