6 Tasty Clean-Eating Snack Ideas
If you’re adopting clean eating as a lifestyle choice, it’s hard enough to to come up with healthy meal ideas — let alone clean-eating snacks. We consulted with nutritionists and came up with several snack ideas, complete with recipes that are sure to satisfy adults and families alike.
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1. Protein Fudgesicles
Combine 6 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa and a pinch of Kosher or sea salt in a bowl. Set aside. In a food processor or blender, add 1 avocado, a 13.5-ounce can of light coconut milk, a 15-ounce can of black beans (rinsed and drained), 6 tablespoons of honey and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla. Blend until smooth. This will make your fudge mixture. Pour the fudge mix into popsicle molds and freeze until set. To free the popsicles from the molds, hold the molds under hot water. Enjoy!
Also Read: 10 Healthy Sushi Rolls You Can Make At Home
2. Skinny Peanut Butter Dip
This is one of our favorite clean eating snack ideas. When you’re craving something sweet and creamy, try this! Combine ½ cup of plain, fat-free Greek yogurt with ¼ cup of natural peanut butter (crunchy works best). Combine well in a bowl and refrigerate until you’re ready to eat it. Serve this sweet and creamy dip with your favorite fruit slices such as apples, bananas, kiwis or strawberries. It’s even good with veggies! For presentation, put fruit slices on skewers to make dipping easier and less messy.
3. Surprising Avocado Dip
In a food processor or blender, place 1 ½ cups of cooked and cooled green peas, 1 avocado, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon lime juice and hot sauce to taste. The taste of the cooked peas virtually disappears, but they provide a great source of non-fat protein. This dip is great with baked tortilla chips or chopped veggies for the perfect clean-eating appetizer.
4. Skinny Nutella
Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Spread 1 cup of skinned hazelnuts on a cookie sheet to roast for about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. In a medium sauce pan, add ¾ cup chocolate chips, ¾ cup light coconut milk, 1 ½ tablespoons honey and a pinch of Kosher or sea salt. On low heat, stir until the chocolate chips are totally melted. Remove from the stove and allow to cool a bit while you prepare the hazelnuts. In a food processor, pulse the hazelnuts to the consistency of butter, or about 5 minutes. Add chocolate mix to the food processor and continue to pulse until all ingredients are combined. Transfer the “nutella” to a jar with a lid and refrigerate to firm it up. Once firm, this chocolate hazelnut treat is ready to serve with fruit slices, on toast, or any other way you like to eat it.
5. Baked Apple Chips
Snacks don’t get any cleaner than this. First, preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Use parchment paper to line a cookie sheet and lay your cored and thinly sliced apples on the sheet. (Two apples makes a serving.) Sprinkle with cinnamon to taste. Bake for 2 hours. After the first hour, turn over each slice so that they bake evenly. Check often to make sure they’re baking uniformly, as all ovens are different. Once they appear crispy, they’re ready to remove from the oven. Allow to cool, then enjoy! These baked apple chips go great with our skinny peanut butter dip.
6. Classic Tomato and Cucumber Salad
This recipe makes 5 servings. In a large salad bowl, add 2 medium cucumbers thinly sliced and 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half. Add ½ red onion, thinly sliced. In another bowl, whisk together ¼ teaspoon black pepper, sea or Kosher salt to taste, 2 tablespoons fresh dill, 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard and 1 teaspoon honey. Pour the second mixture over the cucumber and tomato mix and toss to thoroughly coat. This salad can be served immediately.
Eating clean (and cooking clean) can be quite an adjustment, but once you get used to making delicious, healthy meals and snacks, you won’t want to eat any other way.
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