22 of the Best Snacks for Weight Loss
Is it possible to lose weight without giving up snacks?
Yes! In fact, choosing nutrient-dense, whole food snacks can actually help your weight-loss efforts. Consuming healthy snacks can prevent you from getting overly hungry and reaching for unhealthy options.
Here are 22 delicious, quick, easy snack options — including some healthy and easy recipes — that will help keep you satisfied, energised, and on track with your health and fitness goals.
22 Delicious, Healthy, Easy Snacks for Weight Loss
1. Sliced Red Capsicum and Guacomole
Red capsicum are packed with nutrition thanks to their high Vitamin C content and potent antioxidants such as capsanthin, quercetin, and beta carotene.
To make red capsicum even healthier and tastier, consider pairing it with guacamole. The healthy fat and fibre from the guacamole add additional nutrients and flavour.
2. Mixed Nuts
Nuts are a convenient, nutritional powerhouse that have a variety of potential health benefits. With the perfect ratio of protein, fibre, and healthy fats, they easily can tide you over until your next meal.
Can a high-fat food actually help you lose weight? Yes!
While it may seem contradictory, fat can be good for you — as long as it is the healthy kind. Several studies have even found a link between consuming nuts in moderation and weight loss.
Better yet, since nuts do not need to be refrigerated, they make the ideal grab-and-go snack for busy lifestyles.
3. Greek Yogurt With Mixed Berries
Unflavoured, unsweetened Greek yogurt and berries make a delicious pair! As opposed to flavoured yogurts packed with sugar, adding berries provides a burst of flavour and antioxidants, fibre, and nutrients.
Greek yogurt’s high content of protein, calcium, and potassium means it offers some serious nutrition.
The best part is that all this nutrition is packed into just 150 calories if you combine 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of full-fat, unflavoured Greek yogurt with 1/2 cup of mixed berries.
4. Apple Slices With Peanut Butter
Along with tasting delicious, apples and peanut butter provide an impressive dose of nutrients.
Apples are rich in fibre and polyphenols, while peanut butter is full of healthy fats.
A medium apple served with 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of peanut butter (be sure to choose a kind without any added oils or sugar) provides a satisfying, sweet snack at under 200 calories.
5. Cottage Cheese With Cinnamon and Flax Seeds
Cottage cheese, flax seeds, and cinnamon make a wonderfully delicious, healthy combination.
Full-fat cottage cheese offers protein and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a fatty acid that some studies have linked to potential health benefits.
Flax seeds are bursting with nutrients and are a great plant-based source of Omega fatty acids. And if you thought cinnamon was just a spice, think again! Along with the delicious flavour it imparts, cinnamon is also healthy!
Here’s an easy recipe for a quick, high-protein, healthy snack:
Cinnamon Flax Seed Pudding
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (80 grams) of full-fat cottage cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon of ground flax seeds
Directions:
Mix the ingredients in a small bowl. Add a dash of stevia, if desired.
6. Celery Sticks With Cream Cheese
This snack is low in carbs, but still delicious and satisfying.
Along with a high content of water and fibre, celery also contains the powerful antioxidant luteolin.
Five sticks of celery paired with 2 ounces (60 grams) of cream cheese offer vitamins, nutrients, and fibre at less than 200 calories.
7. Dark Chocolate and Almonds
While we think all of these snacks are delicious, this pairing might be our favourite! Few things are more delectable and rich than dark chocolate paired with almonds.
High-quality, dark chocolate — containing at least 70% cacao content — contains flavanols, magnesium, zinc, iron and, more importantly, is indulgent and tasty.
Almonds contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and studies have shown they can help reduce appetite.
8. Cucumber Slices With Hummus
Cucumber and hummus make a satisfying, crunchy, refreshing pair — all for under 200 calories when you combine one cup of sliced cucumbers with 3.5 ounces of hummus.
Cucumbers contain fibre, vitamins, and minerals, while hummus is made from healthy ingredients such as garlic, olive oil, and chickpeas.
9. Cherry Tomatoes With Mozzarella
If you like your snacks sophisticated and indulgent, here’s a great option! Tomatoes and mozzarella cheese offer a flavour pairing that is hard to beat while also providing vitamin C, lycopene, and potassium.
Meanwhile, mozzarella offers calcium, vitamin B12, and protein.
One cup of cherry tomatoes along with 2 ounces of mozzarella cheese provides a satisfying, healthy snack for less than 200 calories.
10. Chia Seed Pudding
Chia seeds are loaded with fibre, antioxidants, protein, and nutrients, making them a true superfood.
In addition to the nutrition they provide, chia seeds also offer a unique consistency. When soaked in liquid, they absorb the liquid and take on a jelly-like consistency similar to pudding.
Here’s a quick, easy, healthy recipe for making your own Chia Seed Pudding:
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon (15 grams) of chia seeds
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) of water
- 1 Tablespoon (15 grams) of peanut butter
- 1 Tablespoon (15 grams) of cocoa powder
Directions:
Combine chia seeds and water in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Stir in cocoa powder, peanut butter, and a pinch of stevia, if desired.
11. Hard-boiled Eggs
Few snacks are more nutritionally complete or convenient than boiled eggs. With vitamin K2, vitamin B12, selenium, choline, a host of other nutrients, and high-quality protein, they make a true powerhouse of a snack.
