Easy & Healthy Snack Ideas That You’ll Love!

Easy & Healthy Snack Ideas That You’ll Love!

EASY HEALTHY SNACK IDEAS

Healthy snacks that you’ll love

I just uploaded a new video to my YouTube channel, where I’ve shared a whole lot of healthy snack ideas!

I started out this video by sharing some of my basic go-to healthy snacks, and then I also shared some more DIY snack recipes that I love to make – these ones are great to make and keep on hand for easy snacking.

I’ve typed up all of these recipes for you below, but make sure that you also check out my video!

I hope that you love these snack ideas as much as I do! XO

Liezl Jayne



SNACK IDEA #1

Classic fruit and nuts

Having fruit and nuts for a snack is so simple, and is a great go-to snack. It’s so easy to grab a piece of fruit and a handful of nuts as a healthy snack, even if you’re busy! What’s also so great about this snack, is that with it you’ll be getting good whole carbs, good protein and some healthy fats too (all the 3 food groups).

There are so many great combinations that you can make with just fruit and nuts. As a rough guideline, I like to stick to a fruit and nut snack of 200 calories – this is easy to work out quickly, and will provide a good amount of calories for a snack. Using this guideline, I’ll have roughly 100 calories of fruit as well as 100 calories of nuts.


GO-TO COMBOS

Here are some combinations that I love, with some basic calorie guidelines for you to follow. Here each portion of fruit is 100 calories, and each portion of nuts is also 100 calories.

Each fruit and nut combination listed here is roughly 200 calories:

1 banana (medium) + 8 raw walnuts

1 banana (medium) + 14 raw almonds

1 sliced banana (medium) + 1 Tablespoon unsweetened peanut butter

1 and 1/2 medium apples + 1 Tablespoon unsweetened almond butter

1 and 1/2 medium apples + 3 raw Brazil nuts

Fresh blueberries (1 and 1/3 cup) + 10 raw cashew nuts

2 clementines + 14 raw almonds

1 and 1/2 oranges + 14 raw almonds

Strawberries (2 cups sliced) + 10 raw pecan nuts

Strawberries (2 cups sliced) + 25 raw pistachio nuts


roughly 200 calories per fruit and nut combo



SNACK IDEA #2

Avocado toast

Avocado toast is another great go-to snack for if you’re feeling for something savoury or salty.

1 slice of bread is generally roughly 100 calories per slice (you will have to double check the nutritional information on the brand you purchase, as some brands differ), and 1/3 of an avocado is about 100 calories. Therefore, 1 slice of bread (toasted) with 1/3 of an avocado on top will give you a perfectly healthy snack of 200 calories (an ideal sized snack!).

I like to use either 100% whole rye bread (brand Mestemacher) or my own gluten-free bread that I make at home (try my fave oat and chia bread recipe, it’s super easy).

I often just do avocado toast with sea salt and black pepper on top (super simple) – or if I’m feeling for something a little bit different, then I will add some strawberry slices and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar on top.


RECIPE

-1 slice whole rye or gluten-free bread

-1/3 avocado

-pinch sea salt

-pinch black pepper

-optional: fresh strawberry slices

-optional: 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

METHOD

-toast the bread (obviously)

-smash or slice the avocado

-optional: add some fresh strawberry slices on top

-add sea salt and black pepper to taste

-add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar (1/2 teaspoon

-eat and enjoy!

(roughly 200 calories, depending on bread used)



SNACK IDEA #3

Easy banana, coffee and almond smoothie

This is a great snack smoothie, and it’s also great as a pre- or post-workout snack!

You can easily double the banana used to make a larger quantity, or to make the smoothie thicker. You can also use plain water if you don’t like coffee, that works too.


RECIPE

-1 or 2 medium frozen bananas

-1 Tablespoon unsweetened almond butter

-1/2 cup black brewed coffee (or 1/2 cup water)

METHOD

-blend the frozen banana, almond butter and brewed coffee together

-serve chilled, drink and enjoy!

(roughly 200 calories with 1 banana used, 300 calories with 2 bananas used)



ANOTHER FUN IDEA

Frozen smoothie bites

Another quick fun idea is to freeze any leftover smoothie in an ice-cube tray!

You can either just re-blend those frozen smoothie cubes another time (for an even easier-to-make smoothie), or you can snack on one frozen smoothie bite at a time! This is great if you just want one bite of something sweet after a meal.



SNACK IDEA #4

Healthy Nutella-for-one

I am so obsessed with this easy recipe, it’s such a great healthy way to get your chocolate fix!

This easy recipe is also full of good protein, fibre and antioxidants – and can be eaten any way that regular Nutella would be eaten. Here is the recipe, and some of my favorite ways to enjoy it!

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

-serve healthy Nutella on a slice of gluten-free toast

-dip raw almonds into the healthy Nutella (so random but yummy)

-dip strawberries into the healthy Nutella (think chocolate covered strawberries)

-add on top of your breakfast oatmeal

-eat with fresh banana slices (or frozen banana slices)


RECIPE

-1 Tablespoon unsweetened nut butter (almond, cashew, macadamia, hazelnut)

-1/2 teaspoon cacao powder

-1/2 to 1 teaspoon 100% pure maple syrup

METHOD

-mix all of the ingredients together until well blended, and enjoy!

(roughly 100 calories, without other food items)



SNACK IDEA #5

Apple peanut butter sandwiches

This is a fun new take on your classic apple peanut butter snack! You can either dip apple slices into peanut butter (which is also really good), or you can try this fun idea!


RECIPE

-1 medium to large apple

-1 Tablespoon unsweetened peanut butter

-optional: pinch of cinnamon

METHOD

-slice apple into rings

-core the apple rings (be careful with your knife)

-take 2 slices at a time, and spoon some peanut butter onto one of the slices

-sprinkle some cinnamon over the peanut butter (optional)

-place the second apple slice on top, and you have a cute apple peanut butter sandwich

-do the same with the remaining apple slices and peanut butter

-serve fresh, eat and enjoy!

(roughly 170-200 calories for this specified serving size)



SNACK IDEA #6

2 ingredient banana oatmeal cookies

These cookies are so easy to make, and are super healthy! I love to have these as a snack to take with me to work (I’ll grab 2 or 3 to take with me). You can also add other optional ingredients such as raw chopped almonds, chopped walnuts, raisins and cacao nibs (or even dark chocolate chips) to changes things up!

These are more healthy snack kind of cookies than super sweet treat cookies, but I love them for that! And – with a batch of 15 cookies, each cookie will be only 33 calories (without extra ingredients).

I have posted the full recipe for you here on my blog.

(roughly 33 calories per cookie, without additional ingredients)



SNACK IDEA #7

Peanut butter, coconut and oat bites

These are my current snack obsession, but this is an old recipe that I’ve had on my blog for years (since November 2014). These little healthy bites are an ideal snack that is filled with good whole carbs, good protein and some healthy fats too!

This is also my sister’s favorite healthy snack, out of all of the healthy snack or treat recipes that I’ve made for her!

The full recipe is typed up here on my blog.

Hope you love them as much as I do! XO

(roughly 110 calories per bite – serving size: 2 bites)



Photos and video by Liezl Jayne Strydom – for liezljayne.com