Snacks With 100 Calories or Less

Can’t resist those mid-morning or late-night munchies? Then satisfy your hunger with a snack that contains 100 calories or less.

Close to 100 calories: 3 three reduced-fat woven wheat crackers, topped with cherry tomatoes, and 3 small slices of avocado.
Adair Hoover, ©2020 HGIC, Clemson University

Snacking can be part of healthy eating if your choice of foods and beverages provides nutrients along with the calories. Healthy eating is about the quality of the calories you consume, not just how many calories you consume.

Choose a snack that contains protein and fiber with minimal fat and added sugar, such as a high fiber piece of fruit, a few tablespoons of nuts or sunflower seeds, or a small container of creamy nonfat yogurt or pudding. Beware of some 100-calorie goodies that are nothing more than tasty little morsels of refined sugar and saturated fat, such as shortbread cookies and milk chocolate drops.

Make healthy choices from MyPlate, USDA’s latest food guide. The five food groups in MyPlate are grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, and meat & beans. For more information on the food groups and specific nutritional needs, refer to:

• HGIC 4010, MyPlate
• HGIC 4012, 30 MyPlate Steps to a Healthier You
• HGIC 4103, Feeding Your Preschooler, and
• MyPlate, Moms/Moms-to-be at https://www.choosemyplate.gov/browse-by-audience/view-all-audiences/adults/moms-pregnancy-breastfeeding

Here are some ideas for calorie-controlled snacks. Choose wisely, because some of the items are more healthful than others. Limit your splurges on empty-calorie items that have little or no nutritional value.

One cup of blueberries has about 85 calories.
Adair Hoover, ©2020 HGIC, Clemson University

Fruits

• medium apple
• small banana
• large nectarine
• large orange
• large peach
• small pear
• 2 small mandarin oranges
• 2 clementines
• 1 medium grapefruit
• 2 kiwis
• 3 plums
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 ½ cups fresh strawberries or ½ cup frozen, sweetened
• 15 strawberries (dipped in 2 tablespoons Cool Whip® Lite)
• 1 ½ cups raspberries
• 1½ cups mixed berries
• 1¼ cups watermelon, cantaloupe, or honeydew melon
• 1 cup fresh pineapple
• ¾ cup (25) grapes
• 20 cherries
• 4 dates (whole, dried, pitted)
• ¾ cup frozen mango cubes
• ¼ cup boiled plantains
• ⅓ cup sliced avocado
• 1 cup canned fruit, unsweetened, in water
• ½ cup applesauce (1 cup if unsweetened)
• ¼ cup dried fruit
• ¼ cup (miniature box) raisins
• ½ cup frozen orange juice (eaten as sorbet)
• 4-ounce snack cup of fruit in its own juice

Vegetables

• up to 2 cups raw vegetables (carrots, broccoli, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, sugar snap peas) with 2 tablespoons light ranch dressing
• ⅓ cup edamame, in pods, salted
• 2 cups salad greens with 2 tablespoons light dressing
• A 5-ounce tossed salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and ¼ cup fat-free dressing
• 1 cup raw vegetables with 3 tablespoons hummus
• 5 celery sticks with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter
• 4 medium tomatoes
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
• 3 cups cauliflower
• 1 cup steamed green beans
• 1 medium ear of corn
• 2 small artichokes
• 12 ounces V-8® or other vegetable juice (preferably low-sodium)
• 1 cup tomato soup (not cream of tomato) prepared with water or 1% milk
• 1⅛ cups vegetable soup with beef, chicken, or turkey
• Campbell’s® Soup at Hand Chicken with Mini Noodles

Grains (Starches)

