No one said achieving a perfect Greek physique or a healthier lifestyle means you should stop snacking. In fact, snacks are a great opportunity for you to fuel your body between your main meals while you’re out and about. However, in a world full of indulgences, it can be challenging to control your snacks.
So, we decided to gather a few power combos, with filling yet healthy ingredients for you to prepare from items you can easily find lying around in your pantry. Eating with no ‘food guilt’ involved sounds like the perfect recipe to us!
Caprese with an Oriental Twist
Ingredients:
• Sliced tomatoes
• Dried basil
• Dried oregano (optional)
• Sea salt and pepper
• White cheese (or mozzarella for a milder taste)
• Balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil
• Pomegranate molasses (debs el remman)
This recipe fuses the Greek Caprese salad with the delicious Egyptian ‘gebna bel tamatim’ and the Lebanese touch of pomegranate molasses "debs el remman". Get your tomatoes and slice them evenly. Using a spoon, add dollops of white cheese (salted or neutral) onto the tomatoes generously, depending on how creamy you want the dish to be.
Sprinkle a bit of dried basil, oregano, salt, and pepper to get those Mediterranean smells and flavours running through the earthy greens. This easy-to-make, low-calorie snack will instantly fill you up for hours on end, and it only takes a minute to make. If your taste buds can tolerate it, try to avoid the salt completely. Drizzle a little bit of balsamic vinegar, pomegranate molasses and olive oil to add a pungent, sweet taste to it all, glossing up the tomatoes with flavour.
You can have this before starting your day, or serve it to your friends for brunch.
Another go-to snack you could take everywhere with you is honey-glazed nuts. Nuts are filled with Omega-3 and Vitamin E. In other words, they are the snacks to have when you’re trying to cut down a few pounds. To satisfy that sweet-tooth of yours, we’ve added a little twist to make healthy more appealing.
Honey-glazed Nuts
Ingredients:
• A handful of unflavored mixed nuts
• Honey
• Vanilla sugar
In a bowl, mix some honey with vanilla sugar until they're perfectly combined together. Honey regulates your blood sugar levels, increasing athletic performance, acts a probiotic and is the ideal alternative for sugar. Add in a handful of mixed nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts) and mix it in with the honey until all the nuts are coated. If you want to add a little tanginess to the nutty sweetness of the snack, add some dried apricots or cranberries. Place the mixture in the fridge for an hour at the very latest, and it’s ready to go! For every handful of nuts, drizzle no more than a teaspoon of honey to cut down on the calories. Pack it up in a mason jar with a small spoon, and you've got the ideal snack to carry around.
Our next recipe is a biscuit without the dough. Shying away from all the dangerous “whites” (flour, caster sugar, sea salt), these apple peanut butter cookies harmonise the glory of crisp, pungent, fruity and intense flavours.
Apple Peanut Butter Biscuits
Ingredients:
• Sliced apples of your choice
• Peanut butter
• Dark chocolate chips
• Raisins and nuts of your choice (optional)
Grab yourself a few apples and slice them up into circular biscuits, and evenly spread no more than a tablespoon of peanut butter on each slice. Sprinkle a few raisins, a handful of chocolate chips, your choice of nuts on top and you’re done! The dark chocolate is great for when you’re feeling blue and need to stabilize blood pressure and sugar levels.
We suggest having these for breakfast as an alternative to caffeine-filled coffee as the peanut butter and chocolate will energise you, while the carbohydrates in the apples will give you an instant boost of energy.
Deliciously sweet with nutritious benefits. Who said biscuits can’t be healthy?
Chia Pudding with Fruit
Ingredients:
• ½ to ¾ cup of chia seeds
• 3 cups almond milk
• 1-3 tablespoons of honey
Suggested toppings:
• Granola
• Fresh fruit (berries, apple slices, pineapples, peaches, and kiwi)
• Coconut flakes
• Pure maple syrup
• Cinnamon
• Nuts and seeds
A very underestimated power food packed with omega 3 and fibres. The chia seed is nutrient-dense and carries a huge load of energy-boosting power, hence it meaning “strength” in the Mayan language. It promotes healthy skin, supports the heart and digestive system, and reduces signs of ageing. Chia pudding is a perfect snack you can create in no time, and even top off with any juicy fruit.
Mix the almond milk with a few tablespoons of honey until they’re blended evenly. Add the chia seeds into the mixture. Pour the chia seeds and milk evenly into mason jars, and mix it after 10-15 minutes to avoid clumping. Let the flavours in the pudding sit in a fridge for 3 hours (or preferably overnight) until a pudding-like consistency is observed. Cut up gorgeous chunks of fruits or other toppings to have with the pudding.
Baked Sweet Potato Sticks
Ingredients:
• 5 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
• Olive oil
• Rosemary
House seasoning:
• 1 cup sea salt
• ¼ cup pepper
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ cup garlic powder
It says guilt-free all over. Treat sweet potatoes the same way you would treat fried potatoes for a lighter, sweet & salty snack that works with yogurt or hummus dips.
Season them with rosemary and sea salt for more tang and freshness.
Line a sheet tray with parchment. In a large bowl, add olive oil and the house seasoning, and mix them evenly. Toss in the slices of sweet potatoes, and coat them evenly. Then, spread the sweet potatoes equally and bake them for 20 minutes until they are crisp and golden brown.
