The vegan diet is one that involves no animal produce at all. You may decide to follow it for your moral views or for the nutritional benefits. Whatever your reasons, you may think that finding snacks is going to be difficult.
Most snacks involve some type of animal produce. It could be yoghurts or cheese or the use of ham slices. Either way, these types of snacks are banned on the vegan diet.
There are plenty of vegan-friendly snacks out there. Whether you want a pick-me-up at 11 am or need something to boost the nutrients you get in the afternoon, you have a world of options. Here are just a few vegan-friendly snacks that are easy to make every day of the week.
Making Sure, You Get Your Nutrients
The vegan diet is great for getting the essential vitamins and minerals. You can also get a lot of healthy fats, carbohydrates, and fibre. Some vegans struggle to get enough iron, protein, and calcium into their system. These are those that traditionally come from the meat or other animal produce, including milk, red meat, and cheese.
It’s important to make sure that anything you eat during the day offers all the nutrients that you need. Try to play your snacks in advance to make sure you get your recommended daily amounts of everything. Work around your main meals and see what nutrients you could be lacking in.
Snacks aren’t just a way to fuel your body during the day or to give your hands something to do. They’re a way to keep your body healthy and to make sure all your organs are supported.
One of the best things about snacks is that you will usually opt for raw foods. When you cook any food, you can start to lose some of the nutrients in them. You don’t lose all of them, so there’s no need only to follow a raw food diet unless you really want to, but you will lose some. When you opt for food in its natural state, your cooking method hasn’t diluted foods or killed the nutrients. You increase the chance of your body absorbing more because there are more there.
Are you ready for some delicious and healthy vegan-friendly snacks for every day? Here’s a look at all your option.
Get Your Morning Boost
It’s the 10-11am slump. You just want something to reach for to get you going again. What are your options? When it comes to a vegan diet, you have plenty of options. In fact, you’ll probably focus on healthier options that you’d never considered or forgotten about when not following the vegan diet.
Here are some of my favourites for your morning boost.
A Trail Mix
Put together a mixture of nuts, dried fruits, and seeds. Mix them all together in a bag, and you have your own trail mix. You can also add a few spices or herbs into the mix if you want to get a big of a kick.
A trail mix is a quick option that you can eat wherever you are. It’s full of fibre, healthy fats, and protein thanks to all the different ingredients that you throw in.
Try to get a good mixture of the different foods. Mix up your nuts by adding walnuts, almonds, and even Brazil nuts. Consider adding some sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and you could even consider chia seeds for that extra health boost.
Do watch out for the amount of the trail mix you eat. You only need a small tub to get all the benefits. The downside is that nuts and dried fruit are higher in calories. Dried fruits can sugar quickly because you’ve taken the water content out of them. You could use fresh fruit instead, but this isn’t going to last as long as a trail mix with dried fruits.
You’ll find that a trail mix fills you up quickly because of all the fibre in it. However, because it’s small and snacky, you’ll need to portion it out properly to avoid over eating!
Endurance Crackers
Not only do you get something vegan-friendly with this morning boost, but you’ll also get something gluten free, soy free, and sugar-free. What more could you ask for?
You want something extremely delicious, filling, and healthy? No, you’re not asking too much for your snacks. You’ll get all them and more with these Endurance Crackers.
They’re extremely simple to make, too. Try them on the weekend with the kids, and you’ll have something for you and them to snack on throughout the week.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup of chia seeds
- ½ cup of sunflower seeds
- ½ cup of pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup of sesame seeds
- 1 garlic clove, grated finely
- 1 cup of water
- ¼ tsp salt, plus some for sprinkling
Method:
- 1. Preheat oven to 300F
- 2. Line a baking seed with parchment paper.
- 3. Mix all the seeds together in a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine by stirring. Allow the chia seeds to absorb all the water. Stir again to make sure there isn’t a pool of water at the bottom. If there is, your chia seeds need longer.
- 4. Spread across the parchment paper. Split into rectangles for baking if you want. You can also bake altogether and break apart afterwards.
- 5. Bake for 35 minutes.
- 6. Flip and bake for another 30 minutes until the edges are golden.
- 7. Allow to cool and break up into smaller crackers.
You can freeze these crackers for a month, or you can keep in an airtight container for two weeks.
Try serving with salsa or vegetable dip. You can also just have them in a tub on the desk ready for that 11 am a slump.
Clementine Smoothies
Thought that smoothie were off limits because of your vegan lifestyle? Not all milk is now banned—just the animal versions. You can still enjoy the likes of coconut and almond milk. They also tend to be healthier options for you, too.
Here’s a great smoothie idea so you can enjoy it as your mid-morning snack. This is one of those that you could even add some vegan-friendly protein powder to so you make sure you get some in your diet.
Ingredients:
- 2-3 clementines in segments
- ½ avocado, frozen and scooped out of flesh
- 1 ripe banana, sliced and frozen
- 2 tbsp cream off top of coconut milk can
- ½ cup of the watery part of coconut milk
- ½ cup and 2tbsp almond milk
- 1/4tsp almond extract
- 2tsp lemon juice
Method:
- 1. Freeze all the fruit before starting for the perfect creamy smoothie.
