For the snack you do not have to settle for any ultra-processed product filled with sugars and fats of poor quality. You can prepare very simple and nutritious elaborations at home.
- 1. Energy balls
- 2. Protein foam
- 3. Low-carb crusty bread
- 4. Toasted chickpeas
If you have an early lunch and don’t want to get too hungry for dinner, you may want to have a snack. But a paste of pastries or any ultra-processed product is not worth it. You have to prepare a healthy snack. We show you four recipes that can be prepared in a short time.
1. ENERGY BALLS
Energy without added sugar. Energy balls made from oatmeal, cocoa, peanut butter and dates are prepared in 10 minutes and stored perfectly in the fridge waiting to be consumed.
If you go to the gym or do some type of exercise in the afternoon, they are ideal to promote a good recovery.
Ingredients (for approximately 15 balls)
- 200 g Medjool dates
- 2 tablespoons pure defatted cocoa powder
- 4 tablespoons fine oatflakes
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 pinch sea salt
Elaboration:
- Remove the bone from fresh dates and cut them into pieces. With a hand mixer, prepare a fine puree with dates, cocoa, oat flakes, peanut butter and sea salt.
- Form with the mixture about 15 balls the size of a walnut with moistened hands. You can coat them in a little more cocoa if you wish, place them on a plate and store them in the fridge, so they will stay pleasantly firm.
- If you do not find soft dates, soak the ones you have in a bowl with cold water about 10 minutes before using them, so they will be a little softer and easier to puree.
- Each energy ball provides about 60 calories.
2. PROTEIN FOAM
The protein foam that we propose is light and gets its natural sweetness from berries and honey. Roasted and salty pistachios give this protein-rich, low-fat snack a wonderful crunch.
Ingredients (for 4 people):
- 60 g roasted and salted pistachios (shelled)
- 125 g raspberries
- 125 g blackberries
- 250 g strawberries
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon + 4 teaspoons liquid honey
- 160 g pasteurized liquid egg white.
- salt
Preparation:
- Peel the pistachios from their skin and chop them into large pieces.
- Wash and chop the strawberries and wash the berries. Place all the berries and 1 tablespoon of honey in a high bowl to mix and briefly crush them with the hand mixer (the mixture may be a little lumpy).
- Beat the liquid egg white with a pinch of salt in a bowl with a whisk slowly adding 1 teaspoon of honey.
- Divide the pureed berries and the whipped egg white into four dessert glasses (each 250 ml). Sprinkle with pistachios. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of honey on each.
- Each serving provides about 150 calories.
3. LOW-CARB CRUSTY BREAD
Low-carb crusty bread has no flour and is really nutritious. It contains flaxseed, which is a valuable source of digestive fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, and pumpkin seeds, which provide some vegetable protein.
For this reason, crusty bread is much more satiating and nutritionally dense than a slice of white bread. To give it a little more flavor, you can spread it with cashew cream hummus and sprinkle a mixture of aromatic plants on top.
Ingredients (for about 20 pieces):
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 100 g amaranth flour
- 100 g millet flakes
- 30 g pumpkin seeds
- 30 g sunflower seeds
- 40 g sesame seeds
- 40 g flaxseed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Elaboration:
- Crush fennel seeds in a mortar. Mix with amaranth flour, millet flakes, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, salt and fennel seeds in a bowl. Pour 300 ml of water and olive oil and stir everything well. Cover and let stand for about 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 160 °C. Cover a baking sheet with baking paper. Spread the dough evenly on the baking sheet with the help of a spatula, pressing lightly. Bake the crusty bread for about 20 minutes.
- Take the tray out of the oven, cut the sheet of dough into pieces of about 5×10 cm and bake for another 30 minutes. Take the crusty bread out of the oven, let it cool completely and store it in an airtight container.
- A slice of crusty bread contains about 90 calories
4. TOASTED CHICKPEAS
Chickpeas are an excellent choice due to their nutritional values. You have protein, B vitamins, calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium.
Due to their high saponin content, chickpeas keep blood sugar levels low and have a positive influence on the cardiovascular system. And best of all, they taste delicious toasts and are still a much healthier snack than any offer in the food industry.
Elaboration:
- Rinse about 200 g of cooked chickpeas and dry them very well.
- Then mix them with 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper and your favorite spices.
- Roast them on the baking sheet covered with baking paper at 200 °C for about 30 minutes.
- 100 g of chickpeas contain about 130 calories.
