12 Healthy Snack Options To Help You Choose Your Snacks Wisely

1. Mixed sprouted seeds (gram, wheat, red kidney bean, soyabean, pea, chickpeas, unpolished peanut, any type of unpolished lentils) along with chopped tomatoes, green chillies onion, few drops of mustard oil, few drops of lemon, salt and black pepper. You may also add cucumber, lettuce, Beet root, radish, carrot according to the availability of these vegetables. This will make you feel full and yet very low in calories with lots of dietary fibre.
2. Dry roast a mixture of nuts like almonds, cashew, peanut, hazel nut, walnut, pistachio, little amount of salt and grab it any time. These nuts provide you energy and contain antioxidants.
3. A bowl of fruit salad with papaya, guava, apple, mango, banana, different types of grapes, black plum, lychee, different types of citrus fruits – cut into cubes and sprinkle a pinch of black salt and chaat masala according to your taste. These fruits are full of vitamins and increase your body’s resistance/immunity.
4. A bowl of salad consisting of raw vegetables like cucumber, onions, radish, carrot, tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, baby corn, baby spinach (you may never imagine raw spinach can taste so good – just give it a try) chopped or sliced with a spoon of mustard oil/extra virgin olive oil and salt. You may wish to add a few herbs like dried or freshly chopped coriander or fenugreek leaves.
5. Cut into cubes and boil potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, raw papaya, broccoli, mushroom, squash – then toss them in a salt and spice mixture. Garnish with fresh herbs and roasted nuts. Don’t throw away the vegetable stock, add a spoon of flour to thicken it and use it in soups.
6. Instead of using mayonnaise dip you may use hung yogurt mixed with Indian spices like coriander seed powder, ginger garlic powder, cumin seed powder, and black salt. Hung yogurt can also taste good with rosemary, dill, oregano, dry tomatoes and chilli flakes. You could also experiment with some other options like finely chopped tomatoes, onion, green chillies and Indian spices. Sometimes you may wish to add some sugar to enhance the taste. A fine paste of herbs like coriander along with a tangy option like tomato can also make a delicious dip.
7. Instead of processed store brought cheese, try some home made paneer.
8. Roasted papad is a good option to avoid the deep fried chips available in the market. Brush some oil on either sides of a papad and grill it. It ‘almost’ tastes like a deep fried papad. This can be done with sliced potatoes and other vegetables as well. Serve them with a pinch of spice mixture of your choice.
9. Instead of store bought cakes which contain preservatives, bake a cake on weekends and store it for the rest of the week. You can cut down the quantity of sugar and use whole wheat flour for the cake. Add dried dates, raisins and nuts to enhance the flavour.
10. Instead of using chocolate syrup or chocolate bars, use chocolate flavoured heath drinks mixed with coffee and voila, we can made cold coffee or coffee mocha.
11. Instead of using store bought ice cream, put a mixture of frozen yogurt and ripe bananas in the mixer. Then add your favourite flavour and freeze it.
12. Instead of purchasing energy bars, mix roasted nuts, popped, puffed or rolled rice, oats, ragi, wheat – add caramel or jaggery. The best part is that you can control the sweetness as per your taste. Your very own energy bar is ready. It’s easy to take away to office.

A few things to check on for a healthy life: