Feeling a little hungry? Sensible snacking in the correct serving size and frequency can help to shed those extra pounds while better managing blood glucose and cholesterol levels. Snacking helps to manage hunger and helps avoid overeating at meal times. Choosing healthy, nutritious snacks is an easy way to improve your diet and overall health.

Consider dietitian Amanda Clark’s top 10 tips for healthy snacking to feel great.

1. Be Portion savvy

The ideal portion size for a weight loss snack is 100 or 200 Calories for weight maintenance, while 300 or more calories is a recipe for weight gain. Read labels and learn to recognize a 100 Calorie serve, says Amanda, author of Portion Perfection – a visual weight control plan, which uses pictures to create a memorable eating plan.

2. Think about drinks

Many people don’t consider the calorie content of drinks, if it’s a calorie containing drink, then on average a 7 oz glass will contain approximately 100 Calories and therefore may be the snack itself.

3. Go natural

Read labels and look for ingredients you might have in your kitchen with minimal chemical names and additives.

4. Be prompt

If you experience the munchies at 3.30pm every day then get in earlier and choose a healthy snack with some protein such as yoghurt or nuts at 2.30 or 3pm.

5. Go healthy

Fresh or dried fruit, nuts, dairy or vegetables and dip as the healthiest options. When choosing packaged products, look for low GI, high fiber, low sugar or wholegrain varieties.

6. Stock up

Control your environment by ensuring you have more of the foods you’re trying to consume and less (or none) of the ones you are aiming to avoid.

7. Plan ahead

If you had no plan for when you were going to eat that fruit in the bowl, it’s probably going to remain there. Think through your day’s snacks over breakfast so you can take them with you if needed.

8. Influence People

We tend to eat what the people around us eat. Get in first and influence your friends and family with your habits.

9. Teach the children well

Provide healthy ideas for hungry teenaged children preparing their own afternoon snack. Think toast with tomato and herbs, porridge, banana custard, pizza muffins or toasted tuna sandwiches

10. Be mindful

Whenever you eat, take a good look at what you’re doing, notice the presentation, variety of ingredients, aromas, textures, temperature, flavors, and really enjoy the experience to feel satisfied on a smaller quantity. As seen in the prompts around the Portion Perfection Diet Plate:

BIO: Amanda Clark is an award winning dietitian with over 25 years experience and author / creator of Portion Perfection, a set of innovative visual tools that makes reducing food intake easier. The Portion Perfection Kit includes a pictorial portion guide, melamine portion plate and bowl and a 4 Week Weight Loss Menu Plan. There’s also a kit for those who have undergone weight loss surgery.