One thing you should know about me is that I’m a huge snack advocate. I am a “can’t go more than 2-3 hours without eating” type of gal. I get real hangry otherwise and have no plans to give up this habit anytime soon.
I think that incorporating more healthy snacking throughout my day really helps me to not get too hungry and overeat at meal times. It also gives me some sustainable energy to be able to keep up with my routine as a work-from-home Mom and juggle my freelance work while chasing after my 11-month-old.
Over the years, I’ve developed some go-to healthy snack favorites that are super easy and quick to prepare. I know sometimes all it takes is a little inspiration from someone else to be motivated to eat healthier or get some new fun food ideas to try out.
I think that a lot of these ideas are foods that kids would love too! Little Miss is turning 1 in a few weeks so she doesn’t have quite enough teeth to eat some of these, but she does enjoy when I share a few of these with her.
After putting this list together and seeing all of my favorite snacks in one place, I’m realizing I have a tiny obsession with peanut butter. Oh well… there are worse addictions, right? 😉
Here are my 20 favorite easy & healthy snack ideas:
- Greek yogurt with blueberries or cut up strawberries mixed in. Sometimes I like to mix in both and have myself a “patriotic” parfait 🙂
- Baby carrots, celery, or cucumbers with hummus
- Air popped popcorn
- Apple slices with natural peanut butter
- String cheese with a few whole grain crackers
- A green smoothie with frozen strawberries and pineapples, spinach, chia seeds, a splash of OJ, and some water
- Ants on a log – celery spread with peanut butter with a few raisins on top
- Cottage cheese with peach slices or pineapple
- Apple slices with a slice of cheese
- 1 cup grapes and a small handful of raw almonds
- A banana and 1/2 of a granola bar (usually when I’m grabbing something easy to eat in the car while running errands)
- Edamame
- Whole wheat toast with peanut butter spread on top (I sometimes even add sliced strawberries)
- Strawberries spread with goat cheese
- Roasted cashews and a pear
- Trail mix – I love a mix of dried cranberries, almonds, cashews, and mini chocolate chips
- Double chocolate almond milk smoothie – blend dark chocolate almond milk with a frozen banana, a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder, and a splash of vanilla extract
- Unsweetened apple sauce with cinnamon
- Multigrain tortilla chips with black bean salsa – not the healthiest, but a much healthier alternative when you’re in the mood for chips or other junk food
- Oatmeal with a bit of peanut butter, chia seeds, and the littlest bit of brown sugar mixed in
What are some of your favorite easy and healthy snack ideas that you enjoy munching on?
We are so alike. I eat constantly and if I don’t, my stomach is growling and I get moody. Or moodier.
I eat many of the same snacks (not anything with dairy though). I’m also obsessed with peanut butter. Oh She Glows has a recipe for homemade vegan Reese’s cups and it is my guilty pleasure that I rationalize as semi health food because … It has peanut butter!
You are my kind of people ;). I get SO irritable when I’m even slightly hungry.
I love Oh She Glows! I think I saw that one but didn’t think twice about it, now that you have a rave review I will have to try that one out! Thanks for sharing!
We love snacks too! If I don’t have a snack, I end up eating luck at 10 and dinner at 3:30, haha.
Unfortunately, my son has a severe allergy to dairy, so we keep a lot of fruit, nuts, and hard boiled eggs on hand for snacks throughout the day. My kids also love chips and salsa so much that I buy the salsa in those big half gallon containers.
Haha I’d be the same way. Plus just really unpleasant to be around. I’m like a 3 year old in that regard ;).
Probably best to avoid too much dairy anyway. I am a huge dairy lover and when I had to avoid it for a few weeks early on in breastfeeding because we thought Little Miss was intolerant, I lost a ton of weight!
I’m a big snacker too. If I don’t eat regularly, I tend to get grouchy, plus I feel awful — just sluggish and blah. Lately, I’ve been making homemade granola that I usually eat with strawberries and plain yoghurt. I also tend to snack on granola bars or fresh fruit. I mixed up a batch of fruit salad over the weekend with some lime juice added in, yum!
Yum, I love granola! I’ve made homemade chewy granola bars before, but never just plain granola. I should try that soon, along with the lime juice on fruit salad. My husband could eat limes whole so I think he’d enjoy that too. Thanks for the great snack inspiration 🙂
I’m a huge snacker, as well! My go-to’s lately have been Lara Bars, trail mix from Costco (definitely not healthy…it’s peanuts, cashews, raisins and M&Ms haha), frozen grapes, bananas and veggie pastas (I guess this is more of a lunch…).
