Sharing 25 healthy snack ideas, including sweet and savory options. Most of these snacks are balanced with carbs and protein to help you feel full and energized. There’s something for everyone!
Do you find yourself feeling hungry between meals? Do you find yourself so hungry at meals, that you end up overeating? A snack could help.
Not everyone needs a snack between meals, but for some people, eating smaller meals with snacks in between can help manage hunger and keep energy levels elevated throughout the day.
For a healthy snack, try pairing a high fiber, complex carbohydrate with some protein. This helps regulate blood sugars and promotes satiety, while providing healthy nutrients!
Here are some healthy snack ideas to get you started:
- High fiber crackers with cheese or peanut butter
- 1 slice whole grain or sprouted grain toast with nut or seed butter
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt with fruit (try 1 cup of berries or 1 small banana, mashed)
- ¼ cup nuts or seeds (try dry roasted, unsalted for more flavor)
- Fruit with a small handful of nuts
- Fruit with a small piece of cheese
- Homemade granola bars (try these no-bake walnut granola bars)
- ¼ cup mixed nuts and dried fruits
- 1 date stuffed with nut butter (you can add shredded coconut or a few dark chocolate chips)
- Apple with nut butter, shredded coconut and chocolate
- Sugar-free muffins with nut or seed butter (try these banana bran muffins for a high fiber, low sugar option)
- Crackers and hummus
- Vegetables and hummus
- Cottage cheese with berries
- 3 cups air popped corn with a small amount of margarine or butter (add nutritional yeast or spices for flavor!)
- Breakfast cookie
- ½ cup high-fiber cereal with milk (try unsweetened soy milk for a low-sugar, high protein option)
- Roasted chickpeas (try different flavors!)
- Rice cakes with nut or seed butter or with avocado and hemp hearts
- Larabars (great if you want a healthier snack on the road)
- Hard boiled egg
- Small smoothie (try a half portion of this chocolate smoothie or this berry smoothie)
- 1 slice sugar-free banana bread with nut or seed butter
- Energy bite (try these cookie dough bites)
- Chia pudding with berries
Do you need a bedtime snack?
There’s this myth that eating in the evening can lead to weight gain. While this may be true if you tend to eat treats, it doesn’t need to be true if you opt for a light, healthy snack.
If you don’t feel hungry in the evening, don’t force yourself to eat. Otherwise, if you have a lighter, earlier dinner, a snack before bed can prevent you from waking up hungry during the night and disrupt sleep.
Listen to your body. If you feel hungry before bed and you don’t overeat during the day, a healthy bedtime snack should not lead to weight gain.
What are your favorite snacks?
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