Words by Jasmine Trisha Nepomuceno
If you are a health nut, then you might have constantly been scouting the web for healthy snacks trying to get away from the all-easy-access goods known as junk food. Sadly, there are times when we are held back by the difficulty of sourcing ingredients locally, which makes us end up grabbing the same food with the same empty calories over and over again.
Many people think that healthy eating means eating bland. That’s not always the case. If you are creative with the available resources, you can expand your menu to more than just seasoned chicken breast, boiled eggs, sweet potatoes, and salad.
Below are 8 easy to make healthy snack suggestions, with ingredients that are easy to find. Most importantly, they are a treat to the palate!
1. Banana and Berry Smoothie
Photo from SecretDietFood.com
Great for breakfast, this smoothie has Greek yogurt, which has fewer carbohydrates and more protein than regular yogurts. Chia seeds are also an excellent source of omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants, making this even healthier.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
- 2 frozen bananas (just freeze fresh bananas overnight)
- 1⁄2 cup blueberries
- 1 1⁄2 cup almond milk
- 1 cup ice cubes
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
Procedure:
Mix the ingredients in the blender until desired smooth consistency is achieved. You can always get creative and try other fruit combinations you’d like! (Tip: Chia seeds are best added as a healthy booster to snacks, and is recommended to be soaked in water before use)
2. Chips and Zesty Avocado Dip
Photo by F45Challenge.com
Set aside the good old chips and dip for this healthier version of the snack.
Ingredients:
- Wraps
- 1 tablespoon dried cilantro
- 1⁄2 cup mashed avocado
- 1 lemon wedge
- Black pepper
- Salt
Procedure:
Toast the wraps in the oven for about 10 minutes, then break into smaller portions. Combine the avocado, cilantro, lemon, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well together. Serve the bread with dip on the side.
3. Vegetable Sticks and Dip
Photo by HealthfulPursuit.com
Mix and match veggies with your dip!
Ingredients:
- Carrots, cucumber, celery, or zucchini – take your pick!
- Spread (there are plenty of brands and variants, like salmon and tuna, pesto cheese, artichoke and spinach, four-cheese, and garlic cheese)
Procedure:
Slice up the vegetables of choice into sticks. Serve a portion of spread on the side as a dip.
4. Avocado and Garbanzo Bowl
Photo by F45Challenge.com
Avocado is a healthy and quite convincing alternative for mayonnaise. Try this!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup chickpeas or garbanzos (drained)
- 1/3 cup of chopped avocado
- Olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Salt
Procedure:
Combine the avocado and chickpeas in a bowl. Drizzle the olive oil and lemon over the mixture and season with salt.
5. Apple, Almond, and Cinnamon Combo
Photo by F45Challenge.com
Apples contain several nutrients but lack healthy oil. Combining it with almonds help boost the snack’s good fat content, complementing each other.
Ingredients:
- Apple
- Cinnamon
- Almonds
Preparation:
Dice the apple right before eating the snack to avoid oxidation. Mix with almonds and top with cinnamon for an even healthier and delicious snacking.
6. Quinoa and Tuna Salad
Photo from TheIronYou.com
Quinoa is one of the amazing super foods full of fiber and protein, which helps keep you full longer. It can be paired with tuna and other snacks as a base ingredient to the recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup quinoa, uncooked
- Half a can of tuna (solid in vegetable oil)
- 2 crushed cloves of garlic
- 1 diced green bell pepper
- 1⁄2 cup cherry tomatoes
- 3 cups of spinach leaves
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1⁄4 cup lemon juice
Procedure:
Boil 3⁄4 cup of water over medium temperature and cook quinoa for 15 minutes. Once cooked, set aside to cool down. Prepare the tuna in a salad bowl and add the spinach and bell pepper. Mix through the cooked quinoa. Create your dressing separately by mixing together the olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice. Pour the dressing over the quinoa, spinach, tuna, and bell pepper.
7. Roasted Potato and Onion Snack
Photo by F45Challenge.com
Take a break from the usual French fries and try this healthy and savory potato snack!
Ingredients:
- 5-7 wedged potatoes
- 1 red onion
- 3 crushed cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of rosemary leaves
Procedure:
Place potato, chopped onion, and garlic in a baking tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle the olive oil and add rosemary, salt, and pepper to taste. Bake the potatoes in the oven for about 30 minutes.
8. DIY Muesli Breakfast Cereal
Photo by F45Challenge.com
Muesli is a mixture of cereals, rolled oats, and dried fruits and nuts. It’s best consumed at breakfast and contains less sugar and calories than other common breakfast cereals. Mix it together with almond milk – non-dairy milk with fewer calories than the usual milk.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup of roasted almonds, walnuts, cashews, and pistachios
- 1⁄2 cup dried blueberries
- 3 teaspoons of chia seeds
- Almond milk
Procedure:
Mix together all the ingredients in a container aside from the almond milk. Consume this together with the desired amount of almond milk.
Welcome to the world of whole foods and superfoods! All the ingredients above can be found in Robinsons Supermarket and Robinsons Selections Stores. Finding healthy essentials for your journey to wellness is made easier with Robinsons Supermarket because they have a designated section that offers healthy finds. On the tag prices of the products, you would also find a nutritional guide to help you decide which product could be best for you, like if it’s low in cholesterol or low in sugar.
To strengthen its commitment to wellness, Robinsons Supermarket held Celebrate Wellness, the fourth leg of its year-long Route to Wellness journey with Filipinos. Families were treated to an afternoon program featuring a taekwondo demo, basketball shootout, soccer game, wellness arm wrestling, hygiene talk, and Milo Champ Dance Moves at the Eastwood Mall Open Park in Quezon City. Celebrities Robi Domingo and Gretchen Ho also dropped by for a meet and greet with guests!
Eating healthy doesn’t need to be boring or difficult, especially when you know where to get the ingredients. Get creative and explore the options for healthy eating with your one-stop destination for wellness – Robinsons Supermarket and Robinsons Selections.
Learn more about RSC’s year-long Route to Wellness series of promos and activities. Like it on Facebook www.facebook.com/RobinsonsSupermarketOfficial or visit its official website at www.robinsons-supermarket.com.ph to stay updated on the activities that it has in store and learn more about the #ILoveWellness campaign.
(The recipes are taken from F45Challenge.com Recipe Library list, with just slightly modified ingredients that are available in the local market.)
