One of the common misconceptions about eating wholesome natural foods is that it’s really time consuming.

Firstly, bear in mind that our skewed idea of how long it should take to make food is based on the fact that you can now make a whole meal in 10 minutes in the microwave, or make a 2 min phone call and 30minutes later you got a meal delivered to your door.

Even when we think we’re making a home cooked meal, we’ll still use pre made sauces, pre cooked rice, pre chopped veggies and pre made mixed seasoning  (like the dreaded All Purpose Seasoning loaded with MSG)

So when you suggest that, heaven forbid, you do something that takes longer than grabbing a pack of crisps, a chocolate bar or a handful of biscuits, it might be met with a look of disbelief.

But if you want to ditch the “it takes too long” excuse, do something that will benefit your health remarkably (less processed chemical laden foods, more life giving energy rich foods) and start adding some quick yummy snacks to your diet, then read on

Dips and Crudités or crackers

I know this is a bit of cliche health food and one that, quite frankly, many vegans and plant based eaters are hooked on, but humus and veggie sticks it truly is a quick filling snack, especially if you’re a salty, crunchy, savoury snack lover. The crunch of the veggies and the fatty saltiness of the humus is great combo.

Just grab a stick of celery and chop it into sticks, 1/4 of a cucumber chopped into sticks, 1/2 a red bell pepper sliced into stripes and a few baby plum tomatoes, all washed of course.  Then dunk them in some homemade humus or a good quality one from the shops. If you can find the organic one made with olive oil, even better. You can also wash a chop bigger quantities of the veggies, store them in ziploc air tight bags or sealed containers in the fridge so it’s even quicker to prep this snack next time.

If you find the taste of humus isn’t very interesting, why not add some hot sauce or lime juice or even fresh chopped herbs to the tub and stir them in to jazz it up a bit.

Mashed avocado is another great dip that goes well with veggies sticks, crackers or gluten free or spelt toast

I remember first seeing a great sister on YouTube called Paula from Mother Culture One , who made a Cheesy Avocado snack by slicing a whole avocado, drizzling it with olive oil, sprinkling with a pinch of salt and half a teaspoon of nutritional yeast (which you find this in most good health food stores or the health section of supermarkets) and tucking in. I adapted this to mashing half an avocado, adding the olive oil and salt, plus a big juice of fresh lime juice and having it with gluten free toast or crackers and it’s a winner. 

Adding the lime also help to preserve it a bit longer, so again you can make a bigger batch, adding a bit more lime juice and it’ll last in the fridge for about 2 days. This is one of the recipe in my book Leah’s Raw Food Feast which you can find here

Fruit & Veg plates

This is possible one of the quickest snacks to make, as you literally cut a few fruits or veg into quarters or sticks and tuck in. It’s juicy, colourful and refreshing and full of energising live enzymes, I normally use 2-3 fruits or veg (like the celery, cucumber and oranges in the pic above) and chew them well to get as much nutrients, including satisfying and filling fibre, from the skins and rough bits as possible. It’s also very portable in a bpa free ziploc bag or a bpa free storage tub. (I get no commission if you buy this products linked, they are just the one I use)

Left Over Boats

As the name suggests, this snack makes use of left overs, in particular, roast or baked fish and cooked, stewed or curried beans or lentils. Wash 1-2 whole romaine lettuce leaves, lay them on a plate and fill with your left overs, no need to even warm them up. You could roll them into a wrap of fold it over like a sandwich to enjoy. 

Easy nut sweets

In a food processor, add 2 cups of raw nuts or seeds (which can be one type or a mixture i.e. sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, macadamia nuts etc), ½ cup of dates, a pinch of sea salt and 1 tbsp of coconut oil (optional) and a pinch of pink sea salt (optional). Process on full power for 30sec, open and move the mixture round and down closer to the blades and process for another 30 seconds. Take the mixture out, roll it into balls or shape into bars and enjoy. You can add other ingredients like different dried fruits (raisins, gogi berries, dried mango etc), chocolate powder, carob powder, maca, lacuma or protein powders to suit your taste . You can also put them in the fridge to harden if you wanted too.and it’s best to store them there until they’re finished or for up to 5 days. 

Steamed Veggies

This actually works wells as part of a breakfast too. Get some veggies like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower and sweetcorn on the cob, wash and chop them, place in a pan of boiling water for 4 mins max, drain them, drizzle with olive oil, a sprinkle of crystal salt or a dash of tamari and munch away, You could also steam them for 5 mins.

Some other quick snack ideas are 

• Homemade popcorn
• Boiled eggs
• Coconut probiotic yoghurts
• A handful of a raw nuts, seeds and dried fruit mix
• A fresh fruit smoothie, nut milk or juice

By the way, I’ve tried, tested and timed how long it takes to make all of these meals, from entering the kitchen, to leaving with my plate and they truly take less than 10 minutes (as long as you’re not moving as slow as molasses on Christmas day!)

I have 6 children, run a business part time, home educate and look after my house. If there is one thing I’ve learned to do, it’s make quick healthy meals for hungry children.

It may take a bit longer the first few times you make it as you get used to the process and adjust things to your exact liking, but soon you’ll be able to make them with your eyes closed (not literally!!!)

If you have any other ideas for quick healthy snacks, please share below

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

The Naturally You Coach

About the Author: Leah Salmon, The Naturally You Coach, is a bestselling author, speaker, nutritionist, live blood analyst and life coach, focused on womb & pregnancy health and premature birth prevention & on a mission to help 100,000 black women to eat for health, think for happiness and live in harmony by 2020 or what she calls Becoming Naturally You. She does this through her clinic, books, programs, coaching, events, workshops, videos, articles and a free weekly ezine.

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