17 Quick and Healthy Vegetarian Snacks

Choosing nutritious snacks to enjoy throughout the day is a key component of any healthy diet, including a vegetarian diet.

Unfortunately, many quick and convenient breakfast foods offer little in terms of nutrition without the extra calories, sodium, and added sugar.

Still, finding easy, portable, and nutritious vegetarian breakfast options shouldn't be a challenge.

Here are 17 quick and healthy vegetarian snack ideas.

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1. Nuts butter with Fruits

Pairing your favorite fruit with almond butter makes for an easy, filling, and quick plant-based snack you can enjoy anywhere.

Apples, bananas, and strawberries are loaded with antioxidants and high in fiber that helps you feel full at your main meal.

Meanwhile, almond butter, like almonds, peanuts, or cashew butter, provides a good dose to satisfy healthy proteins and fats.

2. Cheese Sticks

The Cheese Bar is a convenient, portable snack that helps reduce ongoing habits.

Although the exact nutritional profile varies by brand and type of cheese, cheese sticks generally provide a 1-ounce (26-gram) serving of 5 to grams of protein.

Protein is the most abundant macronutrient, making cheese a great option for a satisfying vegetarian breakfast.

This snack is a good source of calcium, a key mineral that helps strengthen bones and teeth.

3. Bell pepper with hummus

Bell Peppers with Hummus are traditional herb chips and healthy plant-based alternatives for dipping.

Bell peppers not only provide a satisfying crunch like potato chips or pretzels, but they are also low in calories and contain more fiber, vitamin C, and vitamin A.

Plus, dipping them in hummus helps increase protein and fiber intake while keeping calorie intake low.

4. Fried Chickpeas

Chickpeas contain protein, fiber, and vitamins and minerals like manganese and folate.

After all, olive oil-cooked fried lentils and your spice or seasoning options are easy to make at home before baking at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) for 20-30 minutes.

Chili pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, and nutmeg are a delicious alternative to help you pick up your gram spice.

5. Popcorn

Popcorn is a nutritious, low-calorie food that is a great source of the minerals phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc.

It is also high in manganese, a mineral that is involved in digestion, immunity, energy production, and brain health.

Be sure to choose air popcorn over the prepackaged or microwaveable varieties that are generally high in calories, fat, and sodium.

For added flavor, try seasoning your aerated popcorn with paprika, onion powder, veggie parmesan, or parsley.

6. Nuts

Nuts, heart-healthy fats like almonds, walnuts, cashews, and pesto, provide important nutrients including fiber, protein, magnesium, iron, and calcium.

In addition to being incredibly nutritious, research shows that adding nuts to your diet can lower your risk of certain types of cancer, including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and colorectal cancer.

However, keep in mind that walnuts are high in calories, so enjoy them in moderation and consume about 1 ounce (26 grams) at a time as part of a healthy diet.

7. Yogurt with Fruit

Rich in protein, calcium, vitamin B12, and potassium, yogurt is an excellent alternative for a vegetarian breakfast.

Combining yogurt with apples, berries, bananas, grapes, or your favorite fruit can help you combine fiber, vitamin C, and disease-resistant antioxidants.

Look for flavored and bland varieties to reduce the amount of sugar you add, and use a little cinnamon, honey, or maple syrup to enhance the flavor.

8. kale chips

Kale fries are an easy and tasty way to serve spicy veggies in your daily diet.

Kel is a special source of vitamins C and A, an important nutrient involved in immune activity and disease prevention.

Try making lime chips at home by mixing the lime with olive oil and sea salt, then bake at 275 degrees Fahrenheit (135 degrees Celsius) for 15-25 minutes until crisp. Look at them closely, because they can burn easily.

9. Cottage Cheese

Made with cow's milk yogurt, which is solidified by adding acid to milk, cottage cheese is rich in dairy protein, phosphorus, selenium and vitamin B12.

It is a great source of calcium, an essential nutrient that plays a central role in bone formation, muscle function and hormone secretion.

