The Best Healthy Snack Recipes
People who wants to start eating healthy this year, these are the best healthy snack recipes that will make you guilt-free and does actually taste good than what you imagined it to be.
WHAT IS A HEALTHY SNACK?
First, snacks are important because they provide you with the needed energy throughout the day aside from the energy given by the usual three meals a day. Specifically, healthy snacks provide your body with nutrition and will help you feel full longer than unhealthy snacks that are either full of sugar or fat.
And second, a healthy snack typically contains some combination of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains.
But your snacks doesn’t have to be as plain as eating a piece of apple or banana.
Here are some recipes to add spice to the usual snacks – made healthier.
HEALTHY SNACK LIST: WEEK 1
Baked Blueberry Muffins
These are made with whole wheat flour and oatmeal for added nutrition. Most people love muffins, right? They’re a great snack for anytime of the day. They’re fluffy and can even be customized to your liking. But the thing with the usual muffins is that they are loaded with fat and sugar and this recipe is different.
Ingredients needed are:
- Cooking spray
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups oatmeal
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup of blueberries
- 2 tablespoons coarse sugar (optional).
Roasted Chickpeas
Who wouldn’t want chickpeas for a snack, right? But the plain taste from it can cause dissatisfaction. So, how about roasting them? It’s very easy and convenient. All you need are 1-2 cans of chickpeas, oil for misting and spices like paprika and cayenne pepper.
There are three things to remember though: don’t use too much oil as it will make the peas soggy, don’t fill the pan as the peas needs to have room for air to circulate and start them in a cold oven, roast and then leave it in the oven as it cools.
Fruit Pizza
Level up your fruits and pizzas into a new healthy level! All you’ll need:
- Wasa Crispbreads (or any bread/cracker of your choice)
- ½ cup cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons honey
- fruits (like strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, etc.)
For the base, you need to mix cream cheese and honey and spread it through the bread, and add the fruits on top.
Chocolate Fruit Dip
Of course, chocolates won’t leave our side when it comes to snacks, would they? And as seen on streets and stores, fruits dipped in chocolates are always the best combination.
So, all you have to do is whip powdered sugar and cream cheese together until it becomes light and fluffy. After that, add a huge amount of melted chocolate, you may use any chocolate of your liking. Serve it with a wide array of fruits on the side.
Peanut Butter Energy Bites
No oven? I got you. These energy bites are no bake and are easy to make. All you need are peanut butter, old fashioned oats, flax seed, honey and chocolate chips. You just need to combine everything in a bowl.
The best thing about this is you can add anything you want. After mixing all ingredients together, form balls and refrigerate it for about 15 minutes and it’s ready to be served!
Fruit Kabobs
These are basically fruits on a skewer and yogurt as its dip. You can use any fruit and arrange them on a stick and prepare a yogurt for the dip. Greek yogurt is highly recommended as it has more protein than the usual yogurts.
Mexican Fruit Cups
This snack is like a whole new version of the usual fruit salad. What you’ll be needing are fruits like, pineapple, mango, papaya, watermelon, cucumber, jicama, lime wedges and 2-3 teaspoons chile lime seasoning to taste.
It’s a refreshing snack perfect for the heat.
HEALTHY SNACK LIST: WEEK 2
Chia Seed Pudding
Chia seeds has been famous for people who are on a diet and has proven its result and its health benefits as well. Since Chia seeds are tasteless, you can choose from coconut milk, yogurt or almond milk as its liquid. You can also add spices like cinnamon or honey.
All you need to do is mix all of them in a jar, store it in the fridge and take it out whenever you’d want for a good chilled snack.
Sweet Potato Melt
Sweet potatoes are a great alternative for carbs, but it has low fat and has natural sweetener. All you need to do is wrap them in an aluminum foil and place it in the oven at 425 degrees for 45-50 minutes. You can add some low-fat butter to garnish on top while the steam is still there and the butter will melt on its own.
Cranberry Pecan Quinoa Salad
Quinoa is also known for its health benefits such as Iron, Magnesium, Riboflavin, Omega-3, etc. Just like Chia seeds, Quinoa can be tasteless that’s why you can mix it with other foods or fruits for the healthy snack.
Ingredients needed are:
- 1 cup dry Quinoa
- 1 ¼ cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup fresh cranberries
- ½-1 cup fresh broccoli florets
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
- salt and pepper to taste
For the dressing, you’ll be needing:
- 2 tablespoons light olive oil or grapeseed oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.
Watermelon Feta Salad with Mint
As the name speaks for itself it’s going to be a watermelon feast for this snack. All you need to do is combine sweet ripe watermelon, feta cheese and fresh mint. Simply dress it with olive oil and lime juice. The sweet and salty combination gives it a good kick, perfect for picnics and hangouts.
Vegan Frozen Yogurt
This snack is perfect for anytime of the day. Steps includes a loaf pan with wax paper then spread yogurt evenly across the bottom and start lining up your fruits and coconuts. Cover it with plastic wrap and freeze for 3 hours or until frozen. Break apart using a knife and your yogurt bars are ready.
Peanut Butter Banana Roll-Ups
Bananas are for sure filled with nutrients like Magnesium, Potassium, Protein, Fiber, Vitamin E and is an aid for weight loss as well. And to spice it up, we’ve added some peanut butter on the roll.
