How hard do you find it to stick to your new years resolutions when it comes to eating healthier snacks?
Being a fulltime working mom and a regular traveller, it is not always easy to resist the temptation of an unhealthy snack when I’m on the road or at the superarket at the end of a long day. But when I absolutely need to eat something, I now choose high-protein snacks over a chocolate bar.
High protein diets and snacks are truly fulfilling for your hunger cravings. And, you might not expect it, they are scrumptious for your taste buds too.
Whether you are vegan or non-vegan, you can always seek refuge in high protein snacks. But, can you prepare them yourself? And how long does that take? Where can you find some great recipes to satisfy your hunger without gaining weight? Are the snacks high in refined sugar and carbs too? What about having a variety of protein snack recipes to choose from?
I have everything you wish to know in store today!
Why Choose High-Protein Snacks For Weight Loss?
Protein not only satisfies your hunger, the protein fibers take longer to digest; thus, it satiates you for a longer time. In other words, it’s a long-term source of energy, which is quite opposite to what energy drinks do to your body. Yes, no lethargy at all!
Additionally, protein stabilizes blood sugar levels by releasing appetite suppressing hormones and slowing down the digestion process. Proteins are also essential for muscle building and quick recovery.
Moreover, when mid-afternoon snacking urge rises, the kind of snack you reach out determines how your day is going to be spent. Stomach takes more energy to digest the extra sugar and carbs; while proteins not only consume lesser energy but also suppresses hunger. Ultimately, making it easier for you to lose weight.
Being a non-vegan, you have to be careful that you are getting incomplete proteins. Therefore, you must pair your food with animal sources to fulfill the body need.
How Much Protein Should I Consume In a Day?
You must be weighing the fact that following an all-protein diet must be harmful. Yes, definitely. Aim to have a snack of as much as 300 calories. Pair your proteins with healthy fats and fibers. A way of measuring is consuming 1g for 1lb of weight.
15 Healthy High Protein Snacks for Weight Loss:
Holidays always detract you from your weight-loss goals. No need to feel hopeless about your goals, when high-protein snacks can help you get back quickly. Simply snack on proteins rather than high carb and high calorie foods.
These snacks are devoid of added sugar or at least have a minimal amount of carbs and fats:
1. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:
Let’s begin with something fun and delicious, the delicious cookies that’ll easily help you curb the desire for other snacks:
Ingredients:
- Plain Greek Yogurt ½ cup
- French Vanilla Ideal Lean Protein 1 scoop
- Peanut Butter Powder 1 tbsp
- Dark Chocolate Chips 1 tbsp
- Vanilla Extract ½ tsp
Recipe:
Mix all the ingredients and whisk well using a beater until its smooth. Fold in some chocolate chips. And there is no need to bake. Makes a perfect serving for a single person. It contains as much as 35 g of protein.
2. Protein Bars—Chocolate and Peanut Butter Bars :
Here are protein-packed energy bars that you can prepare once and enjoy for the rest of the week.
Ingredients:
- Chocolate Whey Protein Powder 2 scoops
- Peanut Butter 3 tbsp
- Oats 2 cups
- Egg Whites 5
- Honey 1 ounce
- Medium-sized Bananas 3
- Cinnamon 1 ½ tsp
- Skimmed Milk 4 ounces
Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 3500F. Pulse the oats in a food processor until they have a plain powder texture. Add the oats, cinnamon, and protein powder in a bowl. Add smooth peanut butter to mix well. Add mashed bananas to the mixture along with honey and egg whites. Mix well until smooth. Add skimmed milk and mix the ingredients. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the toothpick comes out clean. You can have up to 8 bars out of one mixture, isn’t it great? A snack for the entire week! A single bar contains up to 23 g of protein.
3. Energy Bites—Butterscotch Bites:
Want to have extra energy for the day while traveling with these small-sized candy bites, try out the recipe below:
Ingredients:
- Oats 1 cup
- Butterscotch Pudding Powder (Sugar-Free) ½ packet
- Peanut Butter ½ cup
- Dark chocolate chips 1/3 cup
- Vanilla Extract 1 tsp
- Chocolate Brownie Lean Protein 1 scoop
- Honey 1/3 cup
Recipe:
Mix oats, protein and pudding powder together. Add and mix peanut butter, vanilla extract, and honey until combined perfectly. Fold in some chocolate chips. Prepare small round-shape bites and store it for later snacking. With this single recipe, you can have 1 bites. Each 1 oz bite contains about 9 g of protein.
