Let's face it; even the most dedicated people who make every effort to eat healthy out there crave an occasional snack every now and then. The thing here is, choosing a snack that's low in fat, easy on calories and still will satisfy you without making you feel guilty.

Making sure you snack right is just as important as making sure you eat right during meals. So the question is, are things like celery and carrots the only kind of snack foods that won't make me wreck my daily diet? The answer is, no. There are some really good things that you can snack on that you may have thought were taboo, but really fit in nicely with a good, balanced diet plan.

Just seeing certain foods can trigger cravings for foods you should be avoiding. When there are snack foods around like cookies, potato chips, cake and candies, the desire to indulge in them can overcome the common sense to avoid them. Removing the temptation is a strong tool when you are trying to lose or maintain weight. Keeping a variety of low fat snacks on hand is good for when the desire to snack hits. If you know around what time or times of day you seem to snack the most, you can even plan your snacks into your day's eating plan. Planning snacks also allows you to avoid snacking on high calorie, high fat snacks.

Here are some ideas for foods that are good, healthy snacks to have from day to day:

Air popped pop corn Fat free cottage cheese Grapes Hard boiled egg whites Sliced chicken breast Garden salad Sugar free jello Fat free potato chips Frozen banana Oatmeal

A lot of people feel bad after snacking but having an occasional snack can also have some benefits such as binge control. By having that snack, you might refrain from second helpings at mealtime and thus you will be consuming less overall calories. Snacking can also help to control hunger pangs. This way you won't feel hungry throughout the day, making the urge to grab and eat something high in calories less likely.

Snacking on the right types of foods, along with proper portions during meals is a good combination that can help provide you with a very effective tool in controlling your weight.