Eating healthy snacks is great for your health and provides plenty of nutrition without adding excessive sugar, salt of fat to your diet. Encourage yourself to eat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables by replacing your not-so-healthy snacks for healthier options. Here are some simple tips for health snacking.
Find healthy substitutes for high fat snacks
If your favorite snacks are fried potato chips, consider going for baked corn chips instead. Instead of ranch or cheese dip, try bean dip, hummus or homemade salsa.
Make healthy snacks interesting!
A plain piece of fruit isn’t very interesting. Dress it up by dipping it into yogurt and adding a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg. Mix with granola to create a healthy parfait. Just because snacks are healthy, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy variety or flavor. Also, be sure to get fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season. They’ll taste better and offer variety throughout the year.
Be prepared to serve healthy snacks on the go!
Part of the reason why unhealthy snacks are so popular is because they’re convenient. But that shouldn’t be a reason to eat unhealthy snacks. Prepare your healthy snacks ahead of time so they’re ready to go when you are. And make your healthy snacks available to you throughout the day wherever you are (work, home, school, etc).
Here are some healthy snacks that you can take with you:
- Banana
- Apple (unpeeled)
- Yogurt
- Unsalted nuts
- Dried fruit
- Whole wheat crackers
- Granola
- Baby carrots
- Cherry tomatoes
- Pretzels
- Air popped popcorn
- Peanut butter
More Healthy Snacking Tips:
Combine different healthy snacks to create new healthy snack concoctions. Mix textures and flavors to come up with new kinds of snacks. It’ll will keep you interested and healthy snacking and it brings out more natural flavors in the healthy snacks you’re eating.
Mix yogurt with different frozen fruits and fresh berries. Try greek yogurt or Icelandic Skyr for a super charged and super healthy alternative to regular yogurt. Greek strained yogurt is very healthy for you. Icelandic Skyr is also very healthy for you but be careful, it’s tart!
Top crunchy whole grain crackers with low fat cheese and veggies. Try low-fat cottage cheese or ricotta cheese with tomatoes and colorful bell peppers for a visually appealing and tasty snack. Add fresh basil and balsamic glaze for a pop of gourmet flavor.
Make your own super healthy trail mix with unsalted nuts, high fiber cereal, and dried fruits. You can mix the flavor profiles of different nuts to match the season. Try dried pineapple, kiwis, cashews, and almonds for a summery feel. Then try walnuts, hazelnuts, cranberries, blueberries for a wintery mix.
Try a low fat and vitamin packed veggie dip tray using hummus as the star. Make your own low fat hummus with roasted garlic and garbanzo beans. Cut up fresh vegetables like colorful bell peppers, cauliflower, sweet snap peas, cool cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.
Healthy snacking is easy once you get in the habit. Remember, there are a myriad of wonderful and healthy flavors in natural and whole foods. Happy snacking!