Craving something sweet while trying to keep sugar in check? The 10 snacks below all hit the sweet craving with whole foods — fruit, yoghurt, nuts, dates — rather than refined sugar. Most take under five minutes, and each one comes with the calorie, protein, sugar and fibre breakdown so you can pick what fits your day.
We know that food preparation can take time, so we have made sure that the majority of our recommendations are quick and easy. You of course can jazz them up with your own healthy ideas if you have time. In fact, please leave any suggestions you may have in the comments, we would love to read them!
Yoghurt and raspberry bites
Raspberries filled with yoghurt. Simple, effective, delicious and can be prepared in advance if you decide to freeze them!
Health benefits
- One of your five a day
- Probiotics
- Calcium
Ingredients and Recipe
- 1/2 cup (120g) yoghurt with live cultures
- 20 plain raspberries are considered one portion of fruit for an adult.
Empty the listed amount of yoghurt into a bowl suitable for freezing. Cool the yoghurt until it stiffens making it easier to fill the raspberries. Wash the raspberries and fill them with yoghurt.
Nutrition
120g of greek yoghurt and around 20 raspberries provides....
| Nutrient | |
| Calories | 164 |
| Protein | 5g |
| Carbohydrates | 11g |
| (of which sugars) | 8g |
| Fat | 11g |
| Fibre | 2.5g |
| Sodium | 0mg |
Baked sweet potato
We all know that sweet potato is delicious, it is also a great way to help satisfy that need for sweetness. After cooking the sweet potato, you can enjoy it by itself or sprinkle some delicious toppings on helping to add even more nutrition.
Health benefits
- Dietary fibre
- Beta-carotene
- Vitamin C
- Manganese
- Potassium
Ingredients and Recipe
Although there are multiple options for toppings walnuts, yoghurt, nutmeg and honey is a personal favourite.
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Handful of walnuts (30g)
- 2 tablespoons of yoghurt
- 1 small sweet potato
- Drizzle of honey
Wash and prick your sweet potato with a fork. Roast your sweet potato in the oven at 425º Fahrenheit for around 45 minutes. Cut in half and top with the yoghurt, nutmeg, walnuts and honey.
Nutrition
| Nutrient | |
| Calories | 247 |
| Protein | 6g |
| Carbohydrates | 30g |
| (of which sugars) | 13g |
| Fat | 14g |
| Fibre | 4g |
| Sodium | 54mg |
Banana and peanut butter
Health benefits
- Potassium
- Protein
Ingredients and Recipe
- 1 banana
- 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
Nutrition
| Nutrient | |
| Calories | 205 |
| Protein | 5g |
| Carbohydrates | 30g |
| (of which sugars) | 16g |
| Fat | 8g |
| Fibre | 4.1g |
| Sodium | 71mg |
Roasted apples and cinnamon
Health benefits
- Vitamin C
- Fibre
- Antioxidants
- 1 of your 5 a day
Although the sugar content appears high, this is not the same type of sugar as you would find in a chocolate bar. The sugar in apples is mainly fructose, which when consumed through eating fruit has little effect on blood sugar levels (low GI score). Fibre and polyphenols also helps slow down the absorption of the sugar.
Ingredients and Recipe
- 1 medium apple
- Cinnamon to taste
Wash the apple and carefully slice it into the size pieces you desire. Sprinkle cinnamon over to your taste preference.
Nutrition
1 medium apple (around 200g) provides...
| Nutrient | |
| Calories | 104 |
| Protein | 0.52g |
| Carbohydrates | 27.6g |
| (of which sugars) | 20.8g |
| Fat | 0.34g |
| Fibre | 4.8g |
| Sodium | 2mg |
Apple with almond or peanut butter
Sticking on the apple theme this a super simple snack that only takes seconds to make!
