Looking for delicious whole food snacks to replace the junk you’ve been eating but tired of hummus suggestions? Don’t get me wrong, a good bean dip is awesome but sometimes you want more than hummus all the time. Here are 5 fantastic, easy and healthy vegan snacks that anyone would reach for throughout the week!
Vegan & Loving It?
When reading vegan blogs, a beginner can easily get turned off by snack suggestions that tend to fall into two extremes – too complicated and expensive to make or completely unappetizing. What you want are easy snacks you’ll love reaching for and chowing down on all the time.
Don’t get me wrong, plenty of amazing blogs and websites provide loads of yummy examples but half seem to include hummus variations, come loaded with added sugars, take too long to make, or are gluten-based. I just want easy real food that tastes good – and so do you!
Getting In Touch With Our Roots
Then I thought out of the box. Or rather, I turned to cultural favorites for inspiration. All around the world and throughout time, as a species we mostly ate a whole foods based diet. Refined sugar, flour and oils which make up so much of modern diets is a relatively new development beginning in the mid-1800s but not really picking up steam until the mid 1900s. Over half the world is lactose intolerant so dairy wasn’t big in their diet either. So what were people snacking on in the meantime with so much pleasure and contentment?
You don’t have to look far for answers. Many cultures still eat a whole foods based diet. Having traveled to over 20 countries, I’ve seen how very differently the rest of the world snacks compared to us Americans. That exposure gives me a different view of snacking that I turned to when going whole foods and now while going vegan. Why try to reinvent the wheel when plenty of delicious snacks litter the culinary world? Here are 5 that I love and suspect you will too!
#1 – Guacamole
Whether you’re eating it with tortilla chips, toasted pita or veggie dippers, it’s rare to find someone who doesn’t love guacamole. Don’t forget to spread it on whole grain crackers or toasted whole grain bread.
#2 – Salsa
This is another house favorite. Salsa with tortilla chips can win over almost anyone – whether it’s traditional, mild, spicy or loaded with mango, beans and other fun ingredients. It also makes a fabulous bruschetta.
#3 – Tapenades & Crostini
Recently I discovered tapenades and fell in love with a fig and olive variety that was easy to make at home and so delicious it was hard not to eat the entire jar in one sitting. Tapenades, crostini, and bruschetta are all close cousins. They are flavorful spreads made with olives, sun dried tomatoes, or tomatoes as bases. Their variety of recipes seems endless. Whether you spread them on crusty bread, crackers, and vegetables or use them as a dip, you’ll certainly agree that these are wonderfully delicious.
#4 – Pecan-Stuffed Dates
Want a simple, sweet and healthy snack? Grab a handful of pitted dates, add pecans and enjoy! Dates are a wonderful snack. Don’t like pecans? Substitute other nuts or dip them in chocolate. They’re delicious treats however you serve them.
#5 -Energy Bites aka Vegan Cookie Dough
At first I was wary of these treats but then I made some and fell in love. These no-bake, gluten-free energy balls are easy to make, easy to take on the go, easy to freeze and wonderful for breakfast or as a treat. They’re like cookie dough. Vegan cookie dough. You can endlessly play with the ingredients. I tend to use almond meal or oats as a base, add in chia seeds, ground flax seeds, peanut butter and chocolate chips. Heavenly! And they really are energy balls. Three sate my sweet tooth, fill me up, and keep me buzzing with energy for quite some time. Once you try them, you’ll fall in love with these energy bites too!
Simply Tasty
These are just five easy to make or find vegan snacks to keep in your fridge or at work. They’re beloved across cultures and ones you would love to eat all the time. Better, they’re healthy, real food made with real ingredients loaded with nutrition.
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My Best Life Secrets 
All great ideas!
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