Healthy Snack Ideas for a Healthy Diet

April 14, 2009 by Steve

Having a list of healthy snack ideas is the key to making your diet an enjoyable one. Generally speaking, snacking can ruin your dieting efforts. But a healthy, nutritious and delicious snack will assist your diet and help make it fun too.

There are many snacks you can have without feeling guilty. For instance, whole grain products, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meat and nuts can really satisfy your craving without destroying your diet plan.

There’s a lot of healthy whole grain snacks you can add to your diet menu, including whole grain breads (wheat bread and rye bread are great choices), whole wheat bagels, wholesome tortilla shells, pita bread and whole grain cereals.

The always-important vegetable and fruit groups contain a ton of ideas for healthy snacks. Listing them all here would be impossible.

Some of the tastiest fruit and vegetable snacks include baby carrots or carrot slices, vegetables such as broccoli florets, radishes and green peppers, as well as fruit juices and salads.

Here’s a quick and easy fruit salad recipe:

Open a can of mandarin oranges and pour it into a bowl, making sure to capture all the delicious juice as well. Cut up a banana, apple and nectarine and add them to the mix. Add some strawberries, blueberries and raisins for extra taste and color, and serve.

Fresh fruit can also make a great snack on its own. Eating apples, bananas and oranges is a great way to keep healthy while still enjoying a tasty snack.

Having a bowl of fruit readily available on the table is a great way to encourage the family to eat healthier.

You can have a lot of healthy snacks in the dairy products category as well. These include low fat and nonfat yogurt, skim milk, low fat puddings, cheeses and even chocolate milk.

Low fat cuts of prepared meats and low fat varieties of lunch meats also make great snacks. Sandwiches made with whole grain bread and low calorie spreads like mustard can be a great treat any time of day.

Canned tuna (packed in water), peanut butter, eggs and egg substitutes, poultry, nuts and beans are also excellent choices for healthy snacks.

When creating healthy food snacks, it’s important to limit the consumption of high fat foods, and foods high in salt and sodium.

So instead of buying snacks in the snack aisle of the grocery store, try making your own using some of the suggestions listed above.

For added variety, try mixing things up a bit. For instance, try spreading peanut butter on pita bread, or use it as a fun dip for apple slices. Or top a whole grain English muffin with tuna and cheese. Place it in the broiler for a few minutes and enjoy.

Other ideas for quick healthy snacks include pairing fresh fruit with nonfat plain or vanilla yogurt, adding fresh fruit slices to cereal, and using fresh fruit and fruit juices to make delicious smoothies.

There are tons of ideas for creating healthy snacks. Their variety is only limited by your own creativity. Including these in your diet plan would be a wise, and enjoyable choice. So go ahead and create a list of healthy snack recipes. You won’t regret it!

Filed under: Nutrition
Tagged: healthy snack ideas, healthy snacks