Health benefits
- Protein
- 1 of your 5 a day
- Fibre
- Antioxidants
Ingredients and Recipe
- 1 medium apple
- 1 tablespoon of low salt peanut butter
Nutrition
| Nutrient | |
| Calories | 195 |
| Protein | 4g |
| Carbohydrates | 28g |
| (of which sugars) | 20g |
| Fat | 8g |
| Fibre | 5.4g |
| Sodium | 7mg |
Cheese and pineapple
A classic, consumed in vast quantities in the 80s. Cheese is often painted as the enemy. Having appropriate portions of cheese as part of a healthy balanced diet can help boost your calcium intake. You should avoid consuming too much high fat cheese if you have high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
Health benefits
- Calcium
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin C
- Manganese
- Antioxidants
Ingredients and Recipe
- 30g cheddar cheese or low fat cheddar cheese
- 1/2 a cup or 105g of pineapple
Nutrition
The two tables below show the nutrition for 30g of cheddar cheese with 105g of pineapple and 30g of low-fat cheddar cheese with 105g of pineapple.
| Nutrient | |
| Calories | 151 |
| Protein | 7g |
| Carbohydrates | 12g |
| (of which sugars) | 8g |
| Fat | 9g |
| Fibre | 1.2g |
| Sodium | 171mg |
| Nutrient | |
| Calories | 121 |
| Protein | 8g |
| Carbohydrates | 12g |
| (of which sugars) | 8g |
| Fat | 5g |
| Fibre | 1.2g |
| Sodium | 231mg |
Dates
Sweet and simple, sometimes a few dates is all you need to satisfy that craving.
Health benefits
Although dates are high in sugar they are also high in fibre which helps slow the absorption of sugar and help reduce spikes in blood sugar.
- Fibre
- Potassium
- Magnesium
- Iron
- Polyphenols
Ingredients and Recipe
- 3 dates
Nutrition
| Nutrient | |
| Calories | 60 |
| Protein | 0.6g |
| Carbohydrates | 15.9g |
| (of which sugars) | 12g |
| Fat | 0g |
| Fibre | 1.8g |
| Sodium | 0.42mg |
A smoothie
There are so many variations to choose from. The natural sweetness comes from the fruit, but smoothies are also a great way to stock up on vegetables without losing the delicious tastes! Just remember to try and drink through a straw if possible!
Health benefits
- Easy way to help achieve your 5 a day goal
- Vitamins
Ingredients and Recipe
- 0.5 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/2 ripe avocado
- 1 cup milk/ plant based milk of your choice
Nutrition
The nutrition displayed below is based on all the ingredients listed above, the milk used was 1 cup of oat milk.
| Nutrient | |
| Calories | 320 |
| Protein | 8g |
| Carbohydrates | 48g |
| (of which sugars) | 32g |
| Fat | 14g |
| Fibre | 9.5g |
| Sodium | 145mg |
Nuts
Sometimes you don’t have time to prepare a snack so grabbing a handful of nuts on the way out of the door is always an easy solution. For example, cashews, they could practically be a desert with their sweet creamy taste.
Health benefits
Ingredients and Recipe
- A handful of cashew nuts (around 30g)
Nutrition
30g of cashew nuts provides
| Nutrient | |
| Calories | 157 |
| Protein | 5.2g |
| Carbohydrates | 8.6mg |
| (of which sugars) | 1.7g |
| Fat | 12g |
| Fibre | 0.9g |
| Sodium | 3.4mg |
Frozen yoghurt bars
It’s a hot day, everyone is eating ice cream and you want to find a healthy alternative. Look no further, freeze your favourite healthy yoghurt with a range or fruit, nuts or seeds and there you have a quick, easy healthy snack for a hot day.
Health benefits
- Probiotics
- Fibre
- Calcium
- 2 of your 5 a day
Ingredients and Recipe
- 4 tablespoons of yoghurt with live cultures
- 7 Strawberries
- 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds
- 0.5 cup blueberries
Nutrition
| Nutrient | |
| Calories | 147 |
| Protein | 4g |
| Carbohydrates | 20g |
| (of which sugars) | 6g |
| Fat | 6g |
| Fibre | 2.3g |
| Sodium | 6mg |