It is a common misconception that vegan snacks either taste bad or are full of carbs! I’m here to tell you that is fake news and you can eat vegan snacks that not only taste great but are good for you!
Take a peek at some of the best vegan snacks you can munch on throughout the day!
Contents
1.Deconstructed Greek Salad
One of my favorite things to do is make a simple, what I like to call, deconstructed greek salad. You will typically have all of these ingredients already in your fridge and throwing them into a small snack bowl is literally as easy as opening a jar, and forking them out!
Ingredients
- Olives (my favorite is kalamata) green, or black
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Diced onion (I like red but you can do white or yellow)
- Pepperoncini
How To Make It
Just chop everything up and to finish splash some balsamic vinaigrette on top and mix together! I prefer to leave my pepperoncini whole but lots of people choose to cut them up.
Health benefits
Tomatoes are a main dietary source of the antioxidant lycopene which reduces risks of cancer and heart disease. Additionally, they are a magnificent source of vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K.
For those who are turned off from onions, it might be helpful to know they are full of fiber, folic acid, and the B vitamin which helps the body create new, healthy cells. They also help reduce the risk of obesity.
2. PB&J Apple Slices
Think classic PB&J Sammy but with apple slices instead of bread. It cuts the carbs out of the equation and gives you a crisp bite that offsets the soft peanut butter and jelly.
Ingredients
- Apples
- Jam or Jelly
- Peanut butter or almond butter
How To Make Them
I use an apple cutter to slice an apple in 2 seconds with just one push! Once the apple is cut I layer almond butter down on the slice first and then put jam on top. You can either eat them open-faced or pair a slice on top to form a mini sandwich.
What is the difference between jam and jelly?
Because jelly is high in sugar it is best to look for an organic or natural one! Jelly uses the juice of the fruit where jam uses the whole fruit crushed.
What is the difference between peanut butter and almond butter?
Peanut butter is fine to use but I prefer using almond butter. Both are similar in calories and sugar but peanut butter actually contains more protein. I like almond butter because it has more vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
My favorite jam and almond butter are:
- Honey almond butterÂ
- 4 pack Jam ( who doesn’t love a variety)
Health Benefits
Apple help fight asthma, promote healthy gut health and reduce the risk of diabetes.
3. Avocado Toast
Avocado toast is literally one of the easiest snacks to make! You need less than five ingredients but can spice it up with more if you choose to do so!
Ingredients
- Toast
- Lemon wedge
- Sea salt
- Half an avocado
- Slived tomatoe
- Red pepper flakes
How To Make It
Take a piece of your favorite toast, I prefer sourdough or whole wheat. Take an avocado and just fork it right over the toast! I like to top mine with sliced tomatoes, fresh lemon juice, sea salt, and red pepper flakes!
If you want you can use half an English muffin or if you need to carb load before a big run use half a bagel slice! Using lemon juice will give the avocado an upgraded flavor burst!
Remember one piece of toast is a snack and two make it a meal. You only need half an avocado so to save the other half for your snack or dinner I suggest investing in an avocado slice container!Â
Health Benefits
Avocados actually contain more potassium than bananas! They can lower cholesterol and Triglyceride Levels. They have also been linked to lowering depression.
Red pepper flakes actually help increase your metabolism, which aids in weight loss.
4. Carrot Fries
Carrot fries may take a bit more effort but the flavor is also a bit more in your face and apparent! You can make these by baking them, deep frying them or air frying them. I choose to bake them because it is one of the healthier options.
Ingredients
- Carrots
- Peper and Salt
- Old bay seasoning
- Olive oil, Grapeseed oil, or Avacado Oil
How to Make Them
I like to soak carrots in a bit of warm water for a few minutes to soften them up and then cut them into fry like shapes. Place them on a paper towel so all the moisture can get soaked out of them. Once the water is soaked out of the carrots in a baggie with oil, and seasoning of your choice. I usually do salt, pepper and old bay seasoning.
Shake the carrots in the bag to coat evenly and then pour them onto a baking sheet on top of either foil or parchment paper. I usually bake them at 450 for about 15-18 minutes, I like them really crispy! Every oven varies so keep that in mind and check on them regularly.
If you salt these right you don’t need sauce with them. While there are plenty of vegan sauces, I try to limit the sauce intake per week. If you are going all out and want some sauce I recommend dijon mustard or my new favorite veganaise horseradish sauce.
Health Benefits
Carrots are a good source of beta carotene, fiber, vitamin K1, potassium, and antioxidants. They have also been proven to promote healthy eye health!
5. Popcorn With Nutritional Yeast
Listen, I’m not gonna sit here and blow smoke up your a$$. I make scratch popcorn like once a year and it comes down to a convenience thing. With so many healthy, vegan pre poped options on the market I would almost be a dummy to waste time making it myself.
Ingredients
- Pre-popped popcorn – I prefer Skinypop
- Nutritional yeastÂ
Nutritional yeast is a high-quality plant protein fortified with zinc and B vitamins, that taste like cheese.
How To Make It
Open up the bag of popcorn and sprinkle in some nutritional yeast. Boom there ya go.
Health Benefits
When consumed in moderation popcorn can help with weight management because it keeps you full due to the high fiber content.
6. Fiesta Corn Bowl
Yeah, this one might be a bit out there for some of you but just hear me out! Try it once and you will want to add it to your rotation of vegan snacks. It can be a great option for those of you who are looking for something different, outside of your comfort zone.
Ingredients
- Corn – fresh or canned
- Diced tomatoes – fresh or canned
- Onion
- Beans – black or pinto
- Cilantro
- Salsa
- Lime wedge
- Salt + Pepper
- Avacado
- Jalapeno
How To Make It
You are going to take that long list of ingredients and dump it all into a big bowl. I will make this all on one day and eat it throughout the week. Squeeze lime over all of it to keep all the ingredients fresh.
You can add all of the ingredients or just a few of them if you want. It is great on its own or you can scoop it with Tostitos chips. Can be great to bring to a party as an appetizer.
Make sure you cut and rinse the jalapeno if you aren’t one who likes things to be to spicy.
Health Benefits
Since the majority of this should be corn, you can be happy to know corn contains two key ingredients for overall vision health lutein and zeaxanthin. Corn also feeds beneficial bacteria in your gut that aids in digestion and keeps you regular.
Quick Options
If you want just a quick grab and go vegan snack a few of my favorites include:
- Veggie Straws
- Pickles – Â l look for the lightly salted ones
- Hummus with Carrots, Celery, Pretezles
- Smoothie and Juices
- Nut variety packsÂ
If you want to throw some vegan meat in the mix to plump this snaks up a bit, then I suggest checking out these alternative meat products!Â