Snacking isn’t synonymous with unhealthy eating—it’s a good habit! Snacking can help manage your appetite between meals and provide additional calories and nutrients. However, choosing the healthiest options can be challenging. Discover our ideas and easy recipes for healthy and delicious snacks.
What is a snack?
A snack is a light meal consumed during the day, typically in the afternoon (between lunch and dinner), but it can also be enjoyed in the morning or late evening.
How important are snacks?
Snacks serve two main purposes: satisfying hunger between meals and maintaining energy levels over a while. When choosing snacks, it’s best to opt for products that promote satiety and are rich in nutrients and energy.
A healthy snack allows you to feel more satisfied between meals, provides sufficient calories and nutrients for your activities, and can even help you achieve your goals, such as weight loss, muscle gain, or stabilization.
Snacking is an opportunity to indulge yourself while maintaining a healthy diet. That’s why we’ve decided to share some ideas and recipes that cater to the whole family, your goals, and various activities.
How to create a healthy snack?
To create a healthy and balanced snack that provides energy and satiety, it’s a good idea to combine sources of carbohydrates (which provide quick energy and promote satiety, especially if they contain fiber) with proteins and/or fats (which help maintain the feeling of satiety).
Based on this principle, a healthy and complete snack could include:
- A slice of fresh fruit topped with almond or hazelnut spread.
- A mix of dehydrated fruits (grapes, cranberries, apricots, figs) and plain nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts).
- Homemade cereal bars or cookies.
- Greek-style yogurt or fromage blanc with flaky muesli.
- A small muffin or a slice of homemade cake (preferably made with fruit or nuts).
- For those who prefer savory snacks: a slice of wholemeal bread topped with avocado and sprouted seeds, or raw vegetables (carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, radishes) with hummus, and why not add a soft-boiled egg with seeded bread?
If you’re feeling slightly hungry or if the next meal is approaching, you can opt for a single food item, such as a piece of fruit, a yogurt, a handful of nuts, or a few cookies.
Our Healthy Snack Ideas
Healthy Snacking for Weight Loss
Snacking is often associated with unhealthy eating habits that can hinder weight management, but a healthy snack can aid weight loss. It’s important to pay attention to your hunger cues and avoid eating out of habit. If you feel hungry between meals (slight emptiness in the stomach) or lack energy, it’s an opportune moment to have a snack. Once your hunger subsides, you’ll feel satiated, and your activities can continue.
Making the right choices is essential, as weight loss requires a caloric deficit (consuming fewer calories than you expend). If you’re in this situation, opt for light snacks that prioritize both quality and quantity. Avoid products rich in “empty” calories (low in nutrients), such as sugary drinks, confectionery, and processed cakes. It’s also important to moderate the consumption of calorie-dense foods like nuts, which are nutrient-rich but high in energy.
A healthy snack can help you stay satiated until your next meal and aid in weight management. We recommend keeping a piece of fresh fruit on hand (it provides more satiety than dried fruit and offers fiber and numerous micronutrients), opting for a low-fat, protein-rich dairy product like fromage blanc or Greek yogurt, or enjoying raw vegetables without moderation.
Express Recipe: Small Bowl of Raw Vegetables with Protein-Rich Hummus
Ingredients:
- 75g cooked or canned chickpeas
- 2 tbsp fromage blanc
- ½ clove garlic
- juice of half a lemon
- 1 tsp golden sesame seeds
- salt and cumin
- plus your choice of raw vegetables (carrot sticks, celery, cucumber sticks, pink radishes, cherry tomatoes, etc.).
Preparation:
- Blend all hummus ingredients in a blender and season to taste.
- Serve the raw vegetables in a small salad bowl and enjoy chilled.
What Healthy Snacks for My Child?
Snack time is a real treat for children! Unfortunately, most store-bought cookies and snacks are high in sugar and fat, and some even contain additives. To provide your children with a healthy snack while still indulging their taste buds, we’ve come up with homemade ideas that offer them everything they need: energy (calories), protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and, of course, fun!
You can simply offer your child a piece of fruit and a dairy product as a snack. However, don’t forget that “gourmet” options like muffins, madeleines, pancakes, homemade cakes, or cereal bars can also be balanced alternatives.
