8 tasty and healthy Indian snacks to eat guilt-free

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In this article, I am going to share with you some healthy snack options that you can easily take along to your Office, school, college or whenever you’re traveling.

You are already familiar with these foods but it is all about combining them in the right way so that your snack becomes balanced and your body feels satisfied.

Take Apple for an example if you eat one apple that might not be enough to suppress your hunger, if you eat two apples that would be an overdose of carbohydrates.

Combining this apple with peanut butter or roasted peanuts will make you satiated very easily. Psychologically and scientifically when we combine two or more foods our body feels more satiated.

All the snack options that I am going to cover in this article are on the same line.

Moreover, these foods are cheap and easily available in the Indian market throughout the year.

These snack options are for one and all, it does not matter if you work out or not, you’re a man or woman, young or old it is for everybody. Most importantly these snack options will help you stay away from the unhealthy food outside.

In India, no snack is complete without a chai or the Indian tea and I promise you can include Indian tea or green tea with any of the snack options that you will find in this article.

Just make sure that you keep sugar to minimum, if possible use natural sweeteners like stevia.

So without any further delay let’s get started

1) Makhani also known as Phool Makhani or Lotus Seeds or Fox Nuts

Phool Makhani is an underrated snack option in India but very tasty and healthy snack. These are so filling so crunchy that it feels like having popcorn.

Lotus seeds are very heavy, they are low in calories and rich in minerals they are also high in fibre and have some amount of protein as well they are super low in sodium so it becomes a great snacking option for somebody who is suffering from high blood pressure.

You can just roast them in a non stick pan with a pinch of salt or microwave them few minutes, trust me you will love them.

Nutrition details:

Serving size — 28 g

Calories — 90

Carbohydrates — 18 g

Protein — 3 g

In my opinion makhane are satiating but if you want you can have one handful of unsalted roasted peanuts along with them.

2) Bhuna Chana or Roasted Chickpeas

They are also extremely filling and very tasty. Roasted chickpeas are a great source of complex carbohydrates and have some amount of protein.

Even after consuming two large handful of roasted chickpeas you will hardly get 15 grams of carbohydrates but your stomach will be full. You can combine them with unsalted roasted peanuts to get healthy fats and some amount of protein.

Nutrition details:

Serving size — 56 g

Calories — 92

Carbohydrates — 15 g

Protein — 6 g

3) Fruits and Nuts

You can choose any fruit apple, banana, pear, orange or whatever seasonal fruits that are available around you. combine them with one handful of nuts like peanuts, cashews, walnuts, peanuts etc.

You are getting carbohydrates from fruits and healthy fats and protein from the nuts so all in all it becomes a well-balanced filling and nutritious snack option.

Nutrition details:

Fruit:

Serving size — 1 medium size fruit

Calories — 95

Carbohydrates — 25 g

Dry Fruits (Nuts):

Serving size — 28 g

Calories — 161

Protein — 7 g

Fats — 14 g

4) Banana peanut butter roll

Take one whole wheat roti and apply one tablespoon of peanut butter on it then add one banana to it and you can just roll it and have it. It is very tasty, filling and nutritious snack option.

Nutrition details:

Calories — 295

Carbohydrates — 50 g

Protein — 12 g

Fats — 15 g

5) Carrots and Cucumbers

Only carrots and cucumbers may not be enough to fill your tummy, so you can actually add two handful of unsalted roasted chickpeas and one handful of unsalted roasted peanuts along with it

now you are getting vitamins and minerals from carrots and cucumbers, carbohydrates and some amount of protein from chickpeas and healthy fats and again some amount of protein from peanuts.

So this is how you combine foods to make your snack filling and balanced.

Nutrition details:

Calories — 300

Carbohydrates — 18 g

Protein — 14 g

Fats — 15 g

6) Boiled chana chaat

It is very easy to prepare, all you need to do is boil the chana add onions, tomato, cucumber and season it with salt, pepper, tomato ketchup and lemon then just mix it well and it is ready to go.

You need not to boil chana every day, you can boil it in bulk and store it in refrigerator for seven days.

There can be lot of variations to this chat, instead of using black chana you can even use chole, rajma or sprouts.

Nutrition details:

Serving size — 50 g

Calories — 90

Carbohydrates — 15 g

Protein — 5 g

Fat — 3 g

7) Egg whites chat

Replace black chana with egg whites and your egg white chat is ready.

This is a great way to get over the bland taste of egg whites and because egg whites are the source of lean protein you can even have one roti or a medium size fruit along with it.

Nutrition details:

Serving size — 6 egg whites

Calories — 110

Carbohydrates — 2 g

Protein — 24 g

Fat — 1 g

8) Scrambled Egg whites (bhurji) or Egg white omelet

Ingredients:

Egg whites — 6

Onion — one medium size

Tomato — one medium size

Green chillies — 2

Capsicum — one fourth

Curry leaves — few leaves

Coriander — few leaves

Oil spray

Spices (as per the taste):

Jeera

Red chilli powder

Turmeric powder

Himalayan pink salt

Ginger — small piece

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites using a spoon and keep aside.
2. Take a pan, spray the oil and heat. Now add jeera, onions, green chillies, curry leaves, capsicum and ginger. Saute for 3–4 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and few coriander leaves. Saute for 2 minutes.
4. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt as per taste. Mix well.
5. Lastly, pour in the beaten eggs and keep whisking until cooked.
6. Garnish with the remaining coriander leaves.

Nutrition details:

Serving size — 6 egg whites

Calories — 110

Carbohydrates — 2 g

Protein — 24 g

Fat — 1 g

For omlete mix all the ingredients and make an omlete using a non-stick pan. Don’t use oil instead use oil spray.

You might be thinking that eating those many egg whites is good?

Definitely they won’t cause you pimples or bodily heat it is a myth. Your body can digest eggs easily. You have to be carful only if you have any food allergy.

These are some of the healthy snack options.

I would suggest you to keep them handy with yourself always.

Let me know in the comment section which snack option you like the most and share with me some of your healthy snack ideas.

Originally published at fittym.com on October 24, 2017.