30-Day Nutrition Challenge: 7 Inexpensive, Healthy Snacks

Hummus and Veggie Dippers

A super tasty, super healthy treat that’s quick to prepare and can be taken anywhere. Portion out 1/3 cup of your favorite hummus, or better yet make your own (stay tuned for our recipe coming this week). Chop up some carrots, cucumber, celery, broccoli or bell peppers into sticks. Dunk and enjoy. Plenty of vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein.

Homemade Trail Mix

What could be easier than adding nuts to dried fruit? Buy large bags of your favorite nuts and dried fruits. You get to pick exactly what goes into your trail mix. Go for no more than 50% dried fruit. Once you have made a giant batch of your own brand trail mix, portion it off into small ziplock bags ready to be grabbed and taken.

Berries and Greek Yoghurt

Admittedly this one is a little more expensive, depending on what brand of yoghurt you buy and which berries are in season in your area. When buying your yoghurt, check out the ingredients and nutritional value. Often the cheaper brands have more ingredients and less protein. A false economy in my opinion. Buy the brand name and eat smaller portions. You still get the same amount of nutritional content without the junk.

Apples and Peanut Butter

A nice fresh, crisp, organic Granny Smith apple cut into wedges with a little pot of peanut butter to dip them in … as simple as it gets, but tasty and nutritious. You can use other nut butters as well, such as almond or cashew.

Fruit Smoothie

A modern day classic. Be wary, though. Smoothies can be a fantastic snack or junk disguised as health food. If you order at a smoothie shop, be sure to check for any extra ingredients you might not want such as ice cream, sherbet, sugary sorbets or frozen yoghurt. If you blend your own, you have control over what goes in. A healthy smoothie should have a milk or juice base, fruits and maybe some vegetables and protein. Your protein could be whey, soy, pea, hemp, casein, egg….the list goes on. There is a powdered protein out there to fit any diet.

Vegetable Juice

I like to think of vegetable juice as a smoothie’s healthier cousin. Vegetables tend to have more essential minerals that our bodies need. Try this recipe for a super healthy and surprisingly filling snack. Vegetable juice will boost your energy and have you feeling great.

Salad

Salads can be very tasty, especially when you create them from scratch. Try whisking up one these dressing recipes and add to your favorite leaves. A general rule for picking your salad leaves is “the darker the better”. Go for dark green leaves like spinach, kale and romaine. They have more nutrients to offer than iceberg lettuce. Finally, chop up and add some cherry tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, walnuts, almonds or whatever else you like. Have fun creating your own unique salads.

There we go. A new snack for every day of the new week. Hopefully these will spice up your diet this week and keep you wanting more. Enjoy!

Image credit: hjillchen / 123RF Stock Photo