Looking for a healthy cake for your children? Here’s a recipe for banana bread:
Ingredients (8 portions):
- 3 ripe bananas
- 100g unsweetened applesauce
- 2 eggs
- 50g wholemeal sugar
- 100g ground oats
- 100g wheat flour
- 1 packet of baking powder
- Optional: chocolate chips, crushed walnuts, raisins…
Preparation:
- Mash the bananas and mix them with the applesauce.
- Add the eggs and sugar, and beat until combined.
- Mix in the oats, flour, and baking powder until you have a smooth dough.
- Finally, add your preferred gourmet additions.
- Pour the mixture into a cake tin or muffin tin and bake at 180°C for 35 to 40 minutes.
Healthy Snacks to Have at Home
Consumer society bombards us with a wide variety of cookies (sweet and savory), cakes, and other sweets, making it seem like a healthy snack is impossible to find. In the face of all these temptations, it’s wiser to include fresh fruit, unsweetened dairy products, and a few nuts or whole-grain cereals in your weekly shopping list. These items can be used to create simple, healthy snacks, such as combining a dairy product with a piece of fruit or mixing dried fruit with nuts. Alternatively, you can use them to make smoothies, cookies, cereal bars, muffins, or cakes.
Delicious Idea: Tropical Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 1 small banana
- half a mango
- 125g unsweetened coconut yogurt
- juice of half a lemon
Preparation:
- Blend all the ingredients in a blender.
- Add a few ice cubes if desired.
- Enjoy immediately.
Snacks to Take to Work
The period between lunch and dinner is often long, and hunger can become a real problem. Several hours pass between work, commuting, and numerous tasks at home, not to mention fatigue and sometimes stress. It’s important to have something to eat during this time.
While it may seem difficult to find healthy snacks with vending machines tempting you with sweets, coworkers offering snacks, or children’s cookies in the cupboard, here are some easy and practical ideas to keep you satisfied and in shape without breaking the bank. Easy-to-carry fruits like bananas, apples, pears, or clementines are great options, as are nuts (such as almonds, walnuts, cashews, and hazelnuts) in their plain form. Additionally, homemade cookies or cereal bars are ideal, if possible.
Our Recipe: Cereal Bars for the Whole Week
Ingredients:
- 100g three-grain flakes
- 50g mixed dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, figs, etc.)
- 30g coarsely crushed nuts (hazelnuts, almonds)
- 50g agave syrup
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp cinnamon.
Preparation:
- In a saucepan, melt the coconut oil and mix it with the agave syrup and cinnamon.
- In a bowl, mix the cereals, dried fruit, and nuts.
- Add the peanut butter and the mixture of oil and syrup, and blend everything.
- Spoon the mixture into molds or use a cookie cutter to create bars.
- Bake at 175°C for 15 minutes, let them cool slightly, and then refrigerate for at least an hour to harden.
Healthy Snacks On the Go
Taking a pleasant stroll with your family or by yourself is a great way to have fun, discover new places, and even get some exercise. However, physical activity requires good hydration and energy, which is why a healthy snack is essential. Here are a few practical snack ideas to pack in your backpack:
- Energy bars, which provide protein, fiber, and carbohydrates. You can also make smaller versions, like bite-sized “energy balls.”
- Fresh or dried fruit, which contains fiber, quick sugars, vitamins, and minerals like potassium (which can be lost during exercise). Both options are interesting: fresh fruit provides water and freshness, but dried fruit is more compact and lightweight.
- Nuts, which are energy-rich and compact, offering good fats, fiber, and protein.
- Homemade cookies, which are a suitable snack for a walk. They provide energy through complex carbohydrates (with varying amounts of fiber) and simple carbohydrates, as well as lipids, proteins, and a touch of indulgence.
Superb Recipe for "Energy Balls" (No Cooking Required)
Ingredients:
- 60g pitted dates
- 60g peanut butter
- 60g honey or agave syrup
- 150g ground oats
- 60g crushed mixed nuts
- 30g dark chocolate chips
- sesame seeds, or shredded coconut (optional).
Preparation:
- Blend the dates, peanut butter, and honey (or agave syrup) until smooth.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the oats, crushed nuts, and chocolate chips.
- Mix everything, then shape the mixture into small balls using your hands.
- Optionally, roll the balls in sesame seeds or shredded coconut.
A healthy snack is a great way to obtain energy and nutrients between meals. For those with limited time, simple options like fruit, dairy products, or nuts are ideal. For those with a sweet tooth or a love for cooking, cookies, cereal bars, muffins, or cakes can provide a dose of pleasure and balance while satisfying cravings.