Egg yolks also provide one of the few food sources of vitamin D.
But wait — aren’t egg yolks bad for you? No!
Forget all the recipes that tell you to throw out the yolks and just eat the egg whites and check out the research instead. Despite their bad rap in recent years, more recent studies suggest that moderate egg intake .
12. Baby Carrots With Blue Cheese Dressing
Carrots are bursting with carotenoids such as beta carotene, which your body converts into Vitamin A.
Pairing carrots with a high-fat food such as blue cheese dressing makes this snack more delicious — and even healthier! The fat in the dressing can actually increase your body’s ability to absorb the carotenoids and other nutrients.
A 3.5-ounce serving of baby carrots paired with 2 tablespoons (30 grams) of blue cheese dressing provides a delicious snack for about 200 calories.
13. High-Quality Beef Jerky or Beef Sticks
Talk about portable! Beef sticks and beef jerky are the perfect high-protein snack for busy days.
The important thing is to be picky about which beef jerky or sticks you buy. Many brands are loaded with added sugar, preservatives, low-quality meat, and unnecessary fillers.
Look for beef jerky and sticks made from high-quality, grass-fed beef with as few added ingredients as possible. Grass-fed beef contains more healthy omega-3 fatty acids than grain-fed beef.
14. Protein Shakes
What is the most convenient snack? We’d have to say the protein shake!
Similar to beef jerky, it is important to choose a shake with only the highest quality ingredients. How do you find the healthiest protein shake? Look for one that is gluten and soy-free, low on the glycemic scale, and offers protein, nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.
15. Canned Sardines or Salmon
No refrigeration needed — check. High-quality protein — check. High in Omega 3 fatty acids — check. Potassium, vitamin B12, magnesium, and a host of other powerful nutrients — check!
What superfood is this? Canned sardines and salmon!
Few things are healthier — or more convenient — than a can of high quality, wild-caught salmon or sardines. They supply your body with 17 to 23 grams of protein and a wide range of nutrients all for less than 200 calories.
16. Edamame
Edamame — steamed unripened soybeans — are rich in the antioxidant kaempferol along with several other minerals including:
- Folate
- Magnesium
- Manganese
- Iron
With 17 grams of protein in one cup, edamame makes an especially great snack option for vegetarians looking to amp up their protein intake.
17. Marinated Artichoke Hearts
Marinated artichoke hearts are a good source of fibre, vitamin K1, and folate.
Studies have even found that the prebiotic fibre found in artichoke hearts can helpnourish the beneficial bacteria in your gut.
You can enjoy a 3.5-ounce (100 grams) serving of artichoke hearts marinated in olive oil for just under 200 calories.
18. Pear Slices with Ricotta Cheese
Got a sweet tooth? We might have the perfect snack for you to satisfy your sweet tooth in a healthy way — pear slices with ricotta cheese.
This unique combo is satisfying and packed with nutrients thanks to the protein and calcium in ricotta cheese and powerful antioxidants from the pears.
A 12-week study discovered that older adults who consumed 7 ounces of ricotta cheese daily experienced improvements in their muscle mass and strength.
A 3.5-ounce (100 gram) serving of ricotta cheese along with a small pear offers 12 grams of protein for about 250 calories.
19. Turkey Roll-ups
Turkey roll-ups make a satisfying snack that is:
- High in protein (the recipe below offers about 20 grams of protein)
- Gluten free
- Low carb
- Delicious
- Nutritious
- Fast and easy to make
- Under 200 calories
Ingredients:
- 4 slices of turkey
- 4 teaspoons (20 grams) of cream cheese
- 4 cucumber strips or pickels
Directions:
Place the turkey slices on a plate and spread 1 teaspoon of cream cheese onto each slice. Place a cucumber strip or pickle onto the layer of cream cheese and roll up the slices.
20. Sun-dried Tomatoes
With even more lycopene than regular tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes make a healthy, sophisticated snack.
Better yet, they are often packed in olive oil, meaning the fat from the oil will help your body absorb more of the lycopene. They are also rich in vitamin C.
A 3.5-ounce (100 gram) serving of sun-dried tomatoes packaged in olive oil comes in at just over 200 calories.
21. Olives
Olives, a staple of Mediterranean diets, are high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and powerful antioxidants such as oleuropein.
The plant compounds are thought to offer a variety of health benefits, all while being relatively low in calories. Generally, 25 black or green olives have between 100 and 175 calories.
22. Ricotta Cheese with Cocoa Powder
Ricotta cheese is healthy and versatile. It tastes just as delicious combined with vegetables and fruits (like our pear suggestion earlier) as it does when baked into a cheesecake!
It also tastes great on its own with just a couple of simple ingredients added to it to make Cocoa Ricotta Cheese
.
This satisfying snack comes together in under a minute and offers 14 grams of protein — all or about 200 calories.
Cocoa Ricotta Cheese
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (125 grams) of full-fat ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of unsweetened cocoa powder
- A pinch of stevia or sweetener of choice, if desired
Directions:
In a small bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, cocoa powder, and desired sweetener.
Final Thoughts
The next time you find yourself needing a little bite between meals, we hope our list of the top healthy snacks for weight loss comes in handy.
What are some of your favourite healthy snacks? Let us know if we missed any that should have made the list!