18 Heart-Healthy Snacks to Pack for Work
Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD
When you’re craving a quick bite between meals on busy days, turn to these simple and packable recipes. These snacks are made low in saturated fat and sodium to help you support a strong and healthy heart. Plus, they’re so delicious, balanced and help make it easier than ever to follow a heart-healthy eating pattern. Try recipes like our Peanut Butter-Oat Energy Balls and Low-Carb Blueberry Muffins for yourself, and you’ll want to keep a supply ready for whenever hunger strikes.
Peanut Butter-Oat Energy Balls
Sweet, sticky dates act as the glue for these no-bake energy balls. Perfect for hikes or during sports, this healthy snack travels well. For the best flavor and texture, use Medjool dates--the largest and most luscious date variety. Look for them in the produce cdepartment or near other dried fruits.
Low-Carb Blueberry Muffins
Just because you're watching carbs doesn't mean you can't have the classic breakfast pastry. In place of all-purpose flour, nutty almond and coconut flours make these muffins fluffy while slashing carbs. A bit of brown sugar blunts the tartness of fresh blueberries. Make these ahead for a grab-and-go breakfast for the week.
Cottage Cheese Snack Jar
This creamy, crunchy snack packs 20 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber in one small mason jar. Adding the chickpeas right before serving will keep them crunchy. If you want to store everything in one jar, opt for 1/4 cup rinsed canned chickpeas instead.
Flourless Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins
Pulsing rolled oats with eggs, banana, brown sugar and oil creates the moist dough of these chocolaty muffins without a bit of all-purpose flour. These are two-bite muffins with a dense and gooey texture. They're delicately sweet and rich, too, so baking them as mini muffins makes them a perfect snack or quick morning bite.
Crispy Peanut Butter Balls
All you need are four simple ingredients to make healthier crispy peanut butter balls that kids and grownups will love. Make this easy recipe for a bite-size treat, on-the-go snack or easy homemade gift. You can swap the peanut butter for almond butter or even sunflower seed butter if you need a nut-free snack for school.
Pumpkin Oat Mini Muffins
These easy pumpkin muffins are packed with oats and chocolate chips. Plus, these mini gluten-free pumpkin muffins are made entirely in the blender, making cleanup a breeze. If you'd rather make 12 regular-size muffins, bake for 18 to 20 minutes and let cool for 10 minutes before turning them out of the pan.
Air-Fryer Sweet Potato Chips
Thinly sliced sweet potatoes fry to a crispy crunch in the air fryer. These homemade chips also use much less oil, which cuts down on calories and fat. They're a naturally sweet side for sandwiches, burgers, wraps and more.
Cranberry-Almond Energy Balls
These energy balls are the perfect make-ahead snack. Filled with cranberries, almonds, oats and dates, these energy balls come together in minutes. Maple syrup and tahini help bind everything together while adding a touch of sweetness and bitterness.
3-Ingredient Crispy Potato Peel Chips
These 3-ingredient potato peel chips are a cross between a french fry and a potato chip, and they’re the perfect snack to make when you have potatoes to peel! These chips can be enjoyed as-is or dressed up with seasoning. Simply toss baked potato peel chips with seasoning immediately after removing them from the oven. (If you season before baking, the spices may burn.) The only trick is to season them right away—the seasonings will not adhere well once the chips have cooled.
Peanut Butter Energy Balls
These healthy peanut butter and chocolate energy balls deliver a mixture of simple and complex carbohydrates to help fuel you up whenever you need a little boost.
Maple Granola
This quick and healthy granola recipe can be enjoyed like cereal with milk or sprinkled over yogurt to make an easy parfait. Serve with a banana for a balanced breakfast.
Almond-Date Bars
These no-bake snack bars are packed with nuts, dried fruit and rice cereal. For the best texture, use naturally sticky whole pitted dates. Make these bars ahead of time and pack them in a lunchbox for work or school.
Pea Pods with Honey-Mustard Dipping Sauce
Kids don't think twice about eating their veggies when they're served alongside a delectable dipping sauce!
Spiced Crackers
Give plain crackers a flavorful boost when you roast them with paprika and oregano. For a touch of smokiness, try smoked paprika instead of regular. Serve with hummus, cheese or your favorite dip.
Rhubarb Oat Muffins
These tasty rhubarb muffins have a sweet streusel topping and are ready in 45 minutes. Use regular rolled oats which have more texture than quick-cooking or instant rolled oats.
Apple-Oatmeal Cookies
These healthy apple cookies made with oats, shredded apples and brown sugar make snack time enjoyable for everybody.
Date-Nut Bread
Dates are naturally sweet so no extra sugar is needed in this quick-bread recipe. Toasted almonds add a nice crunch and the optional coarse sugar topping—while it isn't needed for sweetness—certainly adds to the presentation.
Strawberry & Cream Cheese Sandwich
Sliced strawberries and reduced-fat cream cheese come together in a sandwich for this quick and healthy lunchbox treat.
Read the original article on Eating Well.
