Our top ten healthy snacks
Working at home seems to mean eating me out of house and home as far as my children are concerned. So I have spent some time thinking about and planning ahead for snacks so that when they reach for food I am happy with what they are putting in their body and I am not worried that they will not eat their dinner because their snacks are just as nutrient rich.
The danger in snacking is that we reach for something fast and sugary. Carbohydrates are usually attractive and junk food is always a winner. The problem with snacking on carbs is that we get a blood sugar spike and then a drop shortly there after. When that drop hits we reach for more snacks, perpetuating a vicious cycle. The trick is to have prepared, healthy, protein rich snacks at the ready so when the snack attack hits you are ready. I have started going in to where all my family members are working with a snack in hand before they come to me. This makes it so much easier to stave off those cravings for junk food. I am not sure what yours are like but my family would rather eat the snack in front of them then have to sort one out themselves (providing it is tasty).
Here are some of the favourites that are keeping us fuelled through these lockdown days:
A banana with nut butter -- if you have not tried this you really must. Banana and nut butter is a North American classic sandwich filling but we do away with the bread and just spread the nut butter right on the banana bite by bite. Don't take my word for it, try it.
Homemade sweet potato hummus with crudities -- Adding the sweet potato adds extra fibre and nutrients to your hummus but it also gives it a silky smooth texture that we all love. After trying my sweet potato hummus my husband declared, "that was LOVELY, stop buying that store bought stuff." I have popped the recipe at the end of the post in case you are interested.
A green smoothie with a handful of your favourite nuts -- my children can be quite selective about which of my smoothies they will drink. They both like this one. The flavours are not too strong and it is a refreshing drink. (The recipe is at the end of the post) They will both eat almonds, walnuts, cashews and one will eat pecans and the other will eat Brazil nuts so I rotate those.
Rice cakes with nut or seed butter and avocado -- this is my new favourite snack. Those that know me well know that avocado has been a firm favourite for all of my life but add it on top of a rice cake already slathered with almond butter!? Whoa mama! Seriously delicious, creamy and so naughty tasting but so good for you.
Tofu lemon cream with fresh berries -- this rich flavourful treasure is desert worthy but if you have people with a sweet tooth that love lemons, let them try this on for size. The tofu is silky smooth, it is basically like lemon pudding. It is so easy to make, just blend tofu in a blender with lemon zest of one small lemon, 1/4 cup of lemon juice and 1/2 cup of honey. Tasty, high in protein and they will think they are eating desert.
The classic, celery with nut butter -- another classic that goes great with nut butter, celery. Fill in the dip with nut butter and if you are feeling fancy pop a few raisins along the top. Fun and tasty.
Fresh Fruit with a handful of nuts or seeds -- I usually stick to apples, oranges and berries in this one, this week it was melon. What ever fruit your child likes, pair it with some nuts or seeds (sunflower or pumpkin) to up the protein and presto you have a snack.
Boiled egg -- this lovely little number is perfect all on it's own sprinkled with a pinch of salt and pepper. Or slice it and pop it on some oat cakes with sliced tomato. Yum!
Stewed apple -- a few tablespoons of stewed apple with a couple tablespoons of yogurt and a sprinkling of granola make this snack desert worthy as well as great for your gut. The recipe I use for stewed apples is in this blog post.
Yogurt with mixed berries -- we always have full fat plain yogurt in the house. The flavoured varieties are often high in sugar and the low fat varieties are often full of fillers to make them thicker. We sweeten our yogurt with fruit. The kids like to put frozen berries in a bowl and have the yogurt freeze to them in the bowl before they tuck it. I like mine this way too but I also like to add a sprinkle of cinnamon.
I hope you found something interesting to try for snack time. If you have a favourite that is a hit with the whole family (or just with you) do get in touch and let me know. I am always looking for new snack ideas.
To wellness!
April
Sweet Potato Hummus
1 or 2 sweet potatoes (350-400g) peeled, chopped, steamed and cooled
1 can chick peas (400g) drained and rinsed
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 teaspoons fine mineral salt (sea salt)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Add all ingredients to a blender of food processor and blend until smooth. You may want to pause from time to time to scrap down the sides of your blender with a spatula before blending again. I blend mine for about 2 minutes on speed 4 of my thermomix with two breaks to scrape the sides.
Green Smoothie (makes 2 servings)
1 cup of kale, spring greens, collard, Swiss chard or spinach, packed tight
4 sprigs of parsley (stems and leaves)
4 sprigs of cilantro (stems and leaves)
1 medium apple cored and chopped
1 medium pear cored and chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup cold green tea
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup ice
Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth (high speed for one minute).