Snacks

At my high school the vending machines ruled! How else could you eat nacho cheese Doritos, peanut M&M's, and raw Pop-Tarts for lunch?

But nowadays, with the number of overweight and obese kids on the rise, vending machines and junk food are getting the heave-ho from schools.

And according to a new survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more and more schools are expelling the junk.

You've seen it on sitcoms, the middle-aged fat guy in a bathrobe, cutting a big sandwich in the dark, by the light of an open refrigerator.

Now, a pastrami sub at midnight might hit the spot, but eating that late could lead to weight-gain, especially if you're a mouse!

Researchers found feeding mice when they're supposed to be sleeping made them fatter.

Kids running around outside is great. It gets them out of their parents' hair, and they get a much-needed dose of exercise.

But, that goes to pot if they recharge with juice boxes, cookies, chips and snack cakes!

That's why some nutritionists believe after-school programs are the best place to keep children active and teach them good nutrition.

Whether your children are at school, or home on holidays, it can be really difficult coming up with healthy kids lunch ideas day after day to keep them interested.

We're all extremely busy these days, so the last thing we need is to get complicated at lunchtime.

But, what should your child's lunch contain?

As kid, they warn you about drugs. At first it seems fun, but soon you'll need more and more to get high and before you know it, you're addicted.

Junk food is a lot like drugs. Lay's potato chips even had a marketing slogan, "betcha you can't eat just one." Sounds like a drug pusher to me!

And, a new study claims snack foods may trigger a drug addiction-like response in obese women.

Chocolate eaters down under have noticed something strange is happening with their chocolate bars - they've shrunk. Mars Bars have downsized by 11% and Cadbury chocolate bars have gone from 250g to 200g (20% drop).

The one thing that hasn't dropped is price.

Here's some feel-good snacks for different purposes:

Say it ain't so! The accepted conventional wisdom of eating several smaller meals throughout the day to shed pounds is being challenged at almost every turn. A recent article has gone so far as calling extra meals a "faddish dieting trend" (gasps in horror).

It's easy to get caught up in work or chores, then dive into the nearest packet of biscuits because you're starving and too busy to stop and prepare a healthy snack. Keep some of the following to hand, and you'll always have something easy to grab.

All can be eaten without any preparation, straight from the container (though you'll need a spoon for a couple of them.)

The Lunch Box Diet is a small downloadable document (10 pages) from UK personal trainer Simon Lovell. Although Simon describes the diet as "no fad" its recent appearance in Elle Magazine may well change that.

So what is the "lunch box diet"?

If you ever wanted proof of the commercial juggernaut that is called dieting - this is it.

Kraft Foods is rolling out a vending machine stocked with South Beach Diet branded food.

The Snack Factor Diet is written by New York-based nutritionist Keri Glassman. Glassman's book promotes the concept of using snacking as a weight loss tool.

Glassman also has her own line of, ummm, well... snack bars.

I’ll start by confessing: If I get to the point where I am really, really hungry… I just might eat a bit too much (of all the wrong things).

I always thought there had to be more to internet video than laughing babies, or strange people mixing Mentos with Diet Coke...

VideoJug has a nice selection of cooking/recipe videos. The recipe is displayed below the video -- along with all sorts of bells and whistles.

Here are a few samples.

Most vending machines are stocked full of junk food. With a bit of planning it is possible to replace those snacks with foods that will nourish your body.

The challenge is to balance convenience with nutrition.

Here is a pictorial guide to a selection of healthy snacks - and remember - healthy eating is not just about the number of calories*.

Eating often is the key to hunger management, however many weight loss regimes advocate a cut-off time for eating. WebMD reports on a study that looks at this very issue. Are meals eaten late at night more fattening than those eaten in the day? "The outcome was, there was no difference at all," Cameron tells WebMD. "Whether they eat by day or by night, monkeys have an equal probability of gaining weight. So weight gain depends on how many calories we eat, and not when we eat them."