Snacks for Different Occasions

From keeping your hangry beast mode at bay to just needing something or an upset soul, snacks are consumed by most. Unfortunately, when you look up “healthy snacks” you get a lot of yogurt or plain fruit suggestions. The best snacks have BOTH fats and protein in them to help create satiety. Quantities of ingredients are not noted for the most part because it’s more about the flavor. Do note that the richer an ingredient the higher the calories and every diet will have different limitations. I, as a 5’5″ (156 cm) woman, cannot eat as much as my guy friends who tower over 6′. Life just isn’t fair for us short foodies. That being said, in general, a healthy snack should be between 100 and 200 calories per serving.

Here are some ideas for make-ahead stash or eat now:

1. Protein balls- oats, sweetener (ie honey), nut butter, and protein powder. Add 1 teaspoon of extract, dried fruit, or chocolate chips to create different flavors
   • If you are not a fan of protein powders, check out hemp seeds or almond, chickpea, coconut, and quinoa flours for the needed protein boost.
   • Mix ingredients then roll into golf ball sized balls and store in the refridgeratore for 1-2 weeks.
2. Anti-pasto- this is akin to an Italian appetizer but specializes in cured meats, cheeses, fresh and pickled vegetables, and olives. If you think it’s the same as a charcuterie board, then you would be mostly correct. The main difference is the foods traditional to Italy versus foods traditional to France. Examples include
   • Cheese stick with meat (like prosciutto or salami) wrapped around.
   • Whole grain crackers with cheeses
   • Skewers with ingredients for ultimate on-the-go portability. TheMediterraneanDish.com has a great step-by-step for this.
3. DIY dips for produce
   • Raisins, peanut butter, and honey blended for sliced apples, pears, and celery
   • Yogurt, cream cheese, and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and so on. Works well for most types of fruit.
   • CookieandKate.com has a yummy strawberry, peach, and blueberry salad with lemon juice, honey, and balsamic vinegar dressing.
4. Hard boiled eggs
   • Shoyu tamago– Japanese-style marinated eggs, savory and filling. The longer the eggs are marinated the better the flavor and can be used with your instant ramen on lazy cooking nights.
   • Deviled eggs- there are so many variations on this classic American finger food. Try different recipes and see which you prefer.
   • Pickled eggs- thePioneerWomen.com has a beet pickled recipe for flavor and a pop of color.
5. Muffins
   • Muffins tend to have less sugar than cupcakes, but there are still many recipes out there that are more dessert than nourishing. Look for recipes with little to no added sugars of any kind, fresh/frozen fruit used, and some sort of protein, like protein powder or hemp seeds or almond, chickpea, coconut, and quinoa flours. Low sugar can be gauged by 4 or less grams per serving (that’s about 1 teaspoon).
   • FitFoodieFinds.com has a base batter with 6 variations. They use a lot of substitutions like coconut sugar but also give you substitutions for traditional ingredients and their findings for their experiments. The cranberry orange and apple cinnamon muffins look amazing.
6. Oatmeal and yogurt parfets.
   • These diet staples are listen everywhere for a reason. However, I did not want to list them sooner because in my research for ideas, they were drowning out the other options. There are tons of variations, so never fear of getting bored flavor wise.