Oftentimes despite how good our diet is, it can be the snacks that we turn to that can let us down in terms of nutrition. With daily life busy and so many people eating on the go or time-poor, it can be easy to reach for convenience foods or packaged foods.
Having healthy snacks on hand at home means you have something to reach for when hunger strikes, or something simple and easy you can take with you on the go. Eating well and looking after ourselves generally comes down to being organised and managing time well. Setting aside a couple of hours each week to do some basic food preparation can go a long way!
Making your own snacks will also save you money in the long run, seeing as convenience foods can often be expensive. Of course, there is nothing as good as homemade either!
Try some of these simple recipes and enjoy having high quality snacks to fuel you through your day.
Beetroot and Mint Dip
It’s always good to have dips on hand at home. Keeping chopped up vegetables in the fridge or some homemade crackers makes for easy and tasty snacking.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups grated beetroot
- 2 cups of cashews soaked for 2-4 hours
- ½ cup coconut water
- 1 cup of mint leaves
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
Drain and rinse the cashews well
Place all the liquids at the bottom of your blender then cashews on top.
Blend all ingredients until completely smooth and creamy.
This dip will keep in a sealed jar in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Easy Baked Kale Chips
Kale chips are incredibly versatile and make a great snack, side dish or topping for soups, salads or burgers. You can flavour them with your favourite spices and they take little time to prepare when using the oven. Keep in mind this oven baked version doesn’t keep too well, so try and make enough for one serving.
Ingredients:
- ½ a large bunch of kale- around 10 large kale leaves, stems removed
- 2 teaspoons of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon of smoked paprika
- 1 ½ tablespoons of nutritional yeast
- A dash of cayenne pepper
Preheat your oven to 150 degrees.
Break the kale up roughly and place in a bowl. Add all remaining ingredients and with your hands, massage the kale with the oil, lemon, salt and spices.
Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread the kale out evenly.
Bake the kale for around 10 to 15 minutes or until crunchy. Do keep an eye on the oven so it doesn’t burn.
Allow to cool before eating.
Salted Carob and Ginger Bites
Bliss balls are a great staple to have the fridge for when hunger strikes or you are looking for something to satisfy your sweet tooth! Instead of turning to less-healthy options, making your own bliss balls means you can have a healthy treat ready for afternoon energy dips or to throw in your bag as you walk out the door.
Ingredients-
- 1 ½ flaked almonds
- ¾ cup of sunflower seeds
- ½ cup of coconut
- ¾ cup of soft dates
- 1 inch piece of ginger grated
- 3 tablespoons of carob powder
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- ½ a teaspoon of salt
- 2 tablespoons of tahini
- 1 tablespoon of coconut nectar
Method-
Place the almonds, sunflower seeds and coconut in a food processor and pulse until they break down to resemble a nut meal.
Add all the remaining ingredients and process until the mixture comes together into a sticky dough.
Roll the mixture into small balls and then roll them in coconut to coat them.
Keep the balls in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 weeks or so.
