What’s a healthy snacker to do about cravings? They turn the most reasonable appetites into demanding, picky, impossible-to-please monsters. Many cravings persist so ardently, even the most iron-willed eaters tend to cave in, knowing that just eating the cookie (or all the cookies) is the only way they’ll be able to move on with their lives.
Don’t feel bad; the capacity to crave is human instinct. Recent research from New York University demonstrates that people, regardless of actual hunger, place greater value on the foods they crave; they’ll even pay a premium price to get a fix for a specific craving.
So what do you do when a craving strikes?
We recommend making a simple swap for a healthy and nutritious option…something that you can be proud of. No shame in eating here.
Here’s our go-to list of snacking saviors to beat any type of craving.
Salty: Popchips Barbeque Potato Chips
Your brain might think it wants a mountain of greasy barbeque, a bowl full of fatty pulled pork, or even a salty double-cheeseburger, but we promise you will be more than satisfied by Popchips Barbeque Potato Chips.
The light-as-air chips will fulfill your desire for salt and leave you feeling satisfied and empowered knowing you outsmarted your craving by eating something so wholesome. The naturally gluten-free chips skip the preservatives, artificial flavors, and trans fats. Plus, they’re made with the kinds of things you’d find at a real barbeque, namely potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and brown sugar. One serving has just 120 calories and 4 grams of fat.
Sweet: Super Yummys Goldenberry Superfruit Coco Yummys
We find most average sweets to be a bit…shallow. They often fail to bring any true benefits to a relationship, and eating them inevitably turns into an empty, regret-filled experience. So when the craving for sweets arises, we turn to a treat with more substance than most—Super Yummys Goldenberry Superfruit Coco Yummys.
These sweet treats come packed with goldenberries, a heart-healthy superfood loaded with flavonoids and antioxidants. Each 50-calorie yummy contains zero GMOs and includes only 5 grams of added sugar, which is remarkable for a treat so skilled at satisfying any sweet tooth.
Chocolate: MCT Bar Cocoa Protein Bar
If you’re craving chocolate, you could grab a candy bar laden with sugar, fat, emollients, and other things we don’t even want to mention; or you could grab an MCT Bar Cocoa Meal Replacement Bar. This bar features a chocolatey punch, courtesy of 100% cocoa, and lots of other tasty and fortifying ingredients, including peanut butter, pea protein, chicory root fiber, and of course, medium chain triglycerides (MCT) —a super ingredient that boosts energy and might have metabolism enhancing effects.
What does all this goodness mean for your snacking life? When you eat this bar, you’re not only satisfying a chocolate craving, but you’re also giving your body a boost of energy to last the whole day. (No more 15-minute sugar jolts!)
Hunger quenching: Balance Bar Peanut Butter Protein Bar
When blind, ravenous hunger strikes, it can be hard to think of just one thing to indulge in. Maybe it’s the first snack you lay eyes on or maybe it’s the first five. Don’t worry, we won’t judge.
Stop your hunger streak before it masters you by eating a Balance Peanut Butter Protein Bar. This snack will leave you feeling more satiated than all the other random things you could be eating combined. It has 15 grams of protein and 23 vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, iron, and zinc. Plus…peanut butter…to us, this is a no-brainer.
If you’re the type of person who tends to get hangry while they are out, these bars are easy to carry around in your pocket or purse.
Sweet and salty: Yomms Nutty Chia Pecan
If your indecisive taste buds can’t decide if they want something sweet or something salty, then Yomms Nutty Chia Pecan treats will save you from the turmoil of snacking indecision. Each pack comes bursting with lightly sweetened pecans dusted with crunchy chia seeds and sultry black sesame seeds.
This sophisticated snack offers a nuanced flavor that goes beyond the average combination of sweet and salty; the flavor of rich, buttery pecans makes the perfect base for the complex flavors and textures of the seeds. Plus, each serving contains only 5 milligrams of salt and 6 grams of sugar which will save you the sugar crash and salt bloat without leaving you feeling deprived.
Light: Wonderful No Shell Pistachios
Light, nutrient-dense pistachios make the perfect snack for those who have hamburger-sized hunger and don’t want to eat anything too heavy. Even a small portion of pistachios will fill up the hungriest snackers thanks to the bright green nut’s protein and fiber density. One serving of pistachios has 160 calories, 6 grams of protein, and 3 grams of fiber (that’s 12% of the recommended daily value).
Plus, this pre-shelled option is perfect for those inconvenient on-the-go hunger pangs. Wonderful, we’re nuts about you. <3
Crunchy: Bakery on Main Cranberry Almond Maple Snack
Nothing satisfies like a good crunch, especially when it comes from wholesome, gluten-free granola. Bakery on Main Cranberry Almond Maple granola includes the delightfully unexpected combination of bean crisps, fruit, nuts, and seeds, all laced together with a kiss of maple syrup and topped with a dash of sea salt. This fantastic mix of ingredients turns every crunchy bite into a flavor sensation more complex than anything you can get from a highly processed cracker.
In addition to providing the crunch you crave, this granola also serves up some impressive credentials: Gluten-Free Certification Organization Certified, Kosher, and Non-GMO Project Verified.
What cravings do you find the hardest to resist? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll pair you with the perfect clean option.