I usually snack all day rather eat three main meals! Thanks for these ideas!
Haha I enjoy M&Ms (or at least SOME kind of chocolate) in my trail mix too. I know you have a big sweet tooth like I do, so it seems like a good compromise of a treat to me!
I’ve been snacking all day instead of eating actual meals too. Mostly because I don’t like to be rushed when I eat a meal and Little Miss has been keeping me on my toes lately. It’s been really good for my waistline though! 😉
Ask Robin what her favorite snacks are, double it, and that’s me! 😛
Seriously though, I love your snack ideas. One of my favorites is cottage cheese with peaches. And ANYTHING with peanut butter, especially bananas. Your posts are SO good, and now they’re delicious AND nutritious too! 😀
Haha, love it Kay!
Anything peanut butter always wins with me. I feel like one of my kids will probably end up with a peanut allergy or something just because it would be the universe’s way of really taking me out of my comfort zone. I have PB at LEAST once a day.
Now I’m hungry!
I think bananas are the perfect snack because you can just throw one in a bag and go!
Definitely! Little Miss loves them too so it’s something easy and healthy for me to share with her, which is always a bonus.
These are great suggestions! I often find myself snacking on terribly unhealthy options. Saving this post for later!
I like to snack unhealthily (is that an actual word or did I just make that up?) too at times. All in moderation, right?
Great ideas! I have SUCH a sweet tooth, but I’m trying to cut down on decadent desserts. My new after-dinner go-to is a bowl of frozen cherries with a bit of whipped cream. It reminded me of some of your ideas here, and it totally hits the spot.
I do too Taryn. The biggest sweet tooth ever. Yum! I love strawberries with whipped cream on them for a healthier dessert option, but have never tried with frozen cherries. That sounds so refreshing for summer, thanks for giving me a great idea!
My wife and I like to bring cut up fruit and veggies to work because it’s healthy and relatively easy to prep. I’ve definitely taken string cheese to work as well and I’m always looking for cheap, easy, and healthy snacks.
I love that you’re not too manly to take string cheese to work. Some of the guys I used to work with at an office would make fun of my string cheese and say it was a “kids’ snack”. It’s such an easy, healthy, and relatively cheap option though.
To be honest I’m not much of a snacker. I think it comes from having 2 kids who run me around all day so I just don’t have time, but when I do get the urge to snack I love air popped popcorn with a little dill and garlic salt…mmm…so good. I also love roasted chickpeas. I keep them in the fridge and they are soooo yummy. I just found an awesome recipe for salt and vinegar chickpeas that I am dying to try out!
That’s funny Elise, because I find myself snacking more than eating actual meals for that reason alone. It’s easier to me to eat a quick banana or something while running after Little Miss instead of sitting down for a real meal.
Mmm share that recipe when you have a chance, I’d love to try it out too!! 🙂
I’m definitely with you on needing to eat every few hours. I eat a large breakfast and lots of snacks during the day. I usually eat a pretty small dinner partly because I get out of work so late.
I’ve been eating frozen grapes as a snack lately. I have no idea why – I just like eating them when it’s hot outside! =)
Ooo, those are yummy too! My husband likes them in the freezer but I really like them in the fridge. Nice and crispy, so refreshing!
I’m a big snacker and usually eat 2-3 per day. I always try to include protein in my snacks because they keep me fuller longer. Lately, I’ve been loving watermelon and sliced almonds.
Agreed! Some type of protein or fat always tides me over longer. Mmm watermelon…I’ve been loving it lately too!
These are great ideas. I’m the same way, I need to snack often to make sure I avoid any hunger headaches and these seem amazing for the summer when weather is hot and light snacks are key!
Xx, Tiffany | http://www.sunshinedaydreamphotography.com
Thanks Tiffany!
Oh ya! My name is Jayleen and I’m a snacker;0) I’m known to eat lunch at 10:00am after going to the gym, then snacking the day away. I am gluten and dairy free as well as a vegetarian. That’s a whole lot to think about but I still find plenty to eat. Currently, I’m working on packing the protein in. I do that through protein smoothies with strawberries, hard boiled eggs, nuts, and … wait for it … peanut butter! A few tablespoons of peanut butter with a splattering of chocolate chips and I’m satisfied for hours … well, at least two;0)
Haha that’s my girl! I’m working on packing in more protein too. I’m not currently a vegetarian, but was for 7 years (stopped being one about 8 years ago). I still tend to have vegetarian tendencies though and go through periods of time where meat sort of grosses me out. Always looking for new ways to get protein in!
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