Like all the recipes on Mindfulness in Faith and Food, this healthy ranch dressing is super easy to make. This Healthy Ranch Dressing is perfect paired with a whole grain or bean chip, salad, or even better some crispy raw or blanched vegetables.
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Easy and Healthy Ranch Dressing made with Greek Yogurt; Great source of probiotics
Ingredients
¾ cup Greek Yogurt (I like Fage)
1 tbsp. fresh lemon
1 avocado, pealed and mashed
½ tsp white vinegar
1 tsp parsley
½ tsp dill
½ tsp garlic, minced
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp chives
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp sea salt
To Make
Slowly Blend all ingredients in the food processor until well blended.
(When you are in a rush, you can even simply mix one ranch packet with 1 cup of Greek yogurt)
Serve with whole grain or bean chips or crunchy raw or blanched vegetables. See recommended chips below.
In a perfect world, we would have all the time in the world to make ALL our own meals and snacks, but sometimes we need to grab a quick already ready healthy packaged snacks. Picking the best snacks can feel overwhelming so I decided to list of some of my favorite healthy packaged snacks.
Healthy Packaged Snack Ideas
I selected these snacks based on the below criteria:
Minimal Refined Grains
Minimal Added Sugar
Simple Ingredients List
Whole Grains listed as the first ingredients in a carbohydrate snack
How Do You Determine if Something is Truly a Whole Grain
Remember to look for whole grain or whole wheat not just multi-grain on the package when you are looking for a healthy packaged snack. Multi-grain does not mean the same thing as whole grain. (All though sometimes it is.) The take home message is make sure whole grain is one of the first ingredients listed on the back label.
Sometimes the food item may advertise that they contain whole grains on the front of the package, but when you read the label you find enriched grains listed as the first ingredient. Enriched grains are better than refined grains because enriched means that healthy nutrients that were removed during processing were added back into the product. Still whole grains are better than enriched. Take Whole Wheat Goldfish as an example… When you read the back label, you find enriched grains listed as the first ingredient. These Whole Wheat goldfish are still healthier than the regular Goldfish, but they are not as healthy as a whole grain snack like popcorn for example.
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My Favorite Healthy Convienent or Packaged Snacks
*You can order many of these on Amazon by clicking on the link.
Fresh Fruit or Raw Vegetables: Nothing is more convenient that grabbing a piece of fruit or a handful of Veggies!
Skinny Dipped Almonds are dipped in delicious dark chocolate. Flavors include Dark Chocolate Cocoa, Dark Chocolate Raspberry, and Dark Chocolate Espresso. These are a delicous source of nutrition like fiber and protein.
21. No Bake Energy Bites
Okay this isn’t a packaged food per say but you can use packaged ingredients to make these super easy and convenient snacks. The base ingredients are peanut butter and plain old oats. Just mix them together and add any other of your favorite ingredients like nuts, raisons, dark chocolate chips or blueberries. You can also add some super healthy ingredients like flaxseeds or chia seeds, and you can switch out the peanut butter for other spreads like almond butter. Finally simply form them into a bite-size ball, and you are finished!
Boil them at the beginning of the week, and you will have a quick snack you can easily grab throughout the week.
25. Homemade Veggie Chips.
Okay so this is not actually a packaged convience food, but veggie chips ARE a great alternative to packaged chips. To make, thinly slice veggies of your choice. Carrots, zucchini and even kale make great veggie chips. I like to use the Kitchen Aid Standing Mixer Fresh Prep Slicer/Shredder Attachment to make thinly sliced veggies. I love how the Kitchen Aid Standing Mixer has so many attachments. Attachments include things like spiralizers, slicers, vegetable sheet cutter (think Lasagna) and so much more.
After you thinly slice your vegetables, preheat your oven. Wash and dry your veggie slices. Place your slices between two paper towels to let them dry out. Spread the slices onto parchment paper baking sheets. Lightly spray with cooking spray or lightly brush them with olive oil.
For Zucchini and carrots, bake at 450 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.
For Kale, bake at 300 degrees for only 18 to 20 minutes.
(Check on them regularly when they are close to done. It is better to undercook them than over cook them)
WithNatureBox, you can order a box as you want one. You can filter your box search so that you can select the snacks with the nutrition requirements that you prefer. For example, I can filter the snack search by selecting “Good source of fiber and “no sugar added.” Snacks that meet those requirements will come up in the list of choices.
Final Notes
So whether you are looking for something sweet or savory, I hope you found some healthier snacks from this lists that you can grab in a rush. Which healthy packaged snacks have your tried and which healthy packaged snacks are your favorites?
Buy These Products with Ibotta to Save Money
Okay one more final note. I like to buy most of these snacks on Amazon using the free Ibotta app. If you want to learn more about how I used ibotta and other techniques to cut my grocery bill from $300 to $80, click here.
Grab-and-Go Snacks AND Grab-and-Throw Meals
These grab-and-go snack ideas are perfect for families who desperately want to eat healthy nutritious foods, but simply have no time to prepare healthy foods. If this is your family (it’s totally mine), you may not only want grab-and-go snacks, but also “grab-and-throw ” meals. The “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook shows you how to make a month of healthy freezer meals in ONE day. Simply grab-and-throw an already-made frozen breakfast or lunch in the micorwave and your meal is ready. Or grab-and-throw a frozen meal in the crockpot in the morning, and by dinner time, your family meal is done!
