Healthy Snacks Ideas

Snacks are essential for many of us. In our high-paced environment, sometimes finding time for a sit-down full meal is a challenge. Having healthy snacks on you will alleviate hunger, deliver nutrition and prevent overeating at mealtime.

First – what should be the dietary composition of your snack?

• Protein – shoot for 10 g of PRO in every snack; it’ll fill you up without overdoing it in calories. It’ll give you a pleasant sense of satisfaction and satiation, so important in mood stability in our stressful lives;
  • Examples: boiled egg, deli turkey, plain greek yogurt, farmer cheese, almonds, nut butters, chickpeas, hummus, tofu
• Fiber – another vital component for satiety factor, along with health benefits of improving digestion and keeping you regular, reducing cholesterol and taming inflammation. Go for natural sources – like veggies, fruits and whole grains:
  • Examples: baby carrots, avocado, celery, butter lettuce leaves, apples, bananas, berries, whole grain brown rice cakes, quinoa, bell pepper sticks, cucumbers, nuts and seeds, whole grain sourdough bread, whole grain rice cake, multigrain seeded crackers
• Healthy fats – oh we so need them – please don’t forgo! They satiate, provide essential elements for brain function, tissue health (they are part of our cell membranes), skin, nails and hair integrity & just plain delicious:
  • Examples: olives and olive oil, avocado and avocado oil, nuts and seeds, flax and chia seeds (whole and ground), smoke salmon

Now we put it all together – Snack Assembly – A Dozen Healthy Snacks:

1. Sourdough bread + 1 sliced boiled egg + 1/4 sliced avocado
2. Greek yogurt + berries + ground flax seeds
3. Chickpeas + chopped tomato + lemon juice + olive oil
4. Brown Rice Cake + almond butter + 1/2 sliced banana
5. Baby carrots & bell pepper sticks + hummus
6. Sourdough bread + 1/4 avocado + smoke salmon
7. Chickpeas + olives + chopped cucumber
8. Wholegrain crackers + hummus + sliced cucumber
9. Farmer cheese + almonds + berries
10. Quinoa + cubed tofu + 1/4 avocado
11. Apple slices + almond butter
12. Deli turkey wrapped in butter lettuce leaves.

And these are just a few ideas – feel free to improvise, interchange and mix as you please!

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