Healthy Snack Time Favorites
Snacks help fuel people throughout the day and making healthy snacks can boost one’s energy throughout the day. Instead of loading your body with packaged stuff, prepare a number of these tasty homemade snacks and some store bought treats that are as healthy as well.
Energy Bars
Energy bars are an honest on-the-go snack but cost $1 or more apiece. Make your own for a fraction of the worth. Start with 2 cups rolled oats and 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut. Add one-half cup each of Dates, Raisins, Chocolate Chips, Seeds, and/or Nuts and blend.
Stir in 1.5 cups of Peanut or Almond Butter, 1 cup of Honey, and 1 teaspoon of Vanilla. Shape the mix into bars 1 inch thick. For a drier texture, bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Roasted Seeds
Roasted Pumpkin seeds are among the simplest and cheapest snacks. One pound of raw Pumpkin seeds, or Pepitas, costs but $6, and 1 ounce of cooked seeds has only 170 calories.
Mix 2 cups raw Pepitas with 2 teaspoons Olive Oil and 1 teaspoon Sea Salt. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Store the roasted seeds in an airtight container.
Pita Chips
Pita chips are a nice alternative to greasy Potato Chips and a good companion for Hummus or Salsa. Baking Pita Chips reduces fat and preservatives and keeps extra Pita Bread from going to waste. A 12-ounce bag produces two cookie sheets full of chips for about 60 cents less than the cost of a 7.3-ounce bag of Pita Chips from the store.
Slice the Pitas into smaller pieces, toss with 2 tablespoons Olive Oil, sprinkle with Sea Salt, and bake on a foil-lined baking sheet at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Add spices like Rosemary or Garlic for extra flavor.
Baked Fruit or Veggie Chips
For a crispy and nutritious snack, thinly slice and bake Apples, Strawberries, Zucchini, or Sweet Potatoes. Lightly oil a rimmed baking pan, distribute the slices during a single layer, and season to taste. Bake the chips at 225 degrees for several hours to dry out and crisp up.
Ice Pops
Frozen treats are an ideal thanks and a nice way to enjoy a sweet “cheat”. Ice Pops are very low calorie. They’re also easy to make. Use Fruit crushed (fresh or very low sugar), Yogurt, or flavored Water, then pour into an Ice Pop Mold, add in layers of Fruit, and freeze.
Air-Popped Popcorn
Popcorn is one of the healthiest, cheapest foods you can eat, as long as you make it at home, instead of buying the “bagged” microwave Popcorn. Whole-Grain Popcorn has a lot of fiber; three cups of Popcorn contain 3.5 grams of Fiber.
Popcorn works well as a late afternoon or evening snack, and it makes you feel full. Popcorn also has a high amount of Antioxidants, which help you fight off sickness and cancer. Best of all, you can buy a pound of this healthy, tasty snack for less than $2.
You can get the most benefits from Popcorn if you pop it at home. Don’t worry, you don’t need a fancy Popcorn Popper to make Popcorn. Just pour 1/4 cup of Popcorn into a brown paper lunch sack, roll up the opening, and then pop it in the microwave.
Once the popcorn has stopped popping, take it out and drizzle it with Olive Oil and a bit of Sea Salt. It’s delicious, cheap, and healthy! You can also drizzle your Popcorn with Cayenne Pepper for a kick, or add Maple Syrup if you like sweet-tasting Popcorn.
Pickled Vegetables
What do Cucumber Pickles, pickled Green Beans, and pickled Cauliflower have in common? They have low calorie counts and they won’t break your budget, especially if you can them yourself at home.
These Vegetables also have Iron, Vitamin A, and Potassium. Pickled Vegetables make a wonderful snack. They go even further if you pair them with a few whole-grain Crackers with cheese.
Healthy Pancakes
Pancakes don’t usually fall into the “healthy” category, unless you add Vegetables. Before you try to stomach the idea of eating Vegetable Pancakes, it helps to stop thinking of them as a breakfast food.
Pancakes can make a wonderful, healthy afternoon snack. And you can make Pancakes quickly, especially if you make them on the weekend and freeze them for the week ahead.
Add fresh chopped Spinach or frozen, drained Spinach to your regular Pancake recipe. You can also add Scallions, Cumin, Cayenne Pepper, and most other seasonings to flavor your Pancakes. If you have any whole Wheat Flour or ground Flaxseed on hand, they make your pancakes even healthier as well.
Almost everyone struggles with the temptation to snack on unhealthy food. You’ve probably heard it before, but choosing not to buy unhealthy snack foods goes a long way in keeping yourself healthy. That way, when a craving strikes, you won’t have any junk food in the house. Whenever you’ll , attempt to choose a healthy and frugal option first, before you open a bag of cookies or chips.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
