HEALTHY SNACKING
Getting those mid morning hunger pangs, or suffering from afternoon slumps? You may find yourself reaching for something sweet or raiding the local convenience store. However, this can often result in a blood sugar roller coaster - yes you will get an initial burst of energy, but this will quickly result in a crash, and inevitably you’ll be reaching for another snack. When we snack smartly - we can avoid this roller coaster and instead feel fuller and energised for longer.
To snack smartly, you want to aim for a combo snack that includes protein, healthy fats, carbohydrates and fibre.
Check out my top tips and snack inspiration below.
Hazelnut Energy Balls and Cashew + Ginger Energy Balls
Apple slices with peanut butter
Rice cakes with cashew butter and banana, and hummus and tomato
Rice Cakes
There are lots of rice cake varieties, personally I would recommend a plain wholegrain rice cake as you can add flavour and texture with the toppings. Wanting something sweet? Add a layer of nut butter (I’ve used cashew), thin slices of banana, a sprinkle of cinnamon and some grated dark chocolate (use a fine grater). Or prefer a savoury option? Add a layer of hummus, sliced tomato or cucumber and top with cracked black pepper.
Other toppings could include:
Smashed avocado, toasted seeds and chilli flakes
Almond butter, berries and flaked almonds
Greek yogurt, sliced strawberries and a drizzle of honey
Crudités and dips
Slices of vegetables and fruit with a dip provide another versatile hanger solution. Plus they require very little input, for the most part less than a minute of prep. If I need an afternoon boost, I will go for a sweet option of apple with peanut butter. This is a great example of a balanced and nutritious snack - providing healthy fats and protein from the peanut butter and carbohydrates and fibre from the apple. Whereas, if I’m wanting something a little lighter I would go for vegetable sticks (e.g. peppers, cucumber, carrot and sugar snap peas) with hummus. Get an extra protein boost and get ready to beat those hunger pangs, by preparing a big batch of our edamame bean hummus.
Energy Balls
I couldn’t really write a blog post on snacks without referring to energy balls now could I? These small bites pack a lot of punch with the dates giving you the boost you need. Go for recipes that contain protein (e.g. chia seeds), a healthy fat (e.g. nut butter) and carbohydrates and fibre (e.g. oats, nuts and seeds) - this will help you feel fuller for longer and avoid that dreaded crash. Make a batch at the weekend and store in the fridge (up to 2 weeks) or the freezer (up to 3 months). Personally I like to keep mine in the freezer. I take one out before the hunger is likely to strike (roughly 30 minutes), giving them a slightly firmer texture. They are a great snack-to-go option, as well as pre-workout snack if you don’t fancy something too heavy first thing if you’re joining one of our morning classes.
There are lots of recipes for Energy Balls on Balanced Life Blog, check out some of my favourites below.
Homemade Cereal Bars
Supermarket cereal bars are often marketed as a healthy snack option. However, this is not always the case with many bars containing high amounts of sugar. That’s why we encourage you to have a go at making your own. Our Oat Flapjacks contain a minimal amount of sugar, with natural sweetness provided by the bananas instead.
Granola
A favourite snack of mine is a mini bowl of granola with yogurt. Again, I would urge you to make your own granola, not only can you make it exactly to your liking (personally I love to add raisins to my granolas but understand not everyone is a fan), but you will also avoid the unnecessary sugars, again often found in supermarket brands. Again there are plenty of granola recipes on the website, but I recommend checking out the Cacao Crunch Granola (a retreat favourite) if you fancy something a little chocolatey or give my Nutty Granola a go.
