Healthy diet snacks are one way to stave off hunger and add extra nutrition to your diet. If you don't have a healthy snack readily available, one of two things happen. You either look like a shark in a feeding frenzy at mealtime or hit the vending machine in an attempt to curb your appetite. Of course, most of the snacks in the vending machine definitely don't fit under the title of healthy diet snacks. Those mid afternoon cravings often are the downfall of many a diet, don't let it be yours.

If you keep some already prepared snacks in your refrigerator, you won't be tempted to polish off that pint of ice cream or munch on a few potato chips. Of course, some people clean their home of these types of snacks but they end up eating an entire dinner while preparing it, and then eat dinner with the family too. If you curb your appetite ahead of time, you'll not be tempted to overeat and the cat's food will be safe from your clutches.

Nuts and seeds, such as sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are healthy snacks.

Walnuts are great for the brain and many nuts, including walnuts, have monosaturated fat that keeps your arteries clear and your blood flowing smoothly. You'll get plenty of vitamin E, magnesium and fiber when you eat nuts and that can help prevent diseases like asthma, osteoporosis, cancer and other disease that cause inflammation. Beware of the ones that are salted. Too much salt in your diet isn't healthy at all.

If you're tired of plain old fruit or raw veggies as a snack, try putting a bit of peanut butter on it. Peanut butter gives you a slow rise in your glucose levels so you don't come crashing down. Better than that, its very tasty when put on a slice of apple or a stick of celery. Of course, you can take a tip from the King, Elvis, and put it on a banana. Just don't put it on bread and fry it with a slather of butter or you'll end up with the King's waistline too.

For a little different make ahead recipe, try some apricot appetizers. Simply put a half teaspoon of crumbled blue cheese on top of a dried apricot. Sprinkle on some chopped pistachios and drizzle it with a little honey. For the added touch, sprinkle on freshly ground pepper and store it in the refrigerator for a healthy snack anytime. Each apricot appetizer is less than 100 calories.

If crunchy is one of your requirements, you'll love the spicy baked chickpeas. One recipe can give you four servings of snacks at around 100 calories each. Rinse the chickpeas from a 15-ounce can then blot them dry. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with the rack on the upper third portion of the oven while you prepare the chickpeas for baking. Simply mix a tbsp. of extra-virgin olive oil with 1 tsp. of dried marjoram or oregano, 2 tsp of cumin and ¼ tsp each of allspice and salt. Toss the chickpeas and lay them on a baking sheet to cook 25 to 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Allow them to cool on the sheet 15 minutes before putting in four small storage bags for your snacks. You can adjust the spices to make other glorious flavors.

When you choose a snack that is lower in calories but packed with extra nutrients, you're not only helping your body with the nutrition, you're also helping it stick to the diet. Of course, you can also use healthy snacks to replace meals, particularly if you know another meal that day might have more calories than your diet allows. You'll find that half of the fun is finding ways to make snack time more enjoyable with some super delicious healthy diet snacks that even your thin friends will beg to try.