Finding time to sit down and eat a meal can be challenging. But snacking is a different story.

"Grabbing something on the go has become acceptable as a time-saving mechanism," notes Bethany Thayer, a registered dietitian at the Health Alliance Plan in Detroit and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

In 2005, consumers spent $24 billion on snack foods, an increase of about 1 percent from the year before, according to the Snack Food Association, a trade group. Snackers tend to favor savory fare -- potato, corn and tortilla chips, microwave popcorn and pretzels -- over the sweeter cookies, cake and snack bars.

Many snacks used to fall short nutritionally. But since 2006, when the Food and Drug Administration began requiring food companies to list grams of unhealthy trans fat on labels, many snacks have been reformulated to include healthier fats. A growing number also come with whole grains that provide added fiber and other nutrients.

Question is: How do they taste?

To find out, we recently tested 24 healthier snacks made by Dr. Kracker, Flat Earth, Hostess, Kettle Foods and Snyder's. They ranged from the familiar -- pretzels, cheese puffs and chocolate cake -- to the newfangled, including peach mango fruit chips, honey mustard and onion pretzel nibbles, flaxseed tortilla strips and Southwest cheddar sunflower chips.

All had between 100 to 140 calories per 1-ounce serving, considered a reasonable amount for a healthy snack. None had trans fat or contained more than 1.5 grams of saturated fat per serving. (Like trans fat, saturated fat is linked to an increased risk of heart disease. Current recommendations are to keep this unhealthy fat at less than 7 percent of total calories, or about 16 grams per day for the average adult who consumes 2,000 calories daily.)

Our testers were Washington Post reporters, editors and other newsroom personnel; in short, voracious snackers who sampled as much, or as little, as they wanted. We set out the snacks at 3 p.m., when afternoon appetites begin to surge, and kept them available into the early evening, when deadlines loom and stress and hunger rises. More than 50 snackers participated. Products were rated on a flavor scale of one to five, with five being the best.

It's one thing to taste a free product, another to buy it. So we also asked snackers to rate their willingness to buy snacks with their own cash. The possible responses ranged from zero (not a chance) to three (in a heartbeat.)

The good news: Every product in our unscientific study found at least a few enthusiastic fans who rated their flavor as a perfect five, suggesting that all these healthier products appeal to some. Odds are, you'll like some of them, too.

But when the scores were averaged by product, most garnered a three out of a possible five, an average rating for flavor. The two top favorites were Snyder's Multigrain Aged Cheddar Cheese Puffs, which got a 3.9 score, and Snyder's Honey Mustard and Onion Pretzel Nibbles, which averaged a 3.7.

The least favorite snack was Dr. Kracker's Muesli Kribbons Made with Spelt, which averaged a poor two score for flavor. Many found these too crunchy and dry.

When it comes to sweet snacks, our tasters preferred traditional flavors. So if you're looking for a sweet treat, you might consider the Hostess 100-calorie cake snack. Our testers liked all three available flavors: carrot cake with cream cheese icing, golden cake with creamy filling, and chocolate cake with creamy filling. About a third said that they'd buy either the golden cake or the chocolate cake.

But most of our snackers didn't like the sweet fruit combination found in Flat Earth's Wild Berry Patch Fruit Crisps. Nor did they favor the Peach Mango Paradise Baked Fruit Crisps, also by Flat Earth.

Whether you try some of these new, healthier products, or stick with your favorites, you can improve the nutritional quality of snacks "by making them minimeals," as Thayer notes.

So consider washing down your snacks with a glass of skim milk or low-fat calcium-fortified soy milk, which will provide protein. Or serve them with a side of fruit, a couple of slices of low-fat cheese or a handful of nuts.

And think outside the snack box or bag. Other healthy nontraditional snacks include a cup of soup, a bowl of whole grain cereal with fruit and milk, or whole grain pita bread with bean dip.

Join Sally Squires online from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays at www.leanplateclub.com, where you also can subscribe to the free Lean Plate Club weekly e-mail newsletter.