Ingredients needed are:
- Peanut butter
- Whole wheat flour tortillas
- Honey
- Low-fat granola and bananas
It’s very easy to make. You just need to spread peanut butter on the tortilla, drizzle some honey and sprinkle with granola. Then, place the banana and fold the tortilla in opposite sides like a burrito. Cut it in half and serve.
Roasted Avocado Slices
Avocados are not for guacamoles only, they taste good in other forms of food as well. What you need to do is slice the avocado, dress it up with olive oil, salt, pepper and any spice of your choice and roast it until toasty in the oven.
Just be very careful as avocados comes in season and doesn’t guarantee quality taste as always.
HEALTHY SNACK LIST: WEEK 3
Monster Cookie Energy Balls
These balls need no oven to be made. Plus, it’s a great snack for any age, from children to adults.
Ingredients needed are:
- 1 ½ cups large oat flakes
- ½ cup peanut butter
- ⅓ cup honey
- ¼ cup mini M&M’s
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
All you need to do is stir everything in a bowl until well combined. Then roll them into balls and place them on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. And then again, you can add or eliminate ingredient from this recipe to suit your liking.
Zucchini Pizza Bites
These refreshing yet sweet snack will remind you of how pizzas taste but with a kick of freshness from the zucchini.
Ingredients needed are:
- Olive oil
- Zucchini cut into thick rounds
- Salt and pepper
- Marinara sauce
- Grated mozzarella
- Pepperoni minis
- Italian seasoning.
You need to broil the zucchinis in the oven by batches, flipping once until golden. Then season it with salt and pepper. After that, place zucchini rounds into a large baking sheet and top it with marinara sauce, mozzarella and pepperoni minis. Place it in the oven until the cheese has melted.
Caprese Skewers
This is not only a great snack but is also a great appetizer.
You’ll need:
- Cherry tomatoes
- Small mozzarella balls
- Basil leaves
- Olive oil
- Italian seasoning
- Balsamic glaze (balsamic vinegar that’s been reduced until it’s thick and syrupy)
Just skew the whole ingredients in the stick and drizzle with the glaze and olive oil.
Turkey Roll Ups
Ingredients include:
- Roasted chicken or turkey slices
- Sprouts
- Pea shoots (or other greens like spinach leaves)
- Ripe avocado
- Hard boiled eggs
- Mustard or your favorite dressing will do.
It’s like a wrap with the meat as the taco and the other ingredients as the filling. It’s light and good for a clean meal because of the greens.
Healthy Granola Parfait
This parfait is of guilt-free from all the sugar intake a regular parfait would have.
Its ingredients:
- Uncooked old-fashioned oats
- Almonds
- Coconut
- Sunflower seeds
- Flaxseed
- Wheat germ
- Coconut oil
- Honey
- Greek yogurt
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Dark chocolate (optional)
You need to mix the old-fashioned oats, sliced almonds, shredded coconut, roasted sunflower seeds, flaxseed and wheat germ in a large mixing bowl. Then, melt your coconut oil in a small bowl in the microwave for about a minute, add honey and pour over the oat mixture and stir. The mixture then will be poured on a cookie sheet and should be spread thinly in an even layer. Bake at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes then stir it and let it bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
Let the granola cool and store in an airtight container. When ready to assembler, place yogurt at the bottom of the glass, add a layer of granola, berries and repeat.
Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
This cinnamon roll is on another level as it doesn’t look as healthy as it seems. But the ingredients used are!
You’ll be needing:
- Whole wheat white flour
- Coconut sugar
- Salt
- Instant yeast
- Large egg
- Non-dairy milk
- Water
- Coconut oil
- Coconut sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Softened coconut oil
Instructions: grease a pie dish with coconut oil and set aside; in your mixer bowl, add 3 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons coconut sugar, yeast and salt and mix until well combined; warm milk, water and coconut oil in the microwave; next, slowly add your milk in the flour mixture until combined then add egg until dough starts to come together; knead the dough until elastic and can be pulled away from the edge of the bowl; oil large bowl and shape dough ball and cover with oiled plastic wrap and let it rest until it doubles it size.
While the dough is rising, combine coconut sugar and ground cinnamon. Once the dough has risen, roll out and cut dough into 7 strips and roll. Leave the dough for a while. Once the rolls have risen again, preheat oven at 350F and bake the cinnamon rolls for 20-25 minutes until lightly brown.
The Ultimate Veggie Toast
For this healthy, light breakfast or snack,
You’ll need:
- Toasted baguette
- Fresh Pea Hummus
- Avocado
- Tomato slices
- Curly kale
- Shredded carrots
- Thinly sliced shallots
- Olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Salt
- Broccoli sprouts
Spread the hummus on the toasted bread and pile with avocado and tomatoes and season with salt. On a bowl, combine kale, carrots, shallots, olive oil and wine vinegar. Then, pile the salad on top of the tomato and add sprouts to the top and drizzle with olive oil.
Banana Oat Smoothie
A drink is also considered a snack, isn’t? And for the 31st recipe, here’s a simple yet flavorful health smoothie to digest all the snack intake from earlier.
You’ll be needing:
- ⅓ cup rolled oats
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 banana
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup almond milk
All you need to do is add all the ingredients to your blender and puree until smooth. Serve right away or serve chilled is fine.
And there you have it, a clean and healthy start for 2019. These snacks will help you get through a month and you can just mix and match recipes for any possible occasion as well.
Being healthy doesn’t mean sacrificing the taste and the kind of food you’ll be eating.
