Most store-bought snacks are made with highly processed ingredients and are filled to the gills with carbs.
To make things easy, here's a list of more than 70 simple, yet super healthy, snacks for you and your family to enjoy.
Why you'll love this list
- It serves as a great resource for healthy snacks, made with real food ingredients.
- It will help you come up with simple sides when packing lunches.
- It's kid + hubby approved!
So you don't forget about certain options, keep a printed copy in your kitchen. You can use it as a reference and let your family help decide which snacks they want packed for the week.
Some quick tips
- Combining foods rich in protein, healthy fat (like nut butter and avocado) and fiber will help you feel fuller longer. Keep this in mind if you have a long day ahead or plan on being extremely active.
- Not only do chia seeds and flax meal have tons of health benefits, they help you feel full. Add them to snacks such as yogurt, cottage cheese or nut butter to help satisfy hunger pangs. If you're adding them to your family's snacks or sides, you may initially get some resistance. Start by adding a ½ tsp. and see if they even notice!
- Whole grain and starchy snacks are perfectly okay, but keep them to a minimum.
- Eating snacks throughout the day can prevent you from making poor choices at meal time and overindulging. Just remember, these are SNACKS, so help yourself to a snack-size portion. If you’re afraid you may overindulge, measure the proper portions out.
Fruits and vegetables
- Apple slices (good with cinnamon, nut butter and/or cottage cheese)
- Avocado (good with a dollop of Greek yogurt and cherry tomatoes or whole grain rice and soy sauce)
- Baked sweet potato or baked Sweet Potato "Coins" (good with cinnamon and butter or honey)
- Bananas (good with nut butter and crunchy cacao nibs). Bananas are high in carbs and sugar compared to most fruit.
- Berries: strawberries, blueberries and raspberries (good with plain regular/Greek yogurt or cottage cheese). If you're extra hungry, include ¼ cup of granola.
- Canned fruit (canned only in water or the fruit's natural juices; no added syrups)
- Cantaloupe
- Carrot sticks or cut into "chips" (good with Hummus, Vegetable Dip, Tzatziki Dipping Sauce or tapenade)
- Celery sticks (good with nut butter and currants or raisins)
- Cherries
- Cherry tomatoes (good with Hummus, Vegetable Dip, Tzatziki Dipping Sauce or tapenade)
- Clementines or oranges
- Cucumber slices (good with Hummus, Vegetable Dip, Tzatziki Dipping Sauce tapenade)
- Cucumber slices with smoked salmon
- Cucumber “minis” (coin sliced cucumbers with ham, mustard and Swiss sandwiched between and held together with a toothpick)
- Dried or dehydrated fruits or vegetables (make sure there is no added oil or sugar)
- Figs (good with goat cheese)
- Fruit salad skewers (on a toothpick)
- Grapes (grapes are high in sugar compared to most fruit)
- Grapefruit
- Honeydew melon (good with prosciutto)
- Kiwi
- Mango slices
- Mediterranean Cucumber Salad
- Nuts and Nibs Banana Split
- Olives
- Papaya
- Peaches (good with plain regular/Greek yogurt or cottage cheese)
- Pears
- Pineapple
- Plum
- Pomegranate seeds (good with plain regular/Greek yogurt or cottage cheese)
- Radishes
- Rainbow fruit or veggie skewers (arrange produce like a rainbow on a kabob stick or toothpick)
- Raw broccoli (good with Vegetable Dip)
- Raw sliced bell peppers (good with Hummus, Vegetable Dip, Guacamole, Tzatziki Diping Sauce or tapenade)
- Sliced tomatoes (good with chopped basil, small amount of mozzarella and pesto/balsamic or EVOO, salt and pepper, or feta and EVOO)
- Spaghetti squash (served cold; topped with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt, apple butter and a dash of cinnamon)
- Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes or Cucumber Coins
- Sugar snap peas (served cold)
- Unsweetened applesauce (good with cinnamon)
- Watermelon
Granola bars, nuts and seeds
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Granola bars
- Homemade Trail Mix
- Macadamias
- Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Snack Bites (No Bake + Can Be Made Into Bars)
- Pecans
- Pistachios
- Pumpkin seeds (Pepitas)
- Roasted chickpeas
- Sunflower seeds
- Walnuts
Dairy and eggs
- Overnight Chia Pudding with Fresh Berries (served cold in a thermos)
- Cheese cubes, slices or sticks (good with or without crackers)
- Cottage cheese (good flavored with honey, unsweetened apple butter or topped with fresh fruit)
- Cottage cheese snack combo (1/4 cup mixed with a Tablespoon of nut butter, flax meal and pure prune juice)
- Cottage cheese and plain regular/Greek yogurt 1:1 ratio (good topped with fresh fruit)
- Hard-boiled eggs (good topped with hot sauce)
- Deviled eggs made with Greek yogurt/avocado
- Plain regular/Greek yogurt (good flavored with honey or maple syrup and vanilla extract, topped with fresh fruit, pomegranate seeds, Berry Compote or Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Apples)
Meat and seafood
- Dill Chicken Salad
- Grilled Shrimp (leftover from the freezer and previously grilled)
- Jerky such as CHOMPS Grass Fed Beef Jerky Snack Sticks or Free Range Turkey Jerky Snack Sticks
- Meat and cheese roll-ups (ham, mustard, Swiss and spinach rolled and held together with a toothpick)
- Pecan Chicken Salad
- Tuna Fish
- Tuna Salad
- Turkey Spinach Meatballs (leftover from the freezer, served cold)
Whole grains and starchy snacks
- Cooked whole grain noodles (good with a little pesto or EVOO, salt and pepper)
- Healthy Baked Oatmeal (served cold, leftover from the freezer)
- Homemade corn tortilla triangles or Baked Tortilla Chips (good with Guacamole)
- Homemade Granola
- Muesli with milk (served cold in a thermos)
- Oatmeal (served warm in a thermos)
- Overnight Oats (served cold in a thermos, good topped with cinnamon and fresh fruit)
- Stovetop popcorn (topped with your favorite seasonings)
- Whole grain crackers (topped with cheese, nut butter and sliced strawberries or cottage cheese and 3-Ingredient Blueberry Jam combo)
- Made with whole grains and minimal salt, that’s IT!
- Our two favorites: 365 Woven Wheats Baked Crackers and Jilz Gluten Free Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt Crackerz
- Whole grain rice cakes (For a variety of topping ideas, check out A Few Deliciously Simple Ways to Top Your Rice Cakes on our blog.)
- Whole grain toast (topped with nut butter, honey or 3-Ingredient Blueberry Jam)
Other slightly random ideas
- Baked Beans (good topped with freshly shredded cheddar cheese, leftover from the freezer but served warm in a thermos)
- Homemade Refried Beans (served as a cold dip with raw vegetables)
- Low-Carb Blueberry Pancake Coins (good served plain or with yogurt mixed with honey or maple syrup and vanilla extract)
- Smoothies or smoothie pops (served in a thermos or popsicle mold)
- Mini muffins (baked in a mini muffin pan)
Just remember
- Eat snack-sized portions.
- Whole grain and starchy snacks are perfectly okay, but keep them to a minimum.
- This list also serves as a great resource for packed lunches!
- Consider laminating a copy and letting your family use dry erase markers to choose their weekly favorites.
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