Snacking is an important part of a healthy diet; however, not all snacks are created equal. Test your nutrition IQ and see if you can choose the relatively healthier snack. 

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Cupcakes vs. Muffins
Cupcakes have been taking a lot of heat these days. They’re being banned from children’s birthday parties and school cafeterias, and some people are even afraid to eat them in public. Do they deserve such a harsh reputation? Are they really that high in calories? Well, yes. In fact, I recently had a few bakery-purchased cupcakes analyzed for a segment I did on National Public Radio and found that a 6.5-ounce vanilla cupcake (from the famed New York Crumbs bakery) has 780 calories, 107 grams of carbs and nearly 36 grams of fat. Magnolia (another famous New York bakery) sells a 3-ounce cupcake that delivers 389 calories, 52 grams of carbs and almost 19 grams of fat. So, if you’re looking for a snack, a cupcake is not exactly the best choice. Also, I haven’t seen too many healthy versions of cupcakes.

But that doesn’t necessarily make muffins a slam dunk. Muffins are full of calories, and they don’t provide long-term feelings of satiety. In fact, muffins can be calorie catastrophes, and, unlike cupcakes, we don’t usually think of them as dessert.

Most muffins start in the 400-calorie range. For instance, a typical 4-ounce blueberry muffin is about 400 calories. And a Dunkin’ Donuts Banana Walnut Muffin has 540 calories, 69g carbs, 25g fat, 10g protein, and 520mg of sodium. But at least when you pick a fruit-and-nut muffin, it will have some nutritional benefits (fiber, protein and some good fat). The more fruit and nuts, the better off you are; however, that doesn’t make it a “healthy” choice.

What about whole-grain muffins? Or bran muffins? Just because it’s called bran or whole grain doesn’t make it healthy. There’s a good chance it has very little bran – often times you’re getting a muffin with coloring. As for muffins that are “whole grain,” if you’re getting them at a bakery or convenience store, there is no guarantee they're 100 percent whole grain.

Fit Tip: I know this might sound crazy, but if you’re one of those people who can eat just the cake part of the cupcake (and forgo the frosting), you can save as many as 140 calories. However, if you choose right, your better bet will still be a muffin. And you can. In fact, there are some great, healthy, low-calorie muffins on the market. Try my favorite, Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Heart Healthy VitaTops from Vitalicious.com (only 100 calories), or make your own.

Pepperidge Farm Cheddar Goldfish vs. Nabisco Wheat Thins
It’s really a toss up between these two. Here is the evidence. Fifty-five Goldfish (about 1 ounce) have 150 calories, 6g fat, 19g carbs, 3g protein and 250mg of sodium. Each Goldfish is almost 3 calories. As for Wheat Thins, 16 crackers (about an ounce), have 130 calories, 4g fat, 21g of carbs, 2g of protein and 260mg of sodium. But keep in mind that the Wheat Thins contain high-fructose corn syrup, which has been linked to obesity and diabetes.

What about Wheat Thins-Baked Snack Crackers-100% Whole Grain? They’re whole grain, so they have to be good, right? Good is a relative term. Yes, it’s better to have 100 percent whole grains, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the crackers are a healthy choice. They may simply be healthier than another choice. Right after the whole-grain wheat, the next ingredients on the label are soybean oil, sugar, cornstarch, corn syrup, salt, high-fructose corn syrup and barley malt syrup — which add up to 21 grams of carbohydrates. And, interestingly, after consuming about 16 whole-grain crackers (140 calories) you’ll have made only a small dent (2 grams of fiber) in your daily goal of consuming 25 to 38 grams of fiber.

Fit Tip: Go for Wasa crackers. This Swedish import is an acquired taste, but once hooked, well, you’re hooked. Just take a look at the ingredients for the Wasa Light Rye: Whole grain rye flour — that’s it — nothing else. Each cracker has only 30 calories, 7g carbs, 0g fat, 1g protein, 70mg Sodium and 1.5g of fiber. That’s a lot of fiber for one cracker.

