Ten snacks that won't make you fat
It’s official: Europe has a new president. To celebrate Philip Myers recent appointment as head of The European Snacks Association (yes, it exists), we decide on the ten best foods for snacking.
The European Snacks Association (ESA) is ‘the only trade association dedicated to advancing the European savoury snacks industry’ and, as well as publishing their own quarterly ‘Snacks’ magazine, they spend their time campaigning for snack-ish issues including nutrition, advertising and innovation. Mr Myers, who somewhat ironically also works for PepsiCo, is said to be chuffed with his recent appointment.
Team lovefood also know a lot about snacking. Come 11am (and 3pm) every day, one of us is bound to crack open a bag of something to nibble on – it’s usually a random treat sent to the office by a kind PR person. This week we were grazing on an assortment of posh pork scratchings, dark chocolate rice cakes, and luxury yoghurts.
Like it or not, snacking has become an essential habit for the modern-day worker; so much so that it’s challenging the concept of three meals a day. Be lazy about it, and you’ll probably end up gorging on crisps, chocolate and sweets… not good for your waistline, or teeth. But it’s actually pretty easy to keep snacking healthy when you know how – here are five savoury and five sweet foods to start with.
Savoury
Almonds
The almond is one of the lower-calorie nuts (you can eat 23 almonds for the calories of only eight cashews) and they’re choc-a-bloc with vitamin E, phosphorus (which helps build strong bones and teeth), riboflavin (to boost brain activity), magnesium and potassium.
Quorn sausages
Bit of a funny one, but they take a matter of minutes to cook and, because they have a high protein content, are good at staving off hunger. They also contain less than 1% saturated fat, and work out at about 70 calories per sausage.
Carrot sticks
Eating carrots in matchstick form keeps you grazing for longer, and creates the impression that you’re eating more than you actually are. They’re rich in beta-carotene, which is great both for your eyesight and its anti-aging properties. Carrots are full of Vitamin A too, which protects your skin.
Celery
Celery is so low in calories that you actually burn more by the process of chewing it. You can dunk your celery stick in low fat cream cheese to make it more interesting. Because of its diuretic properties, celery can help prevent urinary tract infections and it is has also been proved to keep blood pressure down.
Homemade popcorn
Simply pop some corn in a dry saucepan for a couple of minutes, and then munch on the results throughout the day. It’s the addition of huge volumes of salt and/or sugar that puts popcorn in the ‘junk food’ category – take that away, and you’re left with a cheap and healthy snack.
Sweet
Frozen grapes
Top tip, this. Put a handful of grapes in the freezer and an hour-or-so later they’ll have turned into solid ‘sweets’. They taste like grape ice cream and each one takes a long time to suck, giving you less chance to snack on something else.
Apple crisps
You can buy apple crisps in some supermarkets and online, but it’s easy to make your own too. Just slice a couple of apples very thinly (about 2mm thick) and then lay them on a lined baking sheet. Dust with cinnamon – and maybe a wee bit of sugar – and bake for up to an hour in a low oven (about 160C).
Seeds and honey
Waitrose do a little ‘honey and orange seed mix’ pack, comprising toasted pumpkin and honey-coated sunflower seeds. It’s only 70p a pack and mine kept me going for two days. Pumpkin seeds are high in the heart-healing mineral magnesium, and sunflower seeds are a good source of selenium.
Strawberries
Given the time of year, it would be criminal not to include strawberries. They contain antioxidants, are anti-inflammatory and rich in B-complex groups of vitamins, and also contain potassium, Vitamin K and magnesium. And that’s just the start.
Homemade sorbet
We’ve got a cracking recipe on our site for beet-berry sorbet – it’s made purely from beetroot (which is full of folic acid and has powerful antioxidant properties), raspberries (also rich in antioxidants and Vitamin C), a little lemon juice and a touch of sugar. Give it a go on a sunny day.
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