- 2. Place everything in the blend and combine until smooth.
You can add more liquid if you need it. This will give you enough for 2 cups so you can start and finish your day with this one.
Kick the Afternoon Slump
The morning isn’t the worst slump of the day. That 3 pm slump that you get when your lunch has fully settled and is working its way through the body is one of the worst. You just want to grab a coffee and chocolate bar.
But you know you can’t. Not only is it against your vegan diet, but it’s one of the most unhealthy afternoon snacks in the world. It’s time to opt for one of these afternoon snacks to kick that slump.
Strawberry Oat Squares
Let’s start with something similar to a flapjack. Oat squares offer fibre and nutrients. These strawberry oat squares will give you a small sugar kick while helping you keep going until your dinner in a few hours. They’re also great for kids to eat on the way home from school.
Ingredients for the oat base:
- 1 ½ cups of oats
- 1 cup of Kamut flour (preferably wholegrain)
- 1/2tsp of baking soda
- ½ tsp of salt
- ½ cup of brown sugar
- 1tbsp chia seeds, soaked in 4tbsp warm water
- 2tbsp almond milk
- 1/4cup of maple syrup (pure)
- 1tbsp sesame seeds
Ingredients for the homemade strawberry jam:
- 2 cups of strawberries (you can also use premade jam if you wish)
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
Methods:
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350F
- 2. Line a pan with parchment paper. Oil the sides.
- 3. Chop the strawberries up into 1-inch pieces and put into a pot with the sugar. Heat on low until the strawberries go a little watery. Turn the heat down and add the chia seeds. Stir completely.
- 4. Bring the jam to a boil and then simmer on low for 10 minutes. Allow to thicken and then remove from heat for about 10 minutes.
- 5. Mix all the dry oat ingredients in a large bowl.
- 6. Place maple syrup, almond milk, and chia seed mixture into a small bowl and combined well.
- 7. Add the maple syrup mixture to the dry oat ingredients and mix completely. You may need to use your hands for this.
- 8. Pour the oat base into the pan with parchment paper and press down. Reserve half a cup of the mixture.
- 9. Pour the jam over the top and smooth across the top.
- 10. Sprinkle the last bit of the oat mixture and then sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
- 11. Bake for about 30 minutes.
Allow the oat pieces to cool before you remove from the pan. You’ll need to store these in an airtight container in the fridge.
Make Your Own Hummus
Hummus is a great dip for your vegetable sticks. You can add in plenty of vegetable sticks to make sure you get all your nutrients. Don’t forget the protein for the likes of calcium and iron.
Ingredients for the oat base:
- 2 cups of chickpeas, cooked with the liquid reserved to one side
- 1tsp salt
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/3 cup of tahini
- 7tbsp lemon juice
- Tabasco sauce to taste
- Olive oil to drizzle
- Paprika to serve
Methods:
- 1. Place everything except the salt into a blender and process until coarse.
- 2. Add the salt gradually to get the taste you desire.
- 3. Place into a bowl and drizzle with the oil. Finish off with the paprika, and it’s ready to go.
Pop your mixture into a small tub and take with you to work. Add a bag of vegetable sticks, and you’ll have that healthy pick-me-up with your afternoon coffee.
Tofu Spring Rolls
How about something that takes a bit more preparation but sounds a little more filling? Tofu spring rolls will give you the protein you need and are packed with some great vegetables. You can also create a dipping sauce for that little extra kick.
Ingredients for the rolls:
- 400g tofu chopped into 2 in matchsticks
- 3tbsp olive oil
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut
- 4oz pea greens
- 2 cups of mixed herbs
- Chopped peanuts, toasted
- Serrano chilli peppers sliced finely
- 20 dried rice paper wrappers
Ingredients for the peanut dipping sauce (needed for the rolls):
- ½ cup peanuts, shelled
- 1tbsp brown sugar
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1tbsp soy sauce
- 2tbsp vegan Thai red curry paste
- 1tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 2tbsp olive oil
- Chilli flakes to taste
Methods:
- 1. Set the tofu in a colander in the sink and pour a quart of boiling water over it. Keep it there for a minute and then transfer to a tray lined with paper towel. Press dry.
- 2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over a medium heat. Cook the tofu, occasionally turning, for about 10 minutes. Transfer back to the plate with the paper towel.
- 3. Place the peanuts, garlic, and sugar from the dipping ingredients into a blender. Pulse until a chunky paste. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend. Add water a tbsp at a time until thick.
- 4. Put the tofu and 5 tbsp dipping sauce into a bowl. Coat the tofu well.
- 5. Place all the spring roll ingredients onto serving platters. Serve with a bowl of water for the rice paper wrappers.
- 6. Dip your wrappers into the water to moisten all surfaces. Transfer to your plate and create your spring rolls the way you like. Roll and dip into the rest of the dipping sauce and enjoy.
You can make a few of these to take to work with you. Put the dipping sauce in a small, sealed tub and enjoy it on your afternoon tea break.
Vegan-friendly snacks don’t need to be boring. They can offer you all the nutrients you need while looking and smelling great. It’s time to make your colleagues jealous with this fantastic vegan friendly snacks for every day.
