5 Quick and Healthy Snack Ideas

Hi everybody!
In early January, I did a post on '5 Quick and Healthy Breakfast Ideas'.
Today, I will be doing somewhat of a continuation from that post. I will be doing 5 Quick and Healthy Snack Ideas as you can tell from the title above. All of this "eating healthy" started with my new year's resolutions for 2014 and my strong intentions to try and eat a lot healthier this year. I, along with the billions of people all around the world took 2014 as a fresh start with less junk food and sweets and more fresh fruits and greens. Breakfast was my first step at having a healthier diet but the next thing that I had to fix was my obsession with snacking.

I have met and know of so many people who love to snack unhealthily and that sounds like a serious problem that we share and should probably turn to professional help but do not push the panic button just yet, as I have found some really good, really healthy snacks for everyday. YES, you read it right, you can snack every single day without the guilt and without the extra calories.

I have searched for healthy snacks in the past and the majority of results shown were mainly humous and veggie dips. As I am not the biggest fan of celery and carrot sticks along side a humous dip, I decided to take a different approach. You might notice that most of the items listed below are to do with fruits as I find it much easier to snack with fruits than vegetables. Here are the 5 quick and healthy snacks that I have been loving for the past few months.


Minty Raspberry-Banana Smoothie

This smoothie is so delicious, incredibly fresh and recently I have been taking this on-the-go as my breakfast but I love it as a snack as well. It really does fill you up well if you are thinking of having it for breakfast as well because of the banana that is in it. I think this would be a great drink for the summer days as it is refreshing and hopefully will cool you down when it is really hot outside.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 medium cucumber, chopped
• 1 frozen banana
• 4-5 sprigs of fresh mint
• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• 1 cup ice cubes

Method:

1. Blend all ingredients together until smooth.

Frozen Yogurt Berries

This is one of my absolute favourites because I love berries and yogurt, but freezing them just makes it that much better. I don't have a solid recipe for it and I usually play by ear every time I do this but it always turns out perfectly fine so the amounts are added by appropriate proportions. A good idea is to make this in quite large batches during the weekend or when you get some free time and freeze them for the rest of the week when you are busy and need a good snack.

Ingredients:

• Vanilla Greek yogurt
• Honey
• Raspberries and strawberries

Method:

1. In a bowl, mix together the greek yogurt and honey.
2. Using a cocktail stick, dip the berries in the yogurt and coat it completely. Place on a baking sheet or a large platter
3. Freeze for a few hours.

Apple and Cabbage Salad

If you are looking for a good weekend-style snack then this one is perfect especially if you are having some mates over because it is incredibly easy to do this in larger quantities and shouldn't take too long to prepare. Now I know a 'salad' does not seem like the most inviting snack but I promise you this one is not your typical everyday salad. Also, this is really good if you are having a "detox day" as well. This might seem like a long list of ingredients but don't let that hold you back from creating this recipe as it is just a matter of mixing the ingredients together.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head Savoy cabbage
• 1/2 head red cabbage
• 1 Fuji apple
• 1/4 red onion
• 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
• 1/3 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

Method:

1. Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, thinly slice the cabbage, apple and red onion and transfer to a large bowl.
2. Add the walnuts and raisins. Toss gently to combine
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, cayenne pepper, greek yogurt, salt and fennel seeds.
4. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix until evenly dressed.

Homemade Trail Mix

I love these as it is really easy to pack up so you can take it to work, school or if anytime you are constantly on the go. Honestly, this is so delicious and you can mix it up with different types of nuts or dried fruit or add in more ingredients and have fun with it. This is a recipe where measurements are not exactly the most important element and you can really go for how much or little of an ingredient you would like depending on your preference. When I make this I usually tend to ratio out the ingredients by handfulls.

Ingredients:

• 14g whole almonds
• 7g unsalted dry roasted peanuts
• 7g dried cranberries
• 1 1/2 tsp chocolate chips

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

Chunky Peach Popsicles

Again, making this in large batches is a good idea and you will not regret doing so when you are having a busy week and need a snack to keep going. This is probably one of the healthiest popsicle out there but it tastes just as good as one that you can get from ice cream vans but without the ridiculous amounts of sugar and artificial colouring.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 medium peaches, halved and pitted
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/4 cup sugar, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract

Method:

1. Coarsely chop peaches in a food processor. Transfer 1 cup of chunky leacher into a bowl. Add lemon juice, orange juice and sugar to taste to the rest of the peaches in the food processor and mix with vanilla extract.
2. Puree until smooth and then add it back into the bowl of chunky peaches.
3. Divide them into popsicle moulds or paper cups and freeze for about and hour. Add in popsicle sticks and continue to freeze for another hour or until completely firm.

These are more snack ideas that are pretty self-explanatory and straight forward. Plus, they take literally seconds to put together, perfect for last minute snacks.

1. Air popped corn
2. Hard boiled eggs
3. Almonds and sunflower seeds
4. Sliced apples
5. Orange slices
6. Frozen grapes
7. Broccoli florets and cherry tomatoes
8. Olives
9. Non-fat yogurt
10. Protein bars

I hope you have enjoyed this blog post and it has given you some ideas or inspiration to snack healthier and has helped you in your snack attack. Snacking isn't bad but snacking UNHEALTHILY can be one of the worst habits one can have. Please comment below if you would like to see more posts on healthy meals and healthy eating. Also, feel free to share any of your healthy snacks and don't forget to check out my other social media sites as well.

Have a great day all ! Xx

Twitter: @jessieashleyyy
Instagram: @fashion_jessie
Email: jessicashleyyy@gmail.com

Check out my 5 Quick and Healthy Breakfast Ideas: http://jessieash.blogspot.com/2014/01/5-quick-and-healthy-breakfast-ideas.html