We all know that little hunger pang that strikes between meals. We quickly give in to a convenient and quick chocolate bar, but it's far from ideal for satiety, and even less so for our health. This bar is considered a snack, and its name comes from the English.

Translated, the English word snack means nibbling in French . Snacking refers to a category of quick and easy-to-eat food products. These can include chips, cookies, donuts, popcorn, or chocolate bars, for example.

For some time now, perhaps exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, consumers have realized the harmful consequences of these snacking solutions on their bodies. Manufacturers are adapting.

Depending on when a snack is consumed, the effects produced will not be the same and will not allow the same objectives to be achieved:

• Snack at 10 a.m. or 5 p.m.:

A healthy snack is perfect for a 10 a.m. or 5 p.m. snack at work or on the go. In case of a small hunger pang, it's a good alternative to regular snacking. The goal is to satisfy a small hunger. The fiber content will help achieve this goal. Above all, these snacks will replace an overly sweet snack while maintaining the indulgent pleasure. A raw bar is also ideal.

• At breakfast:

French breakfast is known for being delicious, but mostly overly sweet. Pastries, white bread, and spreads are as delicious as they are high in calories. In fact, it's a meal that's too often forgotten due to lack of time between waking up and leaving for work. A very bad idea for your body.

A cereal bar rich in protein and low in sugar will therefore be ideal. Practical and therefore quickly consumed at home or on the go, its low carbohydrate content will be perfect for breaking the overnight fast. Your body won't be assaulted by a load of sugar as soon as you wake up. The vitamins and proteins (particularly provided by soy) will give you the energy you need to start your day.

• Before or after sport:

30 minutes before your workout, protein snacks, with their practical format and low sugar content, will be your ally in achieving better performance. Your body will benefit from a source of protein and carbohydrates that will help give you the energy you need to take care of your muscles. After physical exertion (training or competition), hunger is often limited. A snack will have a significant protein intake to optimize the reconstruction of muscle fibers destroyed during exercise and thus maintain or increase muscle mass. Recovery will be faster and will allow you to chain workouts more quickly.

• In front of the television or a series.

It's a well-known fact that television makes us want to eat. While it's not the advertisements that encourage you to snack, it could be the lure of a good series. Here again, chips or popcorn won't be a good idea for your body. Instead, choose low-sugar snacks. For example, chocolate-coated puffed soy balls or low-sugar granola. This will allow you to eat in small bites throughout your screen time, without feeling guilty about eating poorly.

The problem with snacks is usually their composition. They are often very sweet (some 45g chocolate bars contain 27g of sugar) and high in fat.

Today, our lifestyles mean that we consume more and more of it: less time to eat, more snacking in front of series, for example. Recently, the WHO (World Health Organization) revised downward its recommendations on sugar, which should constitute, according to its advice, 5% of daily energy intake, that is, the equivalent of 25 grams per day, or six teaspoons for a ration of 2,000 calories. However, these recommendations do not take into account the sugars present in fresh fruit or milk. Yet, most countries far exceed these indications. In France, the average consumption amounts to 95 grams per day, four times the authorized dose.

This is why we are seeing new snacks arriving in France on the shelves of supermarkets: healthy snacks. These include cereal bars, raw bars (raw bars often made from dates), or even chocolate-coated bars with a delicious filling but with atypical and healthier ingredients (soy, peas, chickpeas). These snacks are therefore lower in sugar and calories, often gluten-free and lactose-free, and sometimes made with superfoods (Gingseng, soy, etc.). The goal is to offer a better solution to consumers without changing their habits.

Snacks produced according to the RDA.

The way we think about snacks has completely changed. Some brands are thinking more about snacks as meals, that is, what they will provide to the person consuming them. They are designed more based on the RDA (Recommended Daily Intake), set by health organizations like the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority).

So there are bars rich in vitamins while others are richer in protein, or even with very little sugar.

Be careful, simply stating "healthy snacks" or "sugar-free snacks" does not guarantee a better choice. To prevent a snack from becoming a simple treat, you must choose it carefully, focusing on its composition and benefits.

You should make sure that the bar you choose is low in calories (less than 250 kcal) and, if possible, not too sweet. The fiber content (> 5g) can help control blood sugar spikes and ensure satiety. The vitamins that a snack may contain can be important for your well-being. Finally, if this snack is a source of protein (> 13g), it represents a real asset, whether you are an athlete or not. This will be a significant source of protein.