Cottage cheese has a mild flavor that can be enjoyed on its own or in combination with fruits like banana, watermelon, berry and pineapple.

Alternatively, you can combine cottage cheese with olive oil and a pinch of salt and black pepper for a tasty, vegetarian-friendly breakfast.

10. Green Smoothies

Green smoothies can be a quick and convenient way to serve a few extra vegetables in your diet while increasing your intake of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Although green smoothies are usually made from green leafy vegetables such as kale or spinach, other fruits, vegetables and ingredients can also be added.

You can also mix protein powders like vegetarian machine protein, peas, flax, or brown rice. These can make you feel longer and support muscle growth and blood sugar control.

11. Roasted Edamame

Edamame soybeans are cut before they are fully ripe. These can be boiled, steamed or roasted to create a delicious and nutritious on-the-snack.

In fact, one cup (155-g) of cooked edamame packs an intense 8 g of fiber and 18 g of plant-based protein and packs plenty of magnesium, iron, and vitamin C.

Extremely versatile in edamame and convenient for 30 to 40 minutes for a delicious meal sitting at home, can be bought in ready-to-eat packages or fried at 400 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (200-400C). .

12. Mixed Nuts

Almond blend is a vegetarian food usually made from nuts, seeds and dried fruits.

It is portable, delicious, healthy and versatile and you can make it to your personal liking.

Nuts, seeds, dried fruits, coconuts and whole grains such as puffed rice or popcorn are just a few examples of nutrients that you can use to create and customize your perfect trail mix.

13. Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds are a great source of many important nutrients like protein and fiber.

They are rich in magnesium, a micronutrient needed for muscle contraction, blood pressure control, nerve function and DNA synthesis.

You can easily mix olive oil, salt and spices into the pumpkin seeds and then fry, then bake for 350 to 30 minutes or until golden brown at 350 ° F (175 ° C).

14. Oats

Although it is often classified as breakfast, oatmeal can be enjoyed as a nutritious and hearty snack at any time of the day.

Oats contain a type of fiber called beta-glucan, which is thought to improve weight loss and cholesterol levels, blood sugar control and blood pressure.

Enhance the taste of your oatmeal with toppings like nuts, seeds, dried fruits, berries, cinnamon or almond butter.

15. Hard-Boiled Eggs

Hard-boiled eggs can be a healthy and nutritious vegetarian-friendly snack for you to feel full in the meal.

In addition to being a great source of protein, hard-boiled eggs are also rich in selenium, vitamin A and B vitamins.

Studies also show that eating eggs reduces appetite for weight loss and increases blood pressure levels of HDL (good) cholesterol and antioxidants.

16. Guacamole and Plantain Chips

Adding banana chips to guacamole is an additional way to absorb your healthy fats, while satisfying your cravings for food.

Avocados in guacamole are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, which have been shown to increase HDL (good) cholesterol and lower triglyceride levels. These are great sources of potassium, vitamin C and vitamin B6.

Also, banana chips are easy to make at home and can be baked instead of deep fried for a healthier alternative to store-bought fries.

Simply toss thinly sliced ​​bananas with olive oil and seasonings and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees centigrade) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until bananas are golden brown and crispy.

17. Homemade Energy Balls

Energy balls are an easy breakfast option that you can make at home and customize with the nutrients of your choice.

Try adding nuts and seeds to your energy balls to increase your intake of protein, fiber, and heart-healthy fats.

Dried fruits, cocoa beans, and honey are great options to enhance the flavor and antioxidant content of your breakfast.

To start, add the ingredients to a food processor and stir until the mixture is smooth. Then roll into balls and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes before enjoying.

BOTTOM LINE

Incorporating a variety of healthy snacks into your diet can help you supplement your diet with a few additional nutrients.

Fortunately, there are plenty of veggie snacks to choose from - they're all nutritious, easy to make, and delicious.

To get started, choose a few of your favorites and enjoy them as part of a healthy and complete vegetarian diet.