4. Toasted Quinoa:
This one is a quick gluten-free superfood recipe. Relish the crunch while snacking on this amazing food.
Ingredients:
- Quinoa 1/3 cup
- Flax seed (grounded) ½ tbsp.
- Coconut (shredded) 1 tbsp
- Maple Syrup 1 tbsp
- Yogurt as per choice
Recipe:
Mix all the ingredients well in a bowl and toast the mixture in the oven for 10 minutes at 425oF. Top the yogurt with toasted quinoa in a bowl and enjoy!
5. Roasted Pumpkin Seeds:
Seeds are stuffed with fiber, proteins, and healthy fats. And if you are lazy or busy enough to prepare your snacks, simply get the pumpkin seeds as your on the go snacks.
Ingredients:
- Pumpkin Seeds As per choice
- Olive oil 2 tbsp
- Salt and pepper a pinch of each
Recipe:
Toss the seeds in olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper, and bake it at 250oF to have the crunch. For added sweetness, you may add maple syrup or vanilla.
6. Cottage Cheese With Peach Slices:
Here’s another one for your traveling tour that takes no more than 1 minute.
Ingredients:
- Cottage Cheese (Low Fat) ½ cup
- Peach Slices ½ peach
Recipe:
Top the Cheese with peach slices and enjoy the delightful taste! Wasn’t this super-quick? It has 14 g of protein.
7. Cottage Cheese Toast:
Can’t have cottage cheese in its pure form? Let’s have a toast for the evening.
Ingredients:
- Whole Grain Toast 1 slice
- Cinnamon 1 tsp
- Honey 2 tsp
- Cottage Cheese (Full Fat) 1
Recipe:
Mix up the cinnamon, honey, and cottage cheese, and apply it on to the toast to quieten those late-night belly rumbles. You can get 14 grams of protein. But, this ones too heavy for late-night craving so eat it only if you have skipped the dinner.
8. Cheese and Grape Sticks:
Another cheesy way to have more protein, on the sticks. You can add it in your party menu as well.
Ingredients:
- Cheddar Cheese (Cut in Cubes) 1 ounce
- Grapes 1 cup
Recipe:
Fill up the toothpicks with grapes and cheese cubes to rejoice the fiber punch anytime and anywhere! A single toothpick offers 7 g of protein.
9. Chunky Monkey Shake:
Without shakes and smoothies, how can the recipes list complete? Here’s one for you:
Ingredients:
- Banana 1
- Chocolate Milk 1 cup
- Peanut Butter 1 tbsp
- Ice 1 cup
Recipe:
Blend the ingredients well until smooth and enjoy your refreshing mornings in the balcony. It offers 13 g of protein.
10. Spinach & Cottage Cheese Sandwich:
This one is different, loaded with proteins, and originated from subcontinent.
Ingredients:
- Butter 1 tbsp
- Spinach (chopped) 1 cup
- Salt as per taste
- Pepper ½ tsp
- Cumin powder 1 tsp
- Cottage Cheese 100 g
- Lemon Half
- Bread 4 slices
Recipe:
In a pan, cook the spinach in butter for a while. Add salt, pepper, and cumin powder, and cook with the lid closed until the water evaporates. Shred the cottage cheese and add it in. After a minute, add lemon juice and the stuffing is ready. Toast the bread and fill in with the stuffing to prepare a protein-packed vegetarian sandwich.
11. Roasted Chickpeas:
It’s tasty, crunchy and easy to prepare.
Ingredients:
- Cooked Chickpeas 1 cup
- Olive Oil 1 tbsp
- Salt 1 pinch
- Cayenne Pepper To taste
Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 425oF. In a pan, toss the chickpeas in olive oil; add salt and cayenne pepper. Roast it in the oven for up to 40 minutes. Enjoy your protein-packed chickpeas
12. Berry Vanilla Smoothie:
Smoothies are great summer delights, here’s one for you:
Ingredients:
- Vanilla Extract ½ tsp
- Orange Juice ½ cup
- Protein Powder 1 serving
- Coconut Yogurt 1 cup
- Frozen Berries 1 cup
Recipe: Blend all the ingredients and pour it to serve.
13. Roasted Nuts:
For traveling and office snacking, I always prefer roasted nuts.
