Researchers at the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Columbus, Ohio- based Nationwide Children's Hospital have recently released an online tool that rates snacks based on 11 nutritional parameters*: calories, total fat, saturated and trans fat, sodium, fiber, sugar, protein, calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C. Their rating system was designed using the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 and Daily Values found on the Nutrition Facts labels of packaged foods.

The Snackwise® System assigns points for each nutritional parameter, and categorizes a snack as green (best choice), yellow (choose occasionally), and red (choose rarely), based on it's nutrient density (of the nutrients considered).  

To use the free tool, go to: http://www.snackwise.org/calc.cfm and enter your snack's UPC number or product name, serving size, and serving per package. Or you can go to the main page, http://www.snackwise.org, and download the entire list of snacks categorized as green, yellow, or red.

As you will see, however, the list of snacks contains primarily processed, refined grain foods - even in the green category. So, while these may be okay choices, as a registered dietitian I'd still recommend snacking on whole fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, and unrefined whole grains (low-sodium popcorn, whole grain crackers, cereal, etc.).

*Nutrition Parameter     Snack Criteria
Calories                            150 calories or less
Fat                                    Less than or equal to 35% of total calories
Saturated & Trans Fats       Less than or equal to 10% of total calories
Sodium                             Less than 230 milligrams
Sugar                               35% of total calories
Protein                              5 grams or more
Calcium                             10% Daily Value
Fiber                                 10% Daily Value
Iron                                  10% Daily Value
Vitamin A                          10% Daily Value
Vitamin C                          10% Daily Value