What’s one thing I’ve learnt in my first week as a paid dietitian?

People are obsessed with health foods. Okay, I already knew that. Hell, anyone that uses social media at least once a week would know this. But many are hung up on looking for foods that are free from this and high in that, and are failing to acknowledge that many products have an ingredient list as long as the packaging and some of those ingredients are unrecognisable. As a society, we’re getting obsessed with the increasing amount of ‘health foods’ developed to suit our dietary preferences within the aisle, and forgetting that we have access to many beautiful, nutritious whole foods.It’s time that we all go back to basics. Not only will we save our precious time from reading the labels of the next new range of superfood bars, but we’ll also save some money too. Win.

So for you, lovely readers, I’ve collated a list of snacks which are nutritious, easy and satisfying.

– Wholegrain crackers (Ryvitas or vita-weats) topped with natural peanut butter, hummus, avocado, cottage cheese or low fat tasty cheese & tomato

– Natural yoghurt topped with fruit (fresh, frozen or canned in juice) & a sprinkle of nuts & seeds

– PB & Banana soft serve (frozen banana blended with tbsp natural peanut butter)

– Veggie sticks with hummus, tzatziki or cottage cheese

– Wholegrain toast/crumpet with ricotta & a drizzle of honey, or a boiled or poached egg

– Small handful of raw nuts & seeds

– Berries dipped in yoghurt & frozen

– Hard boiled eggs

– Small latte or cappuccino

– Sliced apple & peanut butter

– Air popped popcorn

= Homemade bliss balls (see recipe suggestion below)

– Tinned tuna or salmon

∼

Choc-orange bliss balls

Ingredients

300g almonds

1/4 cup flaxseed, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds etc

10 medjool dates

2 tbsp cocoa/cacao

1 orange

Method

1. Process almonds & seeds in food processor until crumbly.

2. Add cocoa, dates & orange zest until mixture starts to come together.

3. Add orange juice as the mixture comes together. Add extra water if need be.

4. Roll about 1 tbsp mixture into balls

5. Store in fridge in an airtight container.

∼

What do you like to snack on?

Emma xo