Your body doesn’t need snacks in between meals. But if you do feel like something in between, healthy snacks can help you avoid overeating and eating fast food or unhealthy snacks. You can also eat part of your meals in between.
For your teeth it is better not to eat or drink anything more than 7 times a day. So 3 meals and another 4 snacks or drinks in between. Water is not bad for your teeth, so you can drink this at any time.
Many products sold as ‘healthy snacks’ are high in calories, too salty or they contain a lot of sugar or saturated fat. There are a lot of better options you can choose from.
Fruit
- A serving of fresh fruit such as apple, orange, banana, mandarin, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, nectarine, peach or melon.
- Fruit salad or fruit skewers.
- Frozen fruits (grapes, raspberries, blueberries).
- A few dried fruits, such as prunes, apricots or a handful of raisins.
- Date filled with soft goat cheese or dairy spread.
- Piece of date or fig bread with old 30+ cheese
- Apple from the oven with cinnamon and raisins or apple crisps.
Vegetables
- A portion of (snack) vegetables. Such as cucumber, cherry tomatoes, strips of bell pepper, scraped carrots, radishes, pieces of raw cauliflower, celery, radish, etc. Optionally with dip, such as humus or bell pepper dip.
- Skewers with cherry tomato with a piece of mozzarella and a basil leaf.
- Tomato or cucumber boats filled with cottage cheese flavored with onion and herbs.
- Cucumber slices or carrots with peanut butter or nut butter without added salt or sugar.
- Coleslaw
Dairy
- A bowl of low-fat yogurt or with your favorite addition, such as muesli, fresh or dried fruit, nuts or seeds.
- Fruit soup: pureed fruit, low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese and some extra fruit and possibly some walnuts as garnish. Enjoy!
Nuts
- A handful of unsalted nuts. Choose what you like. Almonds, cashew nuts, peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia…
- Slices of banana or apple topped with a little 100% peanut butter or 100% nut butter without added salt or sugar.
Legumes
- Toasted whole wheat baguette with hummus and vegetables
- Roasted chickpeas with herbs
- Edamame beans (green soybeans) without salt, possibly sprinkled with lemon juice or chili flakes
Cereal products
- A hearty whole-wheat sandwich or whole-wheat crispbread.
- Whole grain sandwich variations: with fresh goat cheese with a few walnuts or pine nuts and grape slices, or with 30+ cheese and pineapple or tomato slices.
- Leftover pasta sauce? Spread it on a whole wheat sandwich, some grated 30+ cheese on top and put it in the oven for a few minutes.
- Crepes of whole wheat flour and semi-skimmed milk. Deliciously sweetened with strawberries, blackberries or blueberries and a spoonful of low-fat quark or savoury with leek, onion and curry.
Drinks
- Chai latte, chai tea with warm semi-skimmed milk
- Latte macchiato with semi-skimmed milk
- You can also go in all directions with regular tea, coffee and water.
What snacks does personal trainer Taylor eat?
“My favorite snacks are; almonds, blueberries, apples, protein shake, pork rinds, muesli bar!”