Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Or: Out of sight, out of mind? I think I like this one best, at least when it comes to snack time for my kids.

Our house was once stocked with sugary treats. It wasn't odd for us to have a bowl of M&Ms in our cupboard, Oreo cookies and fruit chews in the pantry, and a whole host of other not-so-healthy go-to items. Now we have none of it. And while my little boys occasionally search for their old demons, they mostly have adjusted well. They don't crave sweet things any more now that they're gone; they actually rarely mention them. Now I admit they do stake out houses that allow for sweet things when they get the chance but at home, they are content with an apple, a bowl of strawberries, homemade popcorn with just one tiny drop of oil and no butter.

I'm eager to introduce my boys to new healthy snacks so our routine doesn't grow stale. Here are seven ideas I like. You might like them too.

The results may not be immediate but a recent study indicates that purple grape juice has long-term health benefits and can help combat major illnesses, like heart disease and cancer.

A study at Glasgow University measured levels of antioxidants -- thought to have a protective effect against cancer -- in a range of popular juice drinks. Purple concord grape juice came out on top, with the highest levels and range of antioxidants. Incidentally, this juice has the same level of these compounds as Beaujolais red wine.

It's recommended that we add a glass of grape juice to our daily diet and count it as one of our five daily fruits and vegetables.

Researchers caution, though, that studying antioxidants in the lab is different than studying their effect in the body.

"The problem is that we don't know what happens when they enter the body and are dissolved," one researcher says. "Obviously, eating a lot of fruit and vegetables has been shown to be good for your health, but it is not known for sure which compounds are responsible for this effect."

Still, it's not a bad idea to down that glass of juice every day -- unless, of course, you are worried about sugar content like me.

Researchers are not suggesting that people begin consuming grape seed extract because no one is certain at this point in time very much about the potential side effects of taking the extract, but they have found that grape seed extract has the ability to slow the growth of colorectal tumors in both cell cultures and in mice by 44 percent.

In the study, the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver researchers were also able to determine the molecular mechanism by which grape seed extract works to inhibit cancer growth.

As far back as 1999, the same researchers discovered that grape seed extract was effective in cancer prevention relating to skin cancer. Later preclinical work demonstrated that the extract slowed the growth of prostate cancer cells.

For an in-depth explanation of the chemoprevention benefits of grape seed extract, read Grape Seed Extract Halts Cell Cycle, Checking Growth Of Colorectal Tumors In Mice. The study is available as a PDF document and can be obtained by emailing Decicco@aacr.org or Ortiz@aacr.org.

Yesterday, we featured Antioxidant supplements: cancer prevention fairy tale or fact? posting on an opinion piece Dr. Lisa Melton wrote concluding that something is lost in the extraction process of antioxidants into supplement form that prevents antioxidant supplements from offering much in the way of health value. That antioxidant-rich foods offer a health benefit is not in question, and continuing research indicates that what you choose to eat can give your body a boost to better health.

While the researchers sort out the antioxidant supplement debate, and before your next trip to the grocery store, UPI issued a press release today announcing the results of a newly published study that ranks the concentrated antioxidant value per serving of 1,113 foods and beverages.

Topping the list? Per serving -- one cup of blackberries, eight-ounce serving of Welch's 100 percent Grape Juice, one cup of Ocean Mist artichoke hearts, one-ounce of walnuts and one cup of strawberries. Interesting to note, according to the researchers from the University of Oslo, Norway, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and the University of Minnesota, the top five outranked the traditionally considered powerhouses of antioxidant foods and beverages including blueberries, red wine, chocolate, coffee and tea. Stiil powerhouse antioxidant foods in their own right -- just did not make the top five in this study.