• ½ cup pasta, cooked, plain
• 7 saltine crackers
• 30 oyster crackers
• ½ small, thin bagel
• ¼ cup Chex® mix
• ¾ cup dry cereal (such as Kix®, Cheerios®, Life®, Grape-Nuts Flakes®, or Total®)
• 1 seven-grain waffle
• 1 Quaker Chewy® granola bar
• 1 Nature Valley® granola bar
• 1 slice whole-wheat toast with 1 teaspoon Smart Balance® Buttery Spread
• 10 Baked Lays® chips (any flavor)
• 35 Goldfish® crackers (any flavor)
• 6 Ritz® crackers
• 5 Triscuits®
• 8 mini peanut butter or cheese Ritz® crackers
• 6 whole-grain pretzel sticks
• 18 mini pretzel twists
• 50 Rolo Gold® classic style pretzel sticks
• 6 honey graham crackers
• any 100-calorie pack (such as Cheese Nips®, Ritz Mix®, or Doritos®)
• 2 large rice cakes
• 1 rice cake with 1 tablespoon sugar-free jam
• 12 Quaker® Quakes Cheddar Cheese Rice Snacks
• 1 cup minestrone soup
• 3 cups air-popped popcorn (with herb seasoning)
• 1 single-serve packet of low-fat microwave popcorn

Dairy Products

• 1 cup fat-free or skim milk
• ½ cup reduced-fat chocolate milk
• 4 ounces low-fat plain yogurt
• ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 ounce/slice reduced-fat cheese (American, Swiss, cheddar, Colby, etc.)
• 1 ounce blue cheese
• 1-ounce stick of string cheese (part-skim mozzarella)
• 1 Kraft® Single cheese
• 2 cracker-sized slices of cheddar cheese
• ½ cup low-fat (1%) cottage cheese
• ½ cup fat-free pudding
• 1 Dannon® Light & Fit®

Good protein source containing approximately 62 calories is 2 ounces of lean deli turkey.
Adair Hoover, ©2020 HGIC, Clemson University

Another good protein source containing approximately 62 calories is one boiled egg.
Adair Hoover, ©2020 HGIC, Clemson University

Meats & Other Protein Foods

• 2 ounces of lean roast beef or boiled ham
• 2 ounces turkey breast
• 3 ounces smoked salmon
• 4 ounces tuna (packed in water)
• 2 ounces tuna (packed in water) with 1 teaspoon low-fat mayonnaise added
• 2 ounces sardines packed in water
• 3 thin slices of lunch meat
• 8 large steamed shrimp
• 1 ounce beef jerky
• 1 ounce turkey pepperoni
• 1 egg (hard-cooked, scrambled or fried)
• ½ cup egg substitute, cooked
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons hummus (chickpeas)

Nuts & Seeds

• 10 almonds, cashews, or walnuts*
• 20 pistachios*
• 16 peanuts*
• 1 ounce sunflower seeds, in shell*
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, in shell*
• 2 tablespoons soy nuts*
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon almond butter

* Choose unsalted or lightly salted nuts and seeds to reduce salt (sodium) in your diet.

Breakfast Foods

• 1 cup non-sugary cereal (e.g., Cheerios)
• ½ cup nonfat plain yogurt with 1 teaspoon of sunflower seeds
• ½ cup of non-fat Greek yogurt with 1 teaspoon of honey
• ½ cup oatmeal
• 1 single-serve pack Cream of Wheat®
• 1 slice whole-wheat bread with 1 teaspoon fruit spread
• ½ whole-grain English muffin with 1 teaspoon fruit spread or 2 tablespoons light cream cheese
• 1 waffle, 7 inches in diameter
• 1 6-inch corn tortilla with 1 ounce low-fat cheddar cheese, melted

See “Grains (Starches)” for more breakfast items.

Combination Foods

• 1 small orange and a few dry-roasted nuts
• 3 low calorie Triscuits® topped with ¼ avocado and cherry tomatoes
• ½ medium baked potato topped with salsa
• 1 mini quesadilla: one corn tortilla with 1 ounce of grated low-fat cheddar cheese. Microwave for 20 seconds
• 3 ounces cooked whole-grain noodles with 1 fresh tomato and ½ ounce hard cheese
• 1 Laughing Cow® Light Creamy Garlic & Herb cheese wedge and 3 Triscuits®
• 4 mini rice cakes with 2 tablespoons low-fat cottage cheese
• ¼ cup low-fat cottage cheese with ½ cup canned pineapple (in its own juice)
• 3 ounces low-fat cottage cheese and 3 whole-wheat crackers
• ½ cup low-fat cottage cheese with 5 strawberries
• 2 large graham cracker squares with 1 teaspoon peanut butter
• 4 whole-wheat crackers with peanut butter or hummus
• ½ red bell pepper dipped in 3 tablespoons hummus
• 6 saltines or Wheat Thins® crackers with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter (or any nut butter)
• ½ apple with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter
• 1 apple, baked and topped with 1 tablespoon nonfat or low-fat yogurt and cinnamon
• ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce with a slice of whole-wheat toast, cut into 4 strips for dunking
• half a “finger” of string cheese with 4 whole-wheat crackers
• ½ mini bagel with 1 ounce smoked salmon
• 2 tablespoons hummus on ¼ slice pita bread
• 1 large dill pickle wrapped in a thin slice of boiled ham or Swiss cheese (or both)
• Whole-grain pita pocket stuffed with ½ ounce part-skim ricotta cheese.
• 8 baby carrots with 2 tablespoons of hummus

