Lovely healthy snacks

Finding the right snacks when you’re on a diet/healthy lifestyle can be hard at first. One of the things I struggled the most with was the fact that every healthy snack idea on the internet was something that you had to bake, a lot of ingredients were quite expensive and a lot of it contained coconut (and unfortunately, I am not a fan of coconut). I found that baking in a tiny oven with limited kitchen supplies is not as fun as ‘normal’ baking, especially when constantly being aware of the ridiculous price of the almond flour. Also, some recipes were quite time consuming, which is not what you’re looking for when you have a full-time job, and a lot must be kept in the fridge, which I don’t really have room for.

All of the snacks below however, were very doable for me and I find all of them very delicious. I don’t eat snacks that much, since I enjoy some heavier dishes as lunch, but when I do, these are my go to snacks!

1. Liezl Jayne’s Cocoa Balls

This recipe is from the blog of Liezl Jayne and I adore these little snacks! Because of the density, they really fill me up. Also, it was very quick and easy to make and they don’t take up much space, which is great. The last positive of these were that they stay good for quite a while. I made them on sunday and I still had leftovers the friday after that and they were still perfectly fine! I did not have the same ingredients at home as Liezl Jayne, which is why I wrote some ingredients with a /. The second one is the one I used.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a cup of protein powder (preferably chocolate flavored, but it is not necessary)
• 4 tbs of almond butter / 4 tbs of peanut butter
• 2 tbs of cocoa powder
• 2 tbs of maple syrup / 2 tbs of agave syrup
• A pinch of cinnamon
• A pinch of sea salt
• 1 tbs of coconut oil (this does not taste like coconut, so it’s fine with me).

How to make: You mix everything together, except the oil at first. Then you add the oil and make little balls of the mixture until there is no dough lets, which you place on a tin with greaseproof paper on top. Then you place the balls in the fridge for 30-60 minutes until they’re set. After, you can place them in an airtight container with a paper towel in it and keep them in the fridge or serve them right away. They are 40 kcal per ball and they contain 2.3 grams of protein, which is great for a fast snack.

2. A piece of fruit or vegetable

Like a banana when I feel hungry or grapes or cherries when I just want to eat. Carrots (especially the tiny ones), slices of cucumber or slices of bell pepper are also way up there with my favourite snacks. And have you ever tried to freeze grapes? It makes them much sweeter, so it’s an absolute treat that way!

3. Bombus RAW energy cocoa bar

I don’t know any bar that tastes this chocolaty, which I love. The bar is also very dense, which is why it can take a while to eat is. This gives you the feeling of a huge snack, while it isn’t.

4. Wholegrain round toast or crackers with pesto.

The combination of the slow carbohydrates from the round toast and the good fatty acids from the pesto makes this snack very filling, which is perfect for around 4 o’clock .

5. Cup of green tea with honey

Very often, when starting a healthy lifestyle, you are more hungry than after a few weeks. One of the reasons for this is the sudden decrease of sugar intake, sugar which your body got addicted to. The feeling of hunger is in this case not as much ‘real’ hunger, as well sugar cravings. It can also be a sign of slight dehydration, because when your metabolism speeds up, you also loose more water, especially when you also start to exercise. To tackle both of these causes of the hunger feeling, a cup of tea with honey will work. The lack of hydration will be helped by the tea and by creation a slight sugar spike with honey, you might just get through until dinner.

6. A handful of nuts

And no, I don’t mean chocolate or salt covered nuts. I usually go for something called ‘student mix’, but most nuts will do. I can really recommend almonds, pistachio, walnuts, cashew and pecan as being the most healthy, but most nuts provide you with a good mixture of healthy fatty acids and other beneficial nutrients. The only downside of this snack is the calories, so be mindful that you only take a handful, not the entire package!

7. Calvé Pindakaas reep

Unfortunately, this one is for Dutchies only, since I don’t think this brand sells anywhere else, but when you are in a Dutch supermarket: look for these Calvé Pindakaas (peanut butter) bars. They are delicious, they keep me full for about 2/3 hours, they taste like real peanut butter and they only contain 190 calories per bar (which is in my line of eating a perfect snack). With the peanuts in there, they are also a good source of healthy fats. They contain 7.7 grams of protein per bar, and since my biggest struggle is to get enough protein in my diet, I love this as an addition to my diet.

Want to know more about how I choose my foods? Please read ‘The Happy Brain diet‘ for an overview of the guideline I use to keep myself happy and healthy.

These are they healthy, quick snack ideas I have for you now. I hope you enjoyed this article. Do you have any recipes you’d like to share? Please leave them in the comments below!

Lots of love,

Lisa