Snacking is one of the most divisive habits in the world of nutrition.
Some say it is essential for maintaining a high metabolism and healthy blood sugar level. Others claim it’s the most harmful habit you can engage in if you’re trying to lose weight.
Here’s the truth…
Snacking itself has little to no impact on weight loss.
The problem comes from the types of food we choose to snack on and not the actual habit of snacking itself. There’s a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to the best snacks for weight loss, and that’s why most of us are seriously messing up.
A lot of popular snacks are not only jam-packed with calories but also do a terrible job of satisfying your hunger. This typically leads to excess snacking throughout the day, and/or failing to compensate for these extra calories in your next meal.
Either way, you end up consuming more daily calories than necessary.
It’s not an easy habit to avoid, especially when many of the worst snacks for weight loss are marketed as healthy ‘guilt-free’ options.
Snacking is widely believed to be better than allowing yourself to become ravenously hungry, as this can affect your performance in most physical and mental tasks. Often, it leads to your overeating during mealtimes too.
The vast majority of people are malnourished. That is to say that they eat too much of the wrong stuff and not enough of the good stuff.
Then, we put them on a calorie restriction diet. now we put them in a calorie restriction program. So they eat even fewer nutrients.
That’s never going to work.
— Eric Edmeades, Author of Mindvalley’s WildFit program
So, your best solution is to learn more about what healthy snacks to buy and consume throughout the day.
The guide below reveals what to look for when shopping for snack foods, as well as a dozen of our favorite snacks to buy and eat.
Should I Eat ‘Low Fat’ Snacks?
There is plenty of ‘low fat’ or ‘diet’ versions of our favorite snacks on the market, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a healthy alternative, nor an intelligent decision to support your weight loss plan.
Often, removing the fat from our favorite snacks also removes the taste. To make up for this, the food producers tend to replace it with unhealthy additives, including sugars, flours, and salts.
Many times, this sends the calories rocketing as high as the ‘full fat’ product.
What Ingredients Are In The Best Healthy Snacks?
If you’re trying to achieve significant weight loss there are some key components of the best snacks you can graze on throughout the day.
This list of ingredients will help you to mastermind your own healthy snacks.
Protein:
Protein reduces appetite and boosts metabolism. Protein also aids the production of appetite-reducing hormones, such as cholecystokinin, peptide YY and Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1).
Fibers:
Because fibers take longer to digest, compared to most sugars and starches, they help you to feel more full after eating. The slow speed of digestion helps fibers to pass through your body without spiking to dangerous levels.
Acetic acid:
This compound suppresses appetite, lowers blood sugar and boosts metabolism. Apple cider vinegar contains an especially large dosage of acetic acid, so it’s a great ingredient to add to fruit smoothies.
Epigallocatechin (EGCG):
This compound helps the liver convert excess fat into energy. It’s most commonly found in green tea.
Make sure to get plenty of these healthy nutrients into your body, while avoiding unhelpful compounds such as sugar, saturated fats, and dairy products.
Milk and dairy products have no place in the human digestive system. Your health will be dramatically improved by eliminating dairy products from your diet.
— Eric Edmeades, Author of Mindvalley’s WildFit program
10 Of The Best Snacks For Weight Loss
Ok, so we’ve talked about some ingredients you’ll need to keep a lookout for when you want to shop for healthy store bought snacks, but what about making them?
Making food can be a drag, especially when you expect things to be quick and you end up cooking for hours.
So we curated a list of easy DIY snack recipes that are a breeze to make and deliver a ton of health benefits, keep you full for longer, and spurring on your weight loss.
Here are a dozen of the best snacks that are easy to make and help you feel full while spurring on your weight loss.
1. Cinnamon paprika sweet potato wedges
Why it’s good for you:
Sweet potatoes are packed with Vitamin A and Vitamin C which are great immunity boosters. Plus, you can expect to consume around four grams of protein per potato.
Cinnamon is a tasty and relatively guilt-free seasoning you can add to a number of snacks, instead of sugars or salt. It goes great with paprika in this recipe.
Ingredients:
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp of paprika
- rosemary
- olive oil
- salt
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Cut your sweet potatoes into thick wedges, about an inch thick. Place onto a baking tray.
- Cover the potatoes in olive oil, salt, paprika, and cinnamon.
- Bake for one hour, turning once or twice to ensure they’re evenly cooked.
2. Banana bites
Why it’s good for you:
Bananas are great examples of a low-calorie fruit, which give a noticeable energy spike without the crash hours later.
Ingredients:
- 1 banana
- 1 tbsp almond butter
- a sprinkle of cinnamon
- 1 tbsp chopped pistachios
Instructions:
- Peel the banana and smear one side with almond butter.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon and chopped nuts.
- Slice and enjoy.
3. Gluten-free coconut snowballs
Why it’s good for you:
Coconuts are very filling and fantastic for boosting metabolism. Meanwhile, almonds, dates and chia seeds are great low-calorie, metabolism-boosting snacks.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups shredded coconut
- 2 tsps coconut oil
- 3 tbsps maple syrup
- 2 tbsps unsweetened coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- A pinch of salt
Instructions:
- Place a cup of shredded coconut and coconut oil into a food processor until it turns into a paste.
- Add coconut milk, vanilla, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt.
