If you feel hungry during the day when it isn’t a mealtime, it’s important that you have a snack to keep yourself going. Otherwise you’ll get too hungry, and are in danger of getting a sugar or carb craving; and, as we know, it’s all downhill from there.

Most of these snacks contain protein and beneficial fats to keep you going but you can also try eating just a piece of fruit or having a vegetable smoothie – that may be enough.

Don’t feel that by having a snack you are adding calories and therefore likely to gain weight. So long as you are hungry when you have the snack, the opposite is true. Having a nutrient-rich snack will help keep your blood sugar levels even, which is key to maintaining the right weight. Beneficial fats help steady blood sugar and boost metabolism, so don’t be afraid of them.

These are just ideas. The main principle is that your snack should be modest in size and rich in nutrients. Sugary or high-carbohydrate foods such as donuts, bagels or pastries are not good snacks to have because they are devoid of nutrients and bad for blood sugar levels, and are likely to lead to sugar cravings and weight gain.

• Oat cakes with hummus
• Oat cakes with avocado, cottage cheese and basil
• Carrots with hummus
• Carrots dipped in nut butter (sugar-free and without hydrogenated vegetable fats)
• Brown rice cakes with hummus and avocado or nut butter and fruit spread
• Toast with avocado, carrot and cottage cheese
• A handful of nuts and seeds
• A handful of mixed seeds lightly roasted in soy sauce
• A smoothie with added ground flax or chia seeds
• A handful of dried fruit and nuts
• A piece of fruit (try non-sweet fruits such as an apple or orange)
• A yogurt and a piece of fruit
• A vegetable smoothie