12 Healthy Snacks for a Happier Diet

There could be various reasons why you might want to follow a diet. The reasons could range from a diet being prescribed for a medical condition, to simply wanting to stay healthy and fit. No matter what your reasons are, the fact that you are following a restricted diet does not mean that you need to have tasteless food throughout the day. While being on a diet does put a hefty amount of restrictions during meal times, there is one opening where you might experiment, which is snacks. Snacks are a great way to try out different combinations of healthy food that taste great. Read on to find out about some of the experiences you could add to your snack platter.

1 Sweet Potato Fries

Do you miss binging on your favorite French fries while watching a movie, and feeling guilty later on? Here is an excellent alternative. No guilt sweet potatoes are some of the healthiest sources of carbohydrates, and the best part is they taste just as good as regular potatoes when baked. Mix your own set of spices that are allowed in your diet, sometimes just salt and pepper are enough, drizzle with olive oil and bake them in a conventional oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Binge on!

2 Banana Chips

Buy a box of ready-to-eat banana chips from a health food store, or make your own. All you need to prepare this delicious snack are thinly sliced bananas (any kind), salt, pepper, and oil. Bake them or fry them, and enjoy them as they are or pair them with tasty chocolate morsels if your diet allows them.

3 Homemade Popcorn

Whether you are a frequent movie-goer or not, popcorn is something everybody loves as a snack. Remember the last time you were at a friend’s place, and you could not stop munching on those cheese popcorns while you happily gossiped away? When you are on a diet, however, it is better to stick to homemade popcorn and toss it with nutrient-rich spices such as garlic, cinnamon, or simple salt.

4 Fruit and Yoghurt

W keep coming back to fruits as a healthy snack option. However, having just fruits now and then as snacks could get quite boring. Spice things up with a bit of yogurt on the side. Chop the fruits into fine slices, and coat them thoroughly with yogurt, to get that flavorful yet healthy dosage of a quick and easy snack.

5 Healthy Nachos

If you are a fan of Mexican food, you probably already think nachos are something worth dying for, and you would give anything to have them as a snack. So how do you make them healthier? Well, buy the multigrain version of the nacho chips, cut down on the cheese, and add a hefty dose of guacamole. Pair it with homemade salsa.

6 Trail Mix

No, you do not necessarily have to be a trekker to enjoy a good bowl of trail mix every time you feel like snacking. You could try some of the mixes available at the store, or better, make your mix at home. This is an excellent item where you can get creative. Add anything under the dry fruits family, couple with some chocolate bits, and complete with granola pieces. There, you have the easiest and one of the healthiest snacks available. The best part is you could make these just once, and reuse for days, just like they do on treks.

7 Cinnamon Apples

As fancy as these may sound, they are quite simple to make and turn out delicious. All you need to do is cut the apples into wedges, sprinkle some cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, and brown sugar, and microwave for four minutes. Ready in no time, this is a great alternative to all those sweet snacks that you had to give up when you started the diet.

8 Sweet Nuts

If your trail mix gets a little dull after a few days, here is another option to get those healthy nuts in with an exciting twist. Make them sweet! Coat pieces of walnut, pecan, and cashews with cinnamon powder, ginger powder, vanilla extract, and olive oil. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Cool and enjoy.

9 Fruit Oatmeal

The best thing about oatmeal is that you can make them sweet or savory, and can have them both as snacks and as meals. One of the healthiest ways to have oatmeal is by topping the dish with crushed almonds, cinnamon powder, and some thinly sliced strawberries. Children would enjoy it as well.

10 Health Cookies

Continuing with the versatility of oats, cookies are a great option when you want to snack on something healthy and tasty every day, and can only afford to cook in batches. For a bunch of these health cookies, mix 2 mashed bananas, a cup of raw oats, and some crushed walnuts in a bowl to make the cookie dough. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit to get your box of delightful, crunchy cookies.

11 Fruit Tacos

We are back to modifying a traditionally popular Mexican item for a healthy snack. Anything that starts with tacos has to be delicious, and anything with fruits is healthy. Combine the two, and you would get fruit tacos. The preparation is as simple as filling whole corn tacos with slices of strawberries, avocados, and any other fruit you could think of, and topping with a small amount of balsamic vinegar.

12 Vegetable Smoothies

Smoothies are handy when you need a to-go version of your healthy snack. Besides, it is another great item where you might get creative. These are also helpful while trying to sneak in some extra vegetables into your snack time. Experiment with different variations such as spinach, beets, carrots, celery, kale, and broccoli. Mix equal amounts of fruits to make the smoothies flavorful.

13 Snack Healthy, Stay Healthy

Healthy snacks might be difficult to think of off the top of your head, but once you get used to blending your creative juices with the abundantly available nature’s produce, you are much less likely to fall off the wagon while going through a restrictive diet. Some of the above recipes are, in fact, so delicious that you would forget your regular unhealthy snack items even when you stop following the diet. Getting addicted to healthy snacking could be your ticket to healthy living forever.