- Shape your mixture into 1-inch balls and coat with additional shredded coconut, place on a plate. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
4. Guacamole
Why it’s good for you:
Avocado is packed with healthy fats, and is famed for its ability to lower cholesterol and keep hunger at bay.
Consider using cucumber, carrot or other vegetables to dip into your finished product.
Ingredients:
- 3-4 avocados
- 1 tomato
- 1/2 white onion
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice
- a sprinkle of sea salt
Instructions:
- Peel your avocado, scoop out the flesh and mash with a fork.
- Stir in your other ingredients and serve.
5. Vanilla green almond smoothie
Why it’s great:
- This delicious and healthy protein shake is packed with antioxidants.
- Coconut water is a delicious metabolism-booster.
- Spinach is a negative-calorie vegetable, while whey protein will leave you feeling full. If you like the sound of this snack, see our examples of more delicious weight loss smoothie recipes.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 frozen banana
- 1/2 cup baby spinach
- 1 tbsp almond butter
- 1 tsp of coconut water
- 1 cup of ice
Instructions:
- Spin in the blender until smooth, and serve.
6. Bone broth
Why it’s good for you:
A hearty and filling meaty soup. You should be able to create several soups with one batch of bones.
As well as stimulating weight loss, this meal is known to strengthen your immune system, aid digestive issues and reduce joint pain.
Ingredients:
- grass-fed beef bones, chicken carcass or any mixture of bones from wild or pasture-raised, healthy animals
- purified water
- salt or pepper
Instructions:
- Place bones into a large crockpot. You only need a few bones to make broth.
- Fill with filtered water to cover all the bones completely.
- Set your crockpot on low, and cook for at least six hours.
- Pour the broth through a sieve into a storage container.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Vegetable snack wraps
Why it’s good for you:
Wraps are a popular afternoon snack, but the breads used are packed with carbs and can derail your weight loss diet. This nutritious vegetable wrap contains no carbs, so you can enjoy it without the guilt.
Ingredients:
- 6 large lettuce leaves
- 1 carrot
- 1 cucumber
- 2 tbsps low fat cream cheese
Instructions:
- Spread cream cheese onto your large lettuce leaves.
- Slice your carrots and cucumber thinly.
- Divide the mixture among your lettuce leaves.
- Wrap your lettuce leaves, keeping them secure with a cocktail stick.
- Slice and serve.
8. Celery and almond butter
Why it’s good for you:
Celery is a negative-calorie vegetable. Your body uses up more calories to digest it than you’ll gain by eating it. Meanwhile, almond butter is packed with fiber and protein.
Ingredients:
- celery sticks
- 1 tbsp almond butter
Instructions:
- Spread almond butter over your celery.
- Enjoy!
9. Apple and almond butter snacks
Why it’s good for you:
A sweet snack with barely any calories. Apples are mostly made of fibers and water, and this is what makes them so filling.
Mix in the appetite-suppressing and metabolism-boosting qualities of cinnamon and you’ve got a delicious healthy snack.
Ingredients:
- 1 apple
- 1 tbsp pomegranates
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp almond butter
Instructions:
- Slice your apple in half.
- Spread almond butter on the face of your apple halves.
- Sprinkle chia seeds, pomegranates and cinnamon.
- Serve and enjoy!
10. Immunity-boosting sweet potato smoothie
Why it’s good for you:
Another deliciously filling smoothie harnessing the benefits of sweet potatoes, ginger, chia seeds and almond butter.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sweet potato puree
- 1 tbsp almond butter
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger
- 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- a handful of ice
Instructions:
- Throw all ingredients into your blender and spin until the mixture is smooth.
- Pour into glass and garnish with cinnamon.
What Is The Most Popular Snack Food In America?
A 2019 YouGov poll found these to be the top 10 food and snack brands in the United States.
- M&M’s
- Hershey’s
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
- Hershey’s Kisses
- Reese’s
- Quaker
- Ritz
- Kit Kat
- Snickers
- Oreo
The majority of these brands specialize in chocolate snacks. These snacks may deliver a brief jolt of energy as you attempt to make it to your next meal, but this is usually followed by an energy crash within a couple of hours.
Research suggests that sugary snacks also tend to make you feel hungrier in the long run.
If you substitute these popular brands for the healthy alternatives above, you’ll not only lose weight, you’ll also benefit from feeling fuller and more energetic for longer periods.
A word to remember
When you’re really well nourished your body has a tremendous capacity for cleansing itself of toxins and when you’re really well nourished, your body doesn’t crave a lot of non-functional food anymore.
— Eric Edmeades, Author of Mindvalley’s WildFit program
If you want to be healthy and build healthy snacking habits you’ll need to become more health-conscious and mindful about the food you eat on a day to day basis.
Author of Mindvalley’s WildFit program, Eric Edmeades wrote a great article about why we eat and what drives our hunger. It’s a recommended good starter read for you to learn about mindful eating and the three human hungers that drive your food choices.
What is the best snack food? (How to choose)
If you’re aiming to lose weight, the best snacks that you should be going for are those which are low in sugar and low in calories, yet packed with protein and healthy nutrients.
Provided your choice of snack meets his criteria, you can enjoy your favorite snacks without feeling guilty.
Got a suggestion for a go-to healthy snack? Tell us and share it in the comment section below.