Ingredients:
- Almonds 1 cup
- Peanuts 1 cup
- Cashew 1 cup
- Pistachio 1 cup
- Walnuts 1 cup
- Olive Oil As per need
- Salt and Pepper To taste
Recipe:
Toss the nuts in olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 425oF. Bake the nuts and fill the ziplock packed with mixed nuts. You can also add in raisins or roasted fennel seeds for flavor. It’s a far better snack then a packet of chips!
14. Canned Tune with Boiled Rice:
Here’s another quick recipe for you.
Ingredients:
- Canned Tuna 1 can
- Rice (Boiled) 1 plate
Recipe:
You can add cooked canned tuna to bread or boiled rice and enjoy.
15. Perfecty Parfait:
Without this recipe, how can I end the list? This one has a great deal of visual appeal as much as does the taste of it.
Ingredients:
- Greek Yogurt ½ cup
- Fruits (frozen) 4-6 tbsp
- Honey 1 tsp
- Crunchy Cereal (any) 2 tbsp
Recipe:
Take a container, alternately layer Greek yogurt with 2 tbsp of fruit. Garnish it with honey and crunchy cereal and enjoy the probiotic treat!
Do you have any other high-protein snacks you love? I would love it if you would share your recipe here! Just leave it in the comment section below!
Thanks a lot and à bientôt!
Karen
Hi, I am a non-vegan. And I’m always looking for things to snack on. Especially because I work out a lot. And it can be hard for me to get my protein in it. Especially without having a high salt intake. my favourite snack is pumpkin seeds I also like trail mix, but it can be high in sugar. You can also get Peanut butter that is made only of peanuts. So that would be a healthy option for making sandwiches with. Although it is not as high in protein as people think.
Thanks for the tip, that’s a good one too! I’m gonna give that a try. Cheers
In addition, when mid-evening time nibbling urge rises, the sort of nibble you connect decides how your day will be spent. Stomach takes more vitality to process the additional sugar and carbs; while proteins expend lesser vitality as well as smothers hunger. At last, making it simpler for you to get in shape.
that is exactly what it does! Thanks and all the best!
I appreciate your post about healthy high protein snacks. I’m always on the lookout for more diverse food options, that are also healthy. I love quinoa, so I’ll try your recipe for Toasted Quinoa first! Luckily, I have all the ingredients I need at home. And what an interesting idea, to roast chickpeas – I’ll put it on my meal prep list for next Sunday!
I love chickpeas! So easy and healthy….good luck with the snacks!
You’ve gotten a protein bar for every teste on this post.
I really love them (eating them, to be honest). Figure this out: I’m about to get for the groceries to come back to my wife, she expects me to surprise her by picking a nice recipe for our cooking together a session of the week today,
Thanks for showing me a guilt-free way of getting some sweet in my life.
I prefer the Chocolate and Peanut Butter Bars, the Berry Vanilla Smoothie and the Cottage Cheese With Peach Slices.
Wish me good luck with this (cooking is always challenging for me).
Thanks for a great post filed in with great recipes! 🙂
Hi Juan, don’t worry, this easy cooking anyone can do it! Good luck and thanks for stopping by!
Hi Karen. The recipes presented by you aroused my appetite. I like everything, just reading them, but especially those containing cinnamon and honey. And I like walnuts a lot, but I didn’t think I would combine them with anything else. I consume them as such. A delicious snack is made from a mixture of hemp seeds and dates. Thank you for taking the time to share your recipes with us.
Thank you too Carmen! Cheers
Thanks for this great article
Actually, proteins are very useful to our bodies. But, there is something I want to know about proteins for quite some time. I heard that there is artifice and natural proteins, how true is that? If true, do they work the same? The described these snacks I felt like tasting them
Hi Mugalu, you are probably referring to protein shakes when you say artificial proteins, don’t you? Well, these are made of whey protein, which has a very high protein level. I would not chose just one or the other form of protein, but see them as complementing each other. Personally, I would not want to miss out on the natural protein products, they are an important part f my daily diet. All the best!
Hello Karen, Wow, this is a great article and every woman will like it. I found my self in it. During the holidays, I have gained some pounds, so with these healthy and delicious receipts, I believe to lose and return to my shapes.:)
These fifteen snacks seem very easy to prepare, and all have the ingredients that I like and use in my nutrition.
Thank you
Cheers
Alketa
You are welcome Alketa, I’m glad this could be of help! All the best