done like dinner

If we’re all going to snack instead of eating proper meals, at least follow Bonnie Stern’s recipes to snack correctly

It wasn’t that long ago that we were eating three meals a day and snacks once in a while. Now, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, our three meals are being replaced by constant snacking. Their numbers: 56% of Americans snacked three or more times a day in 2010, up from around 20% in the 1990s and 10% in the 1970s. When nutritionists advised that it might be better to eat six smaller healthful meals a day (or to have small snacks between meals) to help you feel full and keep your blood sugar steady, it eventually led to the restaurant trend of “grazing” or “tapas” — eating lots of little things that comprised a meal, and thus the food industry’s fastest growing segment: snacks.

Nutritionist Fran Berkoff says the ideal snack should contain a healthy protein/carb combo and be relatively low in salt and sugar. She also says that recent studies suggest whom you eat with is just as important as what you eat and it’s troubling to think that the family meal, with all its positive effects, one day may not exist.

Here are six delicious snacks that fit Berkoff ’s requirements. They are all easy to make, easy to transport, keep without refrigeration and do not need to be reheated. Pack them in reusable containers such as preserving jars and food-safe lunch containers. Most can be frozen so you can vary your snack of the day (or hour). An extra bonus is they are all wheat free, or can easily be adapted to be so.