Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 18, 1993                   TAG: 9309170416
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CAROLE SUGARMAN THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SNACKS DON'T HAVE TO BE BAD FOR YOU

``People feel so guilty about snacking,'' says Susan Welsh, director of nutrition education at the Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Information Service. ``They come to the vending machine when nobody's looking.''

Right now, Welsh is looking at a vending machine in a downtown office building, explaining that snacks are an important part of a day's eating. They prevent you from being starved by mealtimes, and if you choose wisely, she says, can add important nutrients without excessive fat and calories.

For the most part, vending machines are not known for their healthful fare.

Nevertheless, Americans will plunk $2.7 billion into them in 1993, and they won't be paying for tofu treats. The 10 top-selling vending machine items are all candy bars except for No. 10 (Cheetos), according to Distributor Concepts, an Ann Arbor, Mich., firm that tracks vending sales. And pretzels - one of the few low-fat offerings - are ranked number 39.

But candy is not on Welsh's top 10 list. ``My first choices would be pretzels or popcorn,'' she says, looking through the vending-machine window.

Feel like cookies? From this particular machine, the animal crackers would be the best bet, Welsh says. Candy? If you must, choose the more sugary, non-chocolate ones, she says. Like Lifesavers, Skittles or Now and Later. Chocolate bars are high in sugar, too, but also high in fat, she says.

Note, as well, that those ubiquitous cheese and peanut-butter crackers are no nutritional bargain; a package of six crackers contains 240 calories and 12 grams of fat - about the same calories and fat as a candy bar, and fewer than a 1-ounce package of potato chips or corn chips.

If you feel like doing some real nutritional damage, the worst choices in this machine would be a package of six small powdered doughnuts or any of the cream-filled cakes and cupcakes, all high in calories and fat, says Lois Fulton, a USDA home economist who has come along on this vending tour with a giant notebook filled with nutrition analyses.

Discussion turns to the soft-drink and juice machines. A 12-ounce can of non-diet soda contains approximately 9 teaspoons of sugar, and fruit punches and ades contain even more, says Fulton. Look for beverages that say ``100 percent juice,'' stresses Welsh. ``They're a great snack.''

The discussion then moves to the streets, to a fruit and flower vendor. ``You'd do all right to buy anything here,'' says Welsh, as she surveys bananas, apples, nectarines, strawberries and grapes. Even tomatoes, eaten like an apple, are a fabulous snack, she says.

Next stop: a hot-dog vendor. Half smokes have about double the fat and calories of regular hot dogs, which generally weigh in at 150 calories and 13 grams of fat per frank, and a box of popcorn contains about 220 calories and 12 grams of fat, Fulton calculates.

Fig Newtons, oatmeal cookies, bananas or pretzels, also sold here, would be the best snack options, Welsh says. But beware: Many street vendors sell larger-size packages than are available in vending machines. And ``people eat whatever's in the container,'' says Welsh, picking up a 16-ounce bottle of a fruit-flavored clear soda. ``About 200 calories and nothing in terms of nutrients.''

Specialty coffee drinks ``are a great way to get milk in for the day,'' says Welsh, as she sizes up the espresso stand across from the hot-dog vendor. Ask for one with skim or 1 percent milk, which contain far less fat than whole milk, she says.

As for toppings and extras, cinnamon and powdered cocoa are the best choices, and even 2 tablespoons of whipped cream, when aerated, add only 16 calories and 1 gram of fat to a coffee drink, Fulton says. On the other hand, a shot of a flavored syrup adds 106 calories.

Of course, there's always the option of bringing snacks from home and stockpiling them in your desk for when the munchies hit. A few ideas: small cans of tuna, individual boxes of cereal, pretzels, popcorn and aseptically packaged juice or milk.