16 Healthy Snacks That You Can Eat Every Day
Who doesn’t love snacks? We are all probably guilty of snacking– up to 90% of Americans admit that they are eating something between meals. The good news is that snacking doesn’t have to be unhealthy. You can easily replace unhealthy snacks from supermarkets with homemade snacks that are not only delicious but also healthy.
Here are our 16 recipes for healthy snacks that will not harm your health:
#1 Chips from Baked or Dried Vegetables and Fruits
You can buy dried carrot or beetroot chips in most stores. For those who prefer a sweeter taste, there are versions made of apples and bananas.
These types of chips are prepared without the addition of fat, so they are much healthier than traditional chips fried in unhealthy palm oil.
They also have fewer calories – about 300 kcal / 100 g. Typically, potato chips have about 500 kcal / 100 g.
You can easily prepare baked vegetable chips at home:
Ingredients:
• 500 g carrots
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• salt
• sweet and hot peppers
Directions:
Cut the carrot into thin slices, mix with olive oil and spices. Spread on a large baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake 40 minutes at 150ºC and then 20 minutes at 170ºC until the vegetables become crispy.
#2 Baked Fries from Carrots, Celery, and Parsley
Vegetable fries are a good alternative to classic potato fries fried in oil.
They are healthier, have fewer calories and are delicious. In this case, it’s better to use rapeseed oil than olive oil, because the baking temperature is high, and the olive oil has a low smoke point.
Ingredients:
• 4 carrots
• 1 celery
• 2 parsley
• 1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil
• thyme
• salt
Directions:
Cut vegetables into sticks, mix with oil and spices, put on a baking tray and bake at 200 °C for 30-40 minutes.
#3 Raw Vegetables Cut into Bars with Garlic, Horseradish and Tomato Sauce
A platter with sliced carrots, peppers, cucumbers, and celery, plus tasty sauce for dipping vegetables, is a great idea for a light snack for a party or for watching a movie.
Garlic sauce: Mix a cup of natural yogurt with a clove of garlic and Herbes de Provence
Horseradish sauce: mix a cup of yogurt with 2 teaspoons of horseradish
Tomato sauce: mix half of the tomato paste with basil, oregano, pepper and a clove of garlic pressed through the press.
#4 Roasted chickpeas
Chickpeas can ideally replace chips or popcorn in the cinema. They are tasty, provide a lot of protein and fiber, and you can eat them without feeling guilty.
Ingredients
• 250 g dry chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil
• pinch of salt
• spices, for example, peppers
Directions:
Soak the chickpeas overnight, then cook until tender, do not cover the pot, in lightly salted water (approx. 1.5 h). You can replace dry chickpeas with chickpeas from a jar or from a can. Drain chickpeas, mix with oil and spices. Put on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes at 200 °C.
#5 Vegetable bread + hummus
Bread made of various vegetables is an alternative to traditional bread. It has fewer carbohydrates than regular bread, which is important for people who have problems with blood sugar levels and carbohydrate metabolism.
Vegetable bread with hummus is a delicious snack for a meeting with friends.
Ingredients:
• 7 medium eggs
• 1 full glass of grated vegetables (e.g., 1 zucchini and 2 carrots)
• half a glass of butter
• 1/3 cup of coconut flour
• 1/3 cup of linseed flour
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda, spices, e.g., basil
Directions:
Bread- grate the vegetables on a fine grater, drain off the juice well. In a bowl, use a mixer to obtain a loose, fluffy structure. Add dry ingredients, mix with a spoon, add vegetables and half pumpkin seeds. Mix thoroughly. Pour the mass into the mold 10×20 cm, sprinkle with the rest of the pumpkin seeds. Bake at 180ºC.
Hummus
Ingredients:
• 250 g of cooked chickpeas
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove
• 5 tablespoons of tahini paste
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
Directions:
Combine the chickpeas with a dozen spoons of cooking water so that the paste has a smooth consistency. Add lemon juice, garlic, a pinch of salt, tahini paste and olive oil. Mix it well.
#6 Chia crackers with sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and chia seeds
Those crackers are an excellent replacement for crackers available in the grocery store, which are salty and nutrient-free.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup chia seeds
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 glass sesame seeds
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 2 garlic cloves, pinch salt
- 1 glass of water, spices
Directions:
Mix water, garlic, and spices. Add the remaining ingredients. Wait a few minutes for the chia seeds to swell and the mass to thicken. Put the mass on the baking tray covered with baking paper, spread evenly to a height of approx. 5 mm. Put in the oven preheated to 160ºC for 20 minutes. Remove the baking tray, cut the cake into pieces and bake for another 40 minutes. Cool it down, store in a closed container.
#7 Homemade Nachos
Calorie- wise, Nachos prepared at home are not much different from what you can get in the store, but they are certainly healthier. That’s because you can control what you add to them. Plus, homemade nachos are cheaper.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of corn flour
- 1/2 cup of wheat flour
- 200 ml hot water
- a teaspoon of sweet and hot pepper, oregano, garlic, a pinch of salt
Directions:
Mix the flour and spices in a bowl with half of hot water. Knead the dough, gradually adding water to the compact mass. Put the dough on top, roll out the dough very thinly so that the nachos are crispy after baking. Cut into triangles. Put on a baking tray and bake for 8 minutes at 200 °C.
#8 Millet Muffins
Muffins work very well as a second breakfast or lunch at school or work instead of a sandwich.
