With the holidays behind us and the new year in full swing, I find myself craving healthy snacks to fuel my afternoons. What you choose to snack on can make or break your energy throughout the afternoon, not to mention impact your sugar cravings! Today, I’m sharing 5 healthy snacks to fuel your new year.

Savoury Trail Mix

Ingredients:

• 5 cups raw almonds (unsalted)
• 5 cups hulled pumpkin seeds (unsalted)
• 5 cups raw sunflower seeds (unsalted)
• 2 TBSP tamari
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ – 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (¼ mild / 1 teaspoon SPICY)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
3. Toss all ingredients together in a bowl so spices are well mixed in with the nuts
4. Bake for 10 minutes, toss, and bake for another 5-10 minutes, making sure they don’t burn

Carrot Apple Ginger Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 3 eggs (I made an egg-free version that had 1 chia egg, which is 1 TBSP ground chia with 3 TBSP water, + 2 Bob’s Red Mill GF Egg Replacers)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup grated carrot (approx 2 large carrots)
• 1 cup grated granny smith apple
• 1 TBSP fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 cups almond flour
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2/3 cup raisins
• 2/3 cup pecans
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Using a food processor, grate the carrot and peeled/cored apple.
3. Rinse the food processor and peel a 1-2 inch piece of ginger. Put the regular blade in the food processor and turn it on, empty. Drop the piece of ginger through the top to mince it quickly.

**If you don’t have a food processor, you can grate the apple and carrot by hand and mince the ginger with a knife.

4. If making a chia egg, mix it and set aside so it sets for a few minutes.
5. Then, mix all of the wet ingredients together (apple sauce, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, grated carrot, apple and ginger).
6. In a separate bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together (almond flour, coconut flakes, raisins, pecans, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt & chia seeds).
7. Combine the dry and wet ingredients, mixing with a spoon.
8. Line a muffin tray with muffin liners.
9. Scoop out the batter and form into a thick patty with your hands (that will fit in the muffin tray). The key is to make sure you form them first as the batter is a bit lose, so you don’t just want to drop the batter in without sticking it together. They will rise when cooking.
10. Bake for 30-35 minutes if using real eggs. Bake for 40 minutes if using vegan egg replacements.

Low Sugar Energy Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almonds
• 2 TBSP coconut oil
• 2 TBSP nut butter (I used peanut butter)
• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder (cocoa powder works too)
• 4 Medjool dates, pitted
• 1/4 cup coconut flakes

Directions:

1. Place the almonds in the food processor and grind until they’re a flour-like consistency.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until a dough like consistency forms.
3. Roll into balls and store in the freezer

Super Quick Homemade Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond meal
• 1⁄4 cup coconut flour
• 1⁄2 tsp baking powder
• 1⁄2 tsp baking soda
• 2 TBSP melted coconut oil
• 4 eggs, beaten (or replace with 4 flax eggs, which is 4 TBSP ground flax and ¾ cup warm water, mixed together in advance)
• 2 tsp honey
• Sprinkling or pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together
3. Melt the coconut oil
4. Whisk the eggs, or make the flax eggs
5. Combine the coconut oil, egg, and honey together in a 2nd bowl
6. Combine the wet and dry ingredients
7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
8. Scoop ⅙ of the batter and drop onto baking sheet (for flax egg biscuits, you will need to form more into a biscuit but for the regular egg biscuits, they will form themselves)
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven. Again, the flax biscuits will still be a bit soft on the inside – that’s ok!

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• ¼ cup chia seeds (ground chia seeds makes for a better consistency)
• 1 cup mixed berries
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 heaping TBSP raw cacao powder
• If you need to sweeten it: 1/16 tsp powdered stevia or 2-4 drops liquid stevia (if you don’t have it, you can add a bit of honey or maple syrup, but it’s optional)

Directions:

1. If you have a grinder, grind chia seeds in advance.
2. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. (If you prefer, you can place in blender, but you may need to add a bit more liquid)

Note: At first, the consistency will still be quite liquid. It takes about 15-20 minutes to set in the fridge and then it will be a pudding!

Happy (and healthy!) snacking!!!