Snacks

Adults and children need a regular intake of energy and other nutrients to keep going and stay healthy.

Snacks can be part of a healthy lifestyle. A balanced diet includes breakfast, lunch and dinner; and a snack between meals can help keep us going. As with all foods, different snacks provide different nutrients so variety is the healthy way.

There are lots of different types of snacks. These might include fruit, crisps, crackers with cheese, chocolate, biscuits, yogurt, vegetable sticks, samosa, chapatti, toast, scone, fruit bun, nuts or a sandwich. Choosing fruit or veg as a snack, counts towards our '5 a day' target.

Drinks

We should all drink plenty of liquid every day. It is important to drink more when the weather is warm and when we are physically active.

We should not wait until we feel thirsty before drinking, as thirst is a sign of being dehydrated. Water is a good way to replace liquid and we can also choose from a wide variety of other refreshing drinks such as fruit juice, carbonated drinks, squash, fruit flavoured drinks, milk, soya milk and yogurt drinks, in moderation. One glass of fruit juice everyday counts as one fruit portion towards our daily target.

Milk and milk-based drinks are also important as they provide calcium and protein.