Try These Healthy Vegan Snacks

You don’t need to miss out on snack time if you follow a vegan diet. Veggies, fruits, and nuts all make for a great snack for vegans. But, there are many more fun and healthy snack options available. Check out some of the healthy vegan snack ideas below to help satisfy your next big craving.

Potential Benefits Of A Vegan Diet

A vegan diet can be very healthy because it often contains lots of fruit, veggies, beans, and whole grains.¹ Also, vegan diets tend to be high in fiber and low in cholesterol.² The nutritious nature of a vegan diet may have a few specific health benefits.

Potential Weight Loss

You may experience weight loss by following a vegan diet. Many vegan ingredients and plant proteins tend to have fewer calories than meat. Of course, like all diets, weight loss depends on the specific foods you eat. Potato chips are technically vegan, but they won’t help you shed the pounds.³

Heart Health Support

One study found that people who cut meat from their diet had a much lower risk of heart disease.⁴ This may be attributed to the fact that vegan diets may contain less saturated fat than a normal diet and more fiber.⁵

Of course, everyone has a unique body with unique needs. Always discuss with your doctor before making any dietary changes.

Tips And Tricks For Your Vegan Snacks

A vegan diet, like any diet, can prove tricky to follow at times. Fortunately, there are some practical ideas and tips that may help you stick to a healthy regimen of nutritious vegan food.

Be Prepared

A vegan-friendly snack may not always be available — especially if you’re on the go. Avoid a snack emergency by always being prepared with a favorite snack at the ready. Make your snacks ahead of time, and store them in bags or storage containers. This way, you’ll always be prepared, even in the most inhospitable vegan terrain.

Find Vegan Substitutes

These days, you can find a vegan-friendly substitute for just about any meat or dairy product. There’s vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, and even vegan bacon. All these vegan cheeses and meat substitutes allow you to make most any recipe. Simply swap ingredients for vegan alternatives as needed.⁶

Watch Out For Junk Food

A vegan diet is not inherently a healthy diet, especially when it comes to snacks. Even packaged vegan snacks may contain lots of preservatives, sugar, or calories. To avoid these junk food traps, stick to wholesome, plant-based snacks when you can.^7,8

Make Your Own Nut Milks

You can make your own nut milks at home for a lactose-free diet. They’re easy to make, and they let you control exactly what goes into your milk substitute. Here’s a quick recipe for your very own plant-based milk.

1. Soak 1 cup of almonds overnight.
2. The next day, drain the almonds and put them in a blender or food processor. Add two cups of water.
3. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes.
4. Strain with a cheesecloth or a fine-mesh sieve. Refrigerate and enjoy.⁹

This nut milk can be used with many of the snack ideas below, like the granola bowl or the fruit smoothie.

Easy Vegan Snack Ideas

The world provides an endless bounty of vegan ingredients. All you need to do is put them together to create a snack for vegans. Here are some healthy snack ideas to help get you started.

Bananas And Peanut Butter

Bananas and peanut butter make a great afternoon snack. Bananas contain lots of potassium, while peanut butter can give you a protein boost.^10,11

Try out other nut butters like almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter, too. They have lots of vitamins and minerals. But, be sure to check the label to make sure your nut butter doesn’t have lots of added sugars.¹²

Crackers With Cashew Cheese

Does your vegan diet leave you missing cheese at snack time? Not to worry, there are all sorts of plant-based cheese substitutes to bring some joy to a plate of lonely crackers. For example, cashew cheese makes for a great dairy-free alternative to cheese. It tends to have a great cheesy flavor and a similar texture to traditional cheese. Plus, it offers a good dose of healthy fat.¹³

Veggies With Hummus

Put some snap into your snack with some crunchy carrots or sliced bell peppers. Dip these veggies in some hummus, and you have yourself a healthy, plant-based snack. Hummus contains lots of vitamins B and C and is a great source of fiber.¹⁴ Pre-made hummus from the store may contain added oils and preservatives, so read the ingredients carefully to find a brand that works for your diet.

Avocado With Veggie Chips

The potato chip’s siren call can be tough to resist at snack time. For a healthier alternative, try a bag of veggie chips. There are all sorts available these days – beet chips, sweet potato chips, kale chips – that can help satisfy that urge without all the fat and calories.¹⁵ Dunk these veggie chips in some mashed up avocado, and you have a filling, tasty snack. Avocado is a great source of monounsaturated fats (the healthy fat) and fiber which may help support heart health.¹⁶

Fruit Smoothies

Get your fruit fix in one glass with a tasty smoothie. You can use frozen berries or fresh fruit to help get your vitamins and minerals for the day. Don’t just make your smoothie only fruit — that may be too much sugar. Instead, add plenty of greens to your smoothie, like kale and spinach.¹⁷

This is also a great way to sneak in other vegan ingredients, like vegan protein powders or milk substitutes. In fact, soy milk has almost as much protein as cow’s milk.¹⁸

Granola Bowl

It’s easy to skip dairy in your granola bowl. Coconut yogurt is a tasty substitute that has lots of probiotics and lower levels of cholesterol than whole milk yogurts.¹⁹ Add your favorite low-sugar granola and even some nutrient-rich flax seeds or goji berries for extra vitamins and minerals.^20,21

Homemade Trail Mix

Trail mix can make a great plant-based snack on the go. Blending your own trail mix gives you the freedom to include the nuts and low-sugar dried fruits that you like. Try adding a handful of macadamia nuts or raw cashews. These can help supplement your required protein and fiber for the day.²²

White Bean Dip And Pita Chips

White beans blended with olive oil and lemon juice make for a great dip. They’re a great source of healthy plant-based protein and fiber.²³ Foods high in fiber can help you feel full longer, which may help keep you from feeling hungry between meals.²⁴
Spiced Nuts

Nuts are a simple snack that can travel anywhere with you. Best of all, they have lots of protein. For example, just a handful of almonds
contain about 12% of your recommended daily amount of protein.²⁵ Adding some spices, like curry powder or chili powder, may help, well, spice things up.

Vegan Snacking: Full Of Healthy Potential

You can easily turn your next snack break into a vegan-friendly culinary treat. Prepare healthy ingredients ahead of time with some of the healthy vegan snack ideas above. Or, flex your creative muscles to make your own snack for vegans. A wholesome, tasty vegan snack can help keep you healthy and satisfied, no matter where you find yourself throughout the day.

Learn More:

Sources
1. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200122-are-there-health-benefits-to-going-vegan
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24667136/
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4. https://www.bmj.com/content/366/bmj.l4897
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11. https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1846/2
12. https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/nut-butters.html
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15. https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/consumer-reports-veggie-chips-vs-potato-chips/1997905/
16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3664913/
17. https://time.com/5447846/are-smoothies-healthy/
18. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11130-016-0583-0
19. https://www.chowhound.com/food-news/220592/what-is-coconut-yogurt-and-is-it-really-good-for-you/
20. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173032/nutrients
21. https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3163/2
22. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/health-benefits-nuts
23. https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4320/2
24. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924224414002386
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