Choose the Healthiest Options from a Vending Machine [Health]

Vending machines are often a necessary evil. Maybe you missed lunch and need a little something to get you through the day, but your options are limited to what's available from the office vending machine. The Today Show tapped a few experts to weigh in on the best of those options to help you make your choice.

Since you can't peek at the nutrition label on vendor food, it's often a mystery as to what you get from a vending machine and while you rarely find traditionally healthy snacks you can pick out the lesser of evils. For breakfast the Today Show experts recommend a granola bar or energy bar, because they're packed with whole grains and protein. Throughout the rest of the day, you can snack on any type of plain packed nuts, popcorn, or even Sun Chips. Besides the obvious junk foods like soda and candy, they also recommend steering clear of the prepackaged ramen noodles, since they often come packed with over 50 percent of your recommended sodium intake for the day.

It's obviously not the recommended course of action to pick your snacks and lunches from the vending machine, but if you don't have a lot of choices it's not too difficult to find the healthiest options.