When hunger pangs strike in the middle of a busy work day, don't run to the nearest vending machine. Stock your desk with these healthy picks.

Make your own crunchy concoction by combining dried fruit, whole-grain pretzels, nuts and dark chocolate chips. Calories typically average about 175 per ¼ cup but the calories are coming from good-quality ingredients. You can keep portions in check by measuring out ¼ cup and packing into individual bags ahead of time.

Typically made with a combo of whole grains, nuts, seeds and dried fruit, snack bars are good to grab in-between meals to curb hunger. Look for bars that contain no more than 200 calories each.

• Kashi Crunchy Granola & Seed Bars
• Larabar Jocolat
• Larabar Fruit & Nut
• Kind Nuts & Spices
• Nature’s Path Organic Granola Bars

Freeze-dried fruits are becoming very popular and offer a convenient way to snack on a variety of fruits. Among the popular brands:

• Just Tomatoes
• Starbuck’s Evolution Freeze-Dried Fruit
• Nature’s All Freeze-Dried Fruit

This whole-grain snack has 35 calories per freshly popped cup. Flavor it simply with spices and kosher salt or try one of the recipes below. Portion out 2 to 3 cups of popcorn into individual snack bags.

• Chocolate-Orange Brown Butter Flavored Popcorn
• Parmesan-Paprika Popcorn
• Sunny’s Sweet and Spicy Popcorn

Squeeze or spoon peanut or almond butter on whole-grain crackers or fresh fruit for a satisfying protein filled snack. Here are a few to try:

• Justin’s Squeeze Classic Almond Butter and Peanut Butter
• Jif To-Go Packs 

Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, is a registered dietitian and consultant who specializes in food safety and culinary nutrition. She is the author of The Greek Yogurt Kitchen: More Than 130 Delicious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Day. See Toby's full bio »