5 Easy and Healthy Snacks for Snacking Between Meals
Preparing healthy snacks is important to avoid unhealthy snacking between meals, and can also improve the supply of essential nutrients. For this reason, we’re going to show you some options so that your diet doesn’t lose quality, and encourages adherence. They’re simple recipes with few ingredients.
First of all, remember that a diet must be balanced and varied to be considered healthy. It’s essential to maintain a good state of body composition.
1. Healthy snacking between meals: Red bell pepper with guacamole
The fatty acids of the omega-3 series are essential in order to reduce the risk of developing complex pathologies, such as cardiovascular diseases. This is evidenced by research published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews . Avocado is one of the foods with the highest concentration of these lipids.
To prepare bell pepper with guacamole in a simple way, it’s best to cut the vegetable into small pieces and accompany it with a couple of spoonfuls of avocado. You can even add a piece of good quality toasted bread to the recipe, especially if you’re going to do physical activity afterwards.
2. Apple with peanut butter
Nuts are considered healthy foods. They provide a good amount of minerals, such as calcium.
This element is essential to keep bones strong, reducing the incidence of osteoporosis over the years. However, it’s necessary to ensure that vitamin D levels are also in adequate ranges to obtain this benefit, according to a study published in Frontiers of Hormone Research.
To make this dish, it’s enough to get a good quality peanut butter, which only has nuts in the list of ingredients. Then cut an apple into slices with the skin on and put some of the cream on top.
Don’t overdo it with the amounts, as we’re talking about a dish that’s high in calories.
3. Peanut flour: A source of protein for your diet
Legumes are foods high in fiber and carbohydrates that have to be introduced into the diet on a weekly basis. Fiber is a determining element at a digestive level, since its consumption can help prevent complex problems, such as colon cancer. This is confirmed by research published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition.
To enjoy hummus, start by choosing an organic one, as it has the best flavor. It’s possible to find it made f chickpeas, but also of other legumes.
You can even choose options with spices, thus increasing the concentration of phytochemicals with antioxidant capacity. At the time of accompanying it, it’s enough to cut a carrot or another vegetable in not very thin sticks, obtaining a crunchy texture.
4. Whole wheat toast with cheese spread and smoked salmon
Salmon is one of the fish with most health benefits, since it stands out for providing a good amount of omega-3 fatty acids. In addition, it contains high-quality proteins, with all the essential amino acids and a good digestibility score.
There are many ways to enjoy salmon, but placing it on whole wheat bread with cheese spread is one of the best alternatives. It’s not a good idea, though, to choose a low-fat dairy.
Discover more: 12 Healthy Snacks to Give Your Child
5. Edamame: a healthy snack present in any supermarket
Edamame is an unripe soybean dish that’s steamed. It’s available in many shops and stands out for its concentration in proteins and essential minerals.
In addition, it helps to increase the presence of fiber in the diet, helping to reach the 25 grams (1 oz) daily recommended by international guidelines.
It’s possible to prepare recipes for snacking between meals simply at home
There are several options to prepare healthy snacks to enjoy snacking between meals, without ingesting poor-quality food. It’s important to maintain the balance in the diet, achieving a good state of body composition.
To get the body to function efficiently over the years, it’s key to combine a series of good habits. Diet is one of them, but frequent physical exercise will also make a difference.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Gianfredi, V., Salvatori, T., Villarini, M., Moretti, M., Nucci, D., & Realdon, S. (2018). Is dietary fibre truly protective against colon cancer? A systematic review and meta-analysis. International journal of food sciences and nutrition, 69(8), 904–915. https://doi.org/10.1080/09637486.2018.1446917
- Goltzman, D., Mannstadt, M., & Marcocci, C. (2018). Physiology of the Calcium-Parathyroid Hormone-Vitamin D Axis. Frontiers of hormone research, 50, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1159/000486060
- Abdelhamid, A. S., Brown, T. J., Brainard, J. S., Biswas, P., Thorpe, G. C., Moore, H. J., Deane, K. H., AlAbdulghafoor, F. K., Summerbell, C. D., Worthington, H. V., Song, F., & Hooper, L. (2018). Omega-3 fatty acids for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 7(7), CD003177. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003177.pub3
