How to Keep the Crunch in Your Life
Has your dietary downfall been chips, pretzels, or cheese puffs? Oh, the pain of limiting these. We get it. You need to feel the crunch.
Snacks can serve a lot of purposes—tiding you over between meals, preventing hypoglycemia, helping you recover from a workout and more. Whatever the reason for your snack, we’ve got 25 simple ideas to help you make healthy choices.
Related: To snack or not to snack? Read our article on healthy snacking, and whether or not snacking is right for you.
NOTE: Calorie and carb amounts are approximate and do not include optional suggestions.
1. Turkey Cheese Wrap: Stack a slice of cheese on top of a slice of turkey deli meat. Top with a handful of fresh greens such as spinach or arugula and wrap tightly. (110 calories, 2 g carb)
2. Green Wrap: spread ¼ of an avocado over a small (6-inch) whole-wheat tortilla. Top with a handful of fresh greens such as spinach or arugula and wrap tightly. (160 calories, 18 g carb)
3. Savory Yogurt Parfait: top ½ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt with ¼ cup chopped cucumber. Drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. (120 calories, 5 g carb)
4. Yogurt Parfait: top ½ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt with ¼ cup berries or other chopped fruit and 1 tbsp chopped nuts. (130 calories, 9 g carb)
5. Ranch & Raw Veggies: dip raw veggie sticks (like cucumber, red bell pepper, or radishes) in 2 tbsp ranch dressing. (140 calories, 5 g carb) Try this recipe
6. Guacamole & Raw Veggies: dip raw veggie sticks (like cucumber, red bell pepper, or radishes) in ¼ cup guacamole. (120 calories, 5 g carb) Try this guacamole recipe
7. Avocado Bowl: Top half an avocado with 1-2 tbsp salsa and 1 tsp shredded cheese—eat it right out of the avocado skin. (125 calories, 7 g carb) Try this recipe
8. Fruit & Cheese: have one small piece of fruit (like a plum or clementine) with a string cheese. (110 calories, 9 g carb)
9. Edamame: 1 cup steamed edamame in pods, sprinkled with reduced-sodium sodium soy sauce. (115 calories, 8 g carb)
10. Cucumber Boats: Slice a small cucumber in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Fill one cucumber half with ½ cup tuna or chicken salad. (160 calories, 9 g carb) Try this chicken salad recipe
11. Plain Cottage Cheese: ½ cup low fat cottage cheese. (90 calories, 5 g carb)
12. Savory Cottage Cheese: ½ cup low fat cottage cheese topped with ¼ cup chopped tomato and/or cucumber. (100 calories, 6 g carb)
13. Sweet Cottage Cheese: ½ cup cottage cheese topped with ¼ cup fruit such as berries, chopped pineapple, or peaches. (100 calories, 8 g carb)
14. Cream cheese & Cucumber sandwiches: sandwich 1 tsp of cream cheese between 2 cucumber slices (make 6 sandwiches total). (80 calories, 1 g carb)
15. Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers: sandwich 1 tsp peanut or other nut butter between 2 whole grain crackers (make 2 sandwiches total). (160 calories, 13 g carb)
16. Celery & Peanut Butter: fill a few celery sticks with 1 tsp of peanut butter each. Optional: dot each with a few raisins. (100 calories, 4 g carb)
17. Roasted Chickpeas: ¼ cup roasted chickpeas.(75 calories, 9 g carb) Try this recipe
18. Popcorn: Drizzle 1 tsp olive oil over 2 cups air popped popcorn. Season with salt and pepper or other spice blends such as Old Bay, cajun seasoning, lemon pepper, etc. (100 calories, 12 g carb)
19. Apple slices & Nut Butter: slice half of a medium apple and dip in 1 tbsp peanut or other nut butter. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon for flavor. (150 calories, 15 g carb) Try this recipe
20. Hummus & Raw Veggies: dip raw veggie sticks (like cucumber, red bell pepper, or radishes) in ¼ cup hummus. (140 calories, 15 g carb) Try this hummus recipe
21. Trail Mix: combine 1 tbsp each of pumpkin or sunflower seeds, chopped nuts, and raisins or other dried fruit. (125 calories, 10 g carb)
22. Peanut Butter & Chocolate: 2 mini Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate bars dipped in 2 tsp peanut butter. (135 calories, 12 g carb)
23. Nut Butter Toast: 1 slice whole grain bread, toasted, topped with 1 tbsp peanut or other nut butter. (185 calories, 18 g carb)
24. Avocado toast: 1 slice whole grain bread, toasted, topped with a quarter of a small avocado. Optional: top with 1 tsp sunflower or pumpkin seeds. (155 calories, 18 g carb)
25. Hard-Boiled Egg: Prepare several hard-boiled eggs and store unpeeled in the fridge for a quick protein-packed snack. Optional: season with salt and pepper or hot sauce. (80 calories, 0 g carb)