Guilt-Free Snacking
Snacks to fit your goals, lifestyle, budget and tastes!
We all have a love-hate relationship with our snacks. Everyone gets peckish now and again, and we tend not to crave the healthy stuff when we do. On top of that, there’s countless products out there with outlandish health claims… so even when you think you’re having a healthy snack you may not be!
Everyone knows that vegetables are a great snack, from a quick bag of cherry tomatoes to carrot and celery sticks. But when hangry-o’clock hits we’re not generally thinking ‘mmm, celery’. So how do we find healthy snacks that fit our nutritional needs, work with our busy lifestyles and keep our tastebuds happy?
The Cereal Snacker
Whether you’re a night owl or just not fussed on a full breakfast, the right morning snack can set you up for the day.
My favourite breakfast snack is a boiled egg wrapped in wilted spinach leaves. It’s easy to meal prep, cheap and packed full of protein and nutrients. I like to roll the egg in spices before I wrap it for an extra kick. Fave flavours right now are turmeric and curry powder or ras el hanout (Moroccan spice) and a little honey.
For the granola lovers, a good breakfast bar is hard to find when you want it to tick the nutrition, price and taste boxes. Carman’s make a decent range of snack bars but my favourite for breakfast is the Super Berry bar. It’s low GI, low FODMAP and high in fibre. On top of that it’s inexpensive and makes a delicious quick breakfast. Find these at supermarkets or Carmans Kitchen.
The Fruity and Fabulous
Fruit is the snack nature prepacked for us! Almost every fruit ticks the nutrition and calorie boxes, but choosing the right fruit at the right time can maximise its usefulness to your body.
As an easy rule to remember, try high GI fruits around training time, including ripe banana, mango, figs, pineapple, pear and most dried fruit (dates, raisins and sultanas). Use lower GI fruits to boost your 3pm slump or as an after dinner substitute for desert. These include grapefruit, cherries, strawberries, apples and plums.
The Low Carber
A low carbohydrate menu can make it difficult to find nutrient and fibre rich snacks that don’t come laden with excessive sodium or nasty additives.
Snacking on nuts is great for healthy fats but avoid cashews as they have a higher carb count and remember nuts are high in calories, so limit it to a small handful.
Try adding Atkins bars to your ‘treats’ a few times a week. It will make you feel like you’re not depriving yourself (the bars emulate common confectionary bars), and they’re full of fibre to boot. Find these at most supermarkets or Atkins Australia.
The Nut Bag
Speaking of nuts, if you love your nuts but have a nasty habit of eating more than a handful (we’ve all done it), try diluting your nut mix with seeds, legumes and beans.
Sunflowers, pepitas and linseeds all contain a powerhouse of micronutrients and fibre, while keeping calories and fat content lower. You can also add in roasted chickpeas and fava beans for significantly less calories.
The Happy Snack Company offers snack size packs of fava beans and chickpeas in well-known flavours like bbq, pizza and lightly salted. These are a crunchy and delicious alternative to nuts, crackers and potato crisps. Find these at supermarkets or The Happy Snack Company.
The Sweet Tooth
So you crave the sweet stuff like cakes, muffins and chocolate? There’s a solution for that too.
Swapping milk or white chocolate for the darker stuff is better for your health and your waistline. The slightly more bitter taste will deter you from eating the whole block as well. Aim for +75% cacao chocolate. Madécasse is my favourite but any good quality chocolate is suitable. Find Madécasse chocolate at the James Street Nut Market.
Muffins, pancakes and cakes don’t have to be off the menu either. The Protein Bread Co makes a range of mixes specifically as a low GI, low sugar, high nutrient and high protein option. I can personally attest to these tasting amazing! The pancake and pizza base mixes are used in my kitchen at least twice a week for new and fun recipes. Find these at The Protein Bread Co.
The Wrap Up
It doesn’t matter how you like to snack. Personally I love a bag of mixed raw vegetables, but occasionally I’ll reach for some chocolate or a protein muffin without wanting the extra nasties in them. The key to staying interested and gaining the most nutrients from your snacks is to mix it up regularly and get adventurous.
Use your nutrition professional for individual guidelines and ideas, find what works for you and experiment with new ways to keep it fresh and fantastic.
Happy snacking!