Combos vs. Corn Nuts
For some strange reason — maybe it was wishful thinking — I believed that Corn Nuts were a healthy choice. They have corn, right? Yes, in fact, the ingredients are corn, partially hydrogenated soybean and/or canola oil and salt — pretty straightforward. And they’re really not as bad as they could be. A 1-ounce portion of Corn Nuts is 120 calories, 4.5g fat, 21g carbs, 2g fiber, 3g protein and 180mg sodium. The only problem is that Corn Nuts are fried to get them crispy; however, the saturated fat content is still relatively low at 0.5 grams, whereas an ounce of potato chips has a bit more than 3 grams of saturated fat. And the Corn Nuts don’t have any sugar.

What about Combos? Yes, they’re made with real cheese, but cheese is 10th on the ingredients list. The first three ingredients are flour, vegetable oil and whey. A 1.75-ounce bag has 240 calories, 11g fat (5g saturated), 31g carbs (7g sugar) and 490mg of sodium.

Fit Tip: Looking for that cheesy combo taste? Try a spreadable pretzel cracker with some low-fat cheese.

Trail Mix vs. Trail Mix Energy Bars
There are many, many different types of both energy bars and trail mix. For instance, PowerBar Nut Naturals have 210 calories, 10g fat, 20g carb, 3g fiber, 9g sugar and 10g protein in one 45-gram bar. And while this particular bar has a more readable ingredients label, most don’t. And they have a lot of “extras” we could probably do without. Take a look at what shows up in PowerBar Nut Natural Trail Mix: dry roasted almonds and peanuts, brown rice syrup, soy crisps (soy protein isolate, tapioca starch, salt), raisins, evaporated cane juice syrup, rice crisps (rice flour, rice bran, rosemary extract), whole oats, canola oil, glycerin, dark chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate, milk fat, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla), inulin, salt, soy lecithin 271447. And while energy bars do give you some decent nutrients like fiber, fat and protein at a lower calorie level than, say, a candy bar, they still need to be consumed carefully.

Now check out Planters Trail Mix Mixed Nuts & Raisins, which has 150 calories per ounce (a small handful), 11g fat (mostly healthy fat), 10g carbs, 2g fiber, 5g protein and only 15mg of sodium. The majority of the ingredients, other than the oil (I’m not a fan of cottonseed oil), are decent: peanuts, raisins, cashews, almonds, brazil nuts, pistachios, peanut and/or cottonseed oil, salt. But not all trail mix is equally wholesome. When you start to get into the trail mixes that contain dried fruits and/or "yogurt covered" anything, most have various preservatives and drying agents, which add chemicals.

Fit Tip: Go with an all-natural organic trail mix such as Bear Naked Pacific Crest Trail Mix, which has 140 calories with 2 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein. It's a 100 percent organic combination of fruits, such as mangos and raisins, plus healthy nuts, including cashews and pistachios. But keep in mind that both trail mix and energy bars are high in calories and should be used only to replace other, higher-calorie snacks in your diet.
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CHARLES STUART PLATKIN is a nutrition and public health advocate, founder of DietDetective.com, the health and fitness network and author of The Diet Detective's Calorie Bargain Bible (Simon & Schuster, 2007). Copyright 2007 by Charles Stuart Platkin. All rights reserved. Sign up for the free Diet Detective newsletter and iTunes podcast at www.DietDetective.com.

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written by Irina, December 02, 2007

another good cracker is ryvita. they have the rye ones, not as good as wasa, but it has 35cals, its only ingredients are whole grain rye flour and salt, it has 0g fat, 40mg sodium, 8g of carbs, 1g protein, and 2g fiber.

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written by nancy drew, October 02, 2007

i think trail mix is great!

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written by Laura, October 02, 2007

I know, why not just eat a piece of fruit or some raw nuts? As for the beloved cupcake, if you make cupcakes using a store-bought mix, the serving size and overall calorie count will be much more reasonable than a bakery cupcake offers. Using a whipped frosting rather than buttercream style will also give you the sweet treat, but with fewer calories & fat!

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written by Charlotte, September 29, 2007

Interesting comparisons! On almost every snack you included the sodium content. Thanks for that. On the one snack you seemed to appreciate most, Wasa Delikatess crackers, you neglected to mention the sodium content. For those of us who try to keep our sodium consumption down, we need to know. You must believe its important too because you included that info. on most things. I noticed that salt is the third ingredient. Is that the reason? Thanks for your reply!