10 inspiring healthy snack ideas
My favorite thing to make these days are fun, exciting sweet and savory snacks. Here's where I find that creativity and flavor really come together to pack a punch of sweetness in our day. Here are some of the ones that top our list:
1. Roasted chickpeas: We love throwing a pan of chickpeas in the oven with a teaspoon of olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, a bit of salt and paprika. So crispy and flavorful.
2. Chia seed puddings: These are so addictive. The best flavor combinations I've discovered are mango coconut, peanut butter and jam, and the classic chocolate chia seed pudding.
3. Smoothie bowls: Smoothie bowls are so colorful and fun to create. You make a smoothie except a bit thicker than one you'd drink and add all your favorite health toppings (my little one loves adding cut up bananas and "sprinkles" aka hemp hearts to his).
4. Cookies, muffins, energy balls and granola bars, made with natural sweeteners: My son and I often crave these little thumbprint cookies made up of mashed up bananas, oats, cinnamon and chia seeds with raspberry jam. But when it comes to granola bars, we are in love with the peanut butter quinoa protein bars featured in the cookbook "It all begins with food" as well as these new mama glow bars which can please everyone ofcourse (http://ohsheglows.com/2016/09/26/new-mama-glo-bars-lactation-friendly-nut-free/)
5. Veggies with homemade hummus: Nothing better than a delicious homemade hummus
6. Nut or seed butter with absolutely anything (cut up fruit, tortilla, etc.): The newest one we've tried and have gotten addicted to is cashew butter (I haven't made my own but you could if you have a good food processor)
7. Homemade granola with Greek yogurt: There's nothing that feels more like home to me than homemade granola.
8. Overnight oats: The truth is that these are often considered a breakfast food. Prepare it the night before, ready in the morning to devour on your way to work. But whose to say they can't be a satisfying afternoon snack as well? Some of our favorites right now are Angela Liddon's Easy Vegan Overnight Oats (http://ohsheglows.com/2010/04/08/easy-vegan-overnight-oats/) and another version I found using plain yogurt, mashed up bananas, oats, berries and a bit of maple syrup.
9. Easy to make Fruit Popsicles: Turn any smoothie or smoothie bowl into a satisfying Popsicle.
10. Sugar-free dried fruit: I've only tried making dried fruit a few times but both times were a great success - I made dried apples and another time it was stone fruit (peaches, plums and apricots). Typically you cook them with a pan (with parchment paper) on top of a wire rack at 200 F for about 4 hours. It's a long process but they taste great and can be stored in a container for 10-14 days. For the apples, cut the cooking time in half and add some lemon juice on top. These recipes come from an amazing little cookbook called "Little bites: 100 healthy, kid-friendly snacks" by Christine Chitnis and Sarah Waldman.
