The Best Quick & Easy Snacks That Are Good for You

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Do you LOVE to snack? (Me too!) But wish you could find snacks that are better for you?

10 of the Best (& Tastiest) Snacks That Are Good for You

Today I’m sharing 10 of the best and healthiest snacks that taste so good I’m confident many of them will become your favourites, just like they have for me.

Plus, they’re so quick and easy you’ll manage to fit them into your day no matter how busy you are.

What is Snacking

Snacking is eating or drinking something between main meals. 

And, is a healthy part of a balanced diet, if your snacking includes mostly healthy and nutrient-dense foods — like fruit, veg, nuts, natural yoghurt and whole grains like oats.

Healthier snacks like these give us the fibre, protein and fat our body and mind need to be at their best and most energetic. They alleviate hunger, satisfy you, and keep your energy levels up until your next meal. 

However, if you mainly snack on highly processed, high calorie, and low nutrient foods — what we often call junk food or snack food such as crisps and dip, chocolate, biscuits and cakes — it can lead to energy crashes, weight gain and health problems. 

Low-nutrient snacks like these often contain added sugar, salt and fat. So they don’t give our bodies or minds what they need to be their best and most energetic. Plus they’re designed to make us want more even if we’re full.

So, if you think about this a bit more, when we eat highly processed food and then crave more, even though we’re not hungry, it’s not all our fault. 

In fact, many scientists are being paid a lot of money to ensure we crave these types of food!

The Benefits of Healthy Snacking

Now you know what healthy snacking is all about, here are some benefits:

1. A healthy snack between meals is a great way to keep your appetite under control — which can help you avoid being ravenously hungry at mealtimes which often leads to overeating, feelings of guilt and ordering a takeaway.
2. Eating snacks that are good for you helps to keep your energy levels more stable between meals. Reducing that 10 am and 3 pm “slump”, and helping you stay productive and focused (and finish your to-do list!).
3. A healthy snack between meals helps to reduce food cravings by preventing your energy levels from getting too low. Because, when your energy levels get low, your body craves something sweet to help refuel you, causing you to crave junk food. This also impacts how you feel — and significantly increases the chances of you experiencing low mood and feelings of irritation at yourself and others.
4. Eating two to three healthy snacks between meals can help increase your fat-burning capacity and your ability to manage your weight. (A few studies suggest eating protein-rich, high-fibre snacks can help you lose weight and keep it off.) 
5. Some research shows healthy snacking can decrease hunger levels and give you a greater feeling of fullness and satisfaction after eating — reducing overeating and cravings. 
6. Healthy snacks get extra nutrients into your diet — such as essential vitamins and minerals that enhance your health and vitality — including how you feel, think and look. 

The Best Quick & Easy Healthy Snacks

Although many packaged and convenient snack foods are available to us — for your health, wellbeing and energy — it’s best to choose nourishing whole-food snacks as much as possible.

An easy way to incorporate healthy snacks into your day is to be prepared. 

For example, having a list of go-to healthy snack ideas allows you to buy and prep what you need in advance. 

So, be sure to bookmark this page so you can come back to it in future.

10 Snacks That Are Good for You 

GO-TO HEALTHY SNACKS:

1. A banana or apple chopped up with peanut butter spread onto each slice.
2. One slice of wholemeal toast topped with peanut butter and sliced banana.
3. Mashed avocado on wholemeal toast plus a sprinkle of salt and pepper (plus chilli flakes if you like a bit of a kick).
4. A handful of berries (grapes, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries) and nuts (almonds, cashews, Brazils, pistachios). 
5. Chopped carrots and peppers with hummus. You can buy pre-chopped carrots to make this snack even quicker to prepare.
6. 2 or 3 oatcakes (check there’s no added sugar in the ingredients list), a slice of cheese and a handful of grapes. 
7. Greek yoghurt topped with berries or bananas. And if you’re feeling fancy, a teaspoon of chia or sunflower seeds. Plus a drizzle of honey, or my favourite — a sprinkle of cinnamon.
8. 1 or 2 boiled eggs and a piece of fruit such as an apple.
9. Lightly salted popcorn (rather than the sweet version).
10. A handful of dates cut in half and topped with peanut butter. These are particularly fantastic if you have a sweet craving.

Most of these snacks can be prepared in advance, so you can take them to work, when you’re out and about doing errands, and on long journeys. 

And most importantly, all of them are quick and easy to make.

Bonus Tip: Ensuring Your Snack is Good for You AND Satisfying

When you’re craving a snack, it’s worth asking yourself what you really fancy to ensure what you eat satisfies you — to prevent you from continuing to crave something to eat after your snack. 

Beating Your Cravings

With that said, you might want to consider these combinations of healthy snacks depending on what you’re craving:

• Craving something sweet? Grab some berries such as strawberries and grapes. Or, other sweet fruits such as bananas, mangos and pineapples. Or, try a square of dark chocolate.
• Craving something savoury or salty? Have a handful of nuts and seeds. Or, some nutter butter such as peanut butter on toast. Or, try a slice of cheese. 
• Craving something crunchy? Try carrot sticks with hummus. Or, a small handful of nuts and seeds, oatcakes or whole grain crackers, or an apple.
• Craving something creamy? Try natural or Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, or mashed avocado with salt and pepper. Or grab some hummus with vegetable sticks (carrots, cucumber, peppers) or oatcakes. 

Snacks That Are Good for You Are an Important Part of Your Diet 

For me, healthy snacks keep my energy levels steady and my mind and body sharp.

And, I find having a few healthy snacks between meals is a great way to curb mid-morning and afternoon food cravings. 

Plus it stops me from becoming ravenously hungry which can lead to me overeating at meal times. 

What about you? How do healthy snacks benefit you? And what healthy snack will you try next?

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like these: 

• 5 Simple Habits to Improve Your Health in 5 Minutes or Less (Free Health Guide)
• 10 of the Best Simple & Healthy Junk Food Swaps
• How to Stop Craving Sweet Things — the Mistakes We Make

Happy snacking:)

Becky x