My Dr. Gourmet Diet meal plan does not include any snacks. Do you recommend building in morning and afternoon snacks?
Dr. Gourmet Says...
Thanks for your great question.
The Dr. Gourmet Diet Plan software doesn't have specific provisions for including snacks. I do think that snacks are an important part of your meal plan, however. On the Food Diary page we've included some instructions on how to make snacks part of your plan.
Adding Snacks
There are days where your meal plans will not always add up to exactly the number of calories requested. You are encouraged to snack and snack sensibly on those days and when you feel hungry. Here's some suggestions for great snacks that have been proven to be satisfying and are really healthy.
Fruit
I want you to eat more fruit and nuts. But I want you to also know about the right portion sizes. Here's a guide and calorie counts. It's interesting to compare these to a Hershey bar with 210 calories. That's the equivalent of almost three apples!
| Serving Size | Calories | |
| Apple | 2 3/4 inch diameter | 77 |
| Applesauce (sugar free) | 1/2 cup | 84 |
| Banana (6 inch long) | one | 90 |
| Blackberries | 1 cup | 62 |
| Blueberries | 1 cup | 84 |
| Cantaloupe | 1/4 large melon | 69 |
| Cherries | 15 | 77 |
| Cranberries (dried/sweetened) | 1/4 cup | 92 |
| Cranberries (fresh) | 2 cups | 94 |
| Currants (dried) | 1/4 cup | 102 |
| Grapefruit | 1 cup sections | 74 |
| Honeydew Melon | 1/6 large melon | 86 |
| Mandarin Oranges | 3/4 cup | 78 |
| Mango | 3/4 cup | 80 |
| Orange | 3 inch diameter | 86 |
| Papaya | 1 1/2 cups | 82 |
| Pineapple | 1 cup | 82 |
| Plums | 1 cup | 76 |
| Raisins | 1/4 cup | 15 |
| Raspberries | 3/4 cup | 96 |
| Strawberries | 3/4 cup | 73 |
| Watermelon | 2 cups | 92 |
Nuts
There's no doubt that nuts are better for you than junk food. There's research that shows you won't gain weight having nuts for snacks (where you will having processed snack foods). That said, there are a lot of calories and even though they are great quality calories you want to be cautious.
| Serving Size | Calories | |
| Almonds | 1/4 cup | 206 |
| Cashews | 1/4 cup | 187 |
| Peanuts | 1/4 cup | 205 |
| Pecans | 1/4 cup | 188 |
| Pine nuts | 1/4 cup | 227 |
| Pistachios | 1/4 cup | 171 |
| Pumpkin seeds | 1/4 cup | 187 |
| Sunflower seeds | 1/4 cup | 67 |
| Walnuts | 1/4 cup | 191 |
Thanks for writing,
Timothy S. Harlan, M.D.
Dr. Gourmet