Chocolates

• 3 ounces sugar-free chocolate pudding
• 15 chocolate-covered raisins
• 1 snack size candy bar
• 4 Hershey® Kisses
• 1 square (13 gram) Ghirardelli® Milk and Caramel Bar
• 2 slices Terry’s® Chocolate Orange
• 4 Andes® Mints
• 22 milk chocolate M&M’s®
• 8 peanut M&M’s®
• 1/5 Toblerone® bar
• 9 Tootsie Roll Midgets®
• 2 chocolate chip cookies (2-inch diameter)
• 2 reduced-fat Oreo® cookies
• 5 chocolate graham crackers
• 2 sugar-free fudgsicle fudge pops
• 1 Whole Foods Market Two-Bite Brownie

Other Candy

• 1 package fruit snacks
• 2 Twizzlers®
• 12 gummy bears
• 10 large jelly beans
• 8 gumdrops
• 20 pieces of candy corn
• 5 pieces of hard candy
• 2 lollipops
• 3 medium Peeps®
• 3 bars Laffy Taffy®
• 12 vanilla Miss Meringue Minis®

Miscellaneous Desserts & Sweets

• 1 sugar-free pudding cup
• ½ apple with caramel dip
• 1 Fruit Roll Up®
• 1½ cups gelatin, such as Jell-O®
• 1 Kelloggs® Rice Krispies Treat®
• 5 Nabisco® Nilla® wafers
• 10 animal crackers
• 7 iced animal crackers
• 3 ginger snaps
• 2 Fig Newtons®
• 2 large graham cracker squares
• 1 homemade s’more (graham cracker with 1 marshmallow and 1 teaspoon chocolate syrup)
• 1 pouch Keebler Sandies Rite Bites Shortbread Cookies®
• 1 creamsicle
• 1 frozen fruit bar (made from 100% juice)
• 1 popsicle
• 1 cup sugar-free gelatin with 2 tablespoons whipped topping
• ½ cup fat-free ice cream or frozen yogurt
• ⅓ cup sherbet
• 2-inch slice angel food cake
• 4 large marshmallows
• ⅔ cup mini marshmallows
• Blueberry Smoothie (1/3 cup non-fat yogurt, 2/3 cup frozen blueberries and ice)
• 1 Kind® Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt Minis

Beverages

• 1 cup fat-free milk (can add no-calorie chocolate syrup)
• 1 cup hot cocoa (powdered, water added)
• 1 packet sugar-free hot chocolate made with fat-free milk
• 3 cups of (30 calories per cup) almond milk
• 2 cups tomato juice
• ¾ cup orange juice
• 8 fluid ounces lemonade or limeade (frozen concentrate, sweetened, and reconstituted)
• unlimited water, unsweetened tea (green, black, or oolong) and coffee (no sugar, cream, or other additives)
• ¾ cup seltzer with ¼ cup juice
• 8 fluid ounces of kombucha

This & That

• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 2 slices cooked bacon
• 2 Totinos® pizza rolls
• 8 baked tortilla chips with ¼ cup salsa
• 1 package Lipton® Cup-a-Soup (any flavor)
• ¾ cup Campbell’s® chicken noodle soup
• 1 cup Campbell’s® 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup

For More Information

For additional information on snacks for young children and teens, refer to HGIC 4115, Smart Snacking. To learn more about snacks for all age groups, go to HGIC 4203, Planning for Snacks.

Sources:

1. WebMD. 25 Super Snacks with 100 calories or Less. 2020.
2. We Can! U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Snacks—100 Calories or Less.
3. USDA Nutrient Database: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/

Originally published 12/09