The Vending Machine
By Selene Yeager
A Bicycling.com article: http://www.bicycling.com/article/1,6610,s1-4-21-16562-1,00.html

We've all been there, smoothing out a dollar bill, staring at a grid of sugary, salt-laden snack foods. A recent survey of more than 5,000 adults shows that the average American hits the vending machine once or twice every single day. The good news is that smart choices exist for the snack savvy, says Leslie Bonci, R.D., of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "Whether you desire sweet, chewy, salty or crunchy, there are many options for taste without a larger waist." Here are seven to drop your coins on.

Low-Fat Microwave Popcorn: This whole-grain food is, without the butter or, worse, fake butter syrup, easy on the waistline. Four cups (the whole bag, popped) come in at about 200 calories and provide four to five grams--about 20 percent of the daily recommended amount--of fiber. In a study of 3,000 men and women, those who ate the most servings of whole-grain foods each day had lower insulin and cholesterol levels, as well as lower body weight.

Fig Newtons: One of the quintessential cycling foods, Fig Newtons are a fairly healthy snack. With 200 calories and 3 grams of fiber, the chewy cookies provide instant energy and lasting protection from hunger pangs and midday sugar crashes. They're also a good source of iron.

Chex Party Mix: Here's one for the "do no harm" category. For about the same number of calories (about 130) you'd get from a bag of pretzels, you can enjoy a more exciting snack that's a decent source of energy-boosting complex carbs. Aside from a little iron, the party pack doesn't offer much nutritionally, but it sure beats the fat-soaked, sugar-glazed Little Debbie Honey Bun.

Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bar: Granola has a bad rep as being loaded with sugar and fat, mostly because commercial granola is doctored up to compete for the Snickers crowd. These classic bars, however, remain a solid snack selection. They're relatively low in sugar and a good source of fiber. Because they're hard and crunchy, they also take longer to eat--and hold you over longer--than most vending-machine fare.

Baked Lay's KC: Masterpiece BBQ Flavor Potato Crisps These treats have 30 fewer calories (120 per one-ounce bag), a third of the fat (3 grams; zero trans fats) and twice the fiber (2 grams) of regular chips. Canadian researchers found that volunteers who ate a spicy snack consumed about 200 fewer calories at lunch and dinner than those who ate blander bites.

Nuts: They pack a healthy dose of muscle-mending protein--about 6 grams per ounce--and supply about 30 percent of the daily recommended amount of free-radical-fighting vitamin E. A two-year study in Spain of 9,000 men and women found that those who ate nuts at least twice a week remained leaner over time.

Gum: Are you really hungry, or just searching for solace from day-job doldrums inside a bag of Cheetos? We thought so. Press a number for the bottom row and grab a pack of gum (preferably sugarless). Chewing gum burns calories and boosts your metabolism by 20 percent (Mayo Clinic researchers found gum-chewers burned an extra 11 calories an hour), and the minty taste in your mouth will fend off mindless munching.