Ingredients:
- 200 g cooked millet
- 280 g mushrooms
- a glass of teff flakes
- 1-2 handfuls of fresh spinach
- 4 tablespoons of linseed
- 6 cloves of garlic,
- olives,
- favorite herbs and spices.
Directions:
Grind flaxseed. Peel and chop the garlic and mushrooms. Place all the ingredients in the bowl and mix them together. Put the mass into the muffin molds, put the olive on top and bake at 200 ° C.
#9 Tortillas in Lettuce
This tortilla can be prepared with any favorite fillings, for example with chicken, red beans, corn, and tomato. Instead of buying a tortilla with a suspiciously long shelf life, it is worth using lettuce leaves in which you can wrap the filling and get a healthy tortilla, for a light supper or a snack instead of a sandwich.
#10 Buckwheat Russian pancakes
Russian pancakes need yeast, so they require a bit more time and work to prepare, but their taste and fine consistency compensate for that inconvenience.
Russian pancakes can be eaten sweet, for example with jam or butter. Or for example with spinach, dried tomatoes, and salmon.
Ingredients:
- 100 g of flour
- 100 g of buckwheat flour
- 1 teaspoon of dried yeast
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
- 120 ml of warm milk
Directions:
Put flour, yeast, and sugar in a bowl. Slowly pour warm milk, mix for a moment to combine the ingredients. Cover with a cloth and set aside for an hour in a warm place. After that time, fry pancakes (1 serving – 1 tbsp) on a hot pan smeared with coconut oil on both sides until golden brown.
#11 Flapjack
Homemade chocolate bars are much healthier than store ones, who only pretend to be a healthy snack. The homemade candy bar is delicious, filling and does not have refined sugar. It can be a snack for a second breakfast or an afternoon snack.
Ingredients:
- 1 glass of buckwheat
- 2 tablespoons of almonds
- 2 tablespoons linseed
- half a cup of sunflower seeds
- 10 dates (soaked)
- 5 prunes
- 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
- 1 -2 tablespoons of honey
Directions:
Chop almonds, dates and plums. Mix all ingredients thoroughly until they stick together well. Put the mass on the baking tray covered with baking paper, knead it neatly and align it with a spoon. Bake at 160 ° C for approx. 20 minutes until the mixture is brown. Cut into bars after cooling.
#12 Date Pralines
They are a healthy alternative to cookies from a store. They are also a great sweet addition to a morning coffee.
Ingredients:
- 100 g of dates
- 100 g of hazelnuts
- 5 tablespoons of peanut butter
Directions:
Grind nuts to into flour. Add dates and peanut butter. Use a blender to mix everything. Hand-mold the balls and put in the fridge. Serve chilled.
#13 Oatmeal cookies.
Oatmeal with added amaranth not only taste good but also provide iron and calcium. This is a healthy sweet snack.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of expanded amaranth
- 3/4 cup of oatmeal
- 5 tablespoons of oatmeal
- 2 heaped tablespoons of coconut oil
- 1/2 cups of mixed dried fruit
- 2 tablespoons of chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons of sunflower seeds
- 4 tablespoons of honey
- a pinch of baking powder
Directions:
Melt coconut oil over low heat, cool slightly. Cover all ingredients with a homogeneous mass. Piece the walnut dough pieces on a baking tray and lightly flatten. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 160 ° C.
#14 Cookies with poppy seeds and sesame
This is another example of healthy sweets that provide something more than just empty calories. Those cookies have fiber, vitamins B, magnesium, iron, and zinc.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 glass of spelt flour
- 200 g oatmeal
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons of honey
- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
- 50 g of sesame seeds
- 3 tablespoons of poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
Directions:
Sift the flour, add the remaining ingredients, grate with a mixer on a smooth dough. Form balls put on a baking tray lined with baking paper and lightly flatten. Bake for about 10 minutes at 170 ° C. Let it cool. Store in a tightly closed container.
#15 Flourless Carrot Cake
Cake can be easily prepared without flour and a large amount of oil. This is a sweet, spicy pleasure that works best as a snack accompanied by afternoon tea.
Ingredients:
- 0.5 kg of finely grated carrots
- 150 grams of oatmeal flakes
- 4 eggs
- a pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil
- 2 tablespoons of stevia
- a teaspoon of baking powder
- a teaspoon of cinnamon and ginger
- 4-5 tablespoons of dried fruit
Directions:
Grate carrots on a fine grater. Grind oatmeal chopped dried fruit. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks and then whip the whites, add a pinch of salt, into a stiff foam. Pour in the yolks and mix them together. Add the grated carrot to the finished mass and mix gently. Gradually add oil. Then add baking powder and spices, mix at low speed. Add dried fruit. Pour the dough into a mold and put in a preheated oven. Bake for an hour at 180 ° C.
#16 Homemade Ice Cream
You can prepare your own ice cream at home in many different variants, depending on what you have around your house. No sugar and no chemicals should encourage you to make ice cream yourself.
Cream Ice Cream
Cut bananas into slices about 1 cm thick and put in the freezer (on a tray or in a bag). Mix bananas at the highest level the next day.
Strawberry Ice Cream
Blend strawberries (300 g) with Greek yogurt (400 g) and add a tablespoon of honey. Freeze for 1.5 hours.
Chocolate Ice Cream with Cinnamon
Mix 700g of yogurt with 4 tablespoons of cocoa and add half a teaspoon of cinnamon. Blanch and freeze for 1.5 h.