Health & Beauty
Healthy Savoury Snacks to Satisfy Your Salty Cravings
Just as a sweet tooth makes you reach for all the chocolate in your cabinets, a craving for something salty might be challenging to control. However, salty snacks aren’t always the healthiest. Isn’t it best to stay away from it? No, there are so many nutritious savoury snacks that you don’t give up on your salty cravings but instead indulge guilt-free. What are the top healthy salty snacks?
Why Do Our Bodies Crave Salty Foods?
I highly doubt you would gulp down a pile of salt if I put it in front of you. You might be craving something crunchy, like salty potato chips and pretzels. Salty, crunchy food cravings may sign frustration, anger, stress, or resentment. It almost feels like punching a wall, but your jaw crunches down in a cathartic way. In the past, I frequently reached for pretzels when I was stressed.
If that’s the deeper reason you’re craving salt, you can change it by exercising to let built-up tension and stress. Additionally, determine the aspects of your life that are causing stress and take action to eliminate them. To relieve unnecessary stress, do something as simple as contact a family member by phone or send a coworker an email.
On the other hand, you might purely crave something salty. If so, there are ways to give in to your craving without consuming a lot of sodium. Here are the healthiest savoury snacks to satiate your hunger.
What Should I Eat If I Want Something Savoury?
Even though a bag of salty potato chips is a typical afternoon snack option, these tasty treats are frequently high in sodium and carbohydrates, lacking in nutrition, and loaded with artificial flavours, colours, and preservatives. Many of them are also fried and packed with saturated fat, which is unhealthy.
Because eating healthy doesn’t have to be monotonous, many health food stores nowadays, both online and brick-and-mortar, offer a fantastic selection of healthy savoury snacks. They go through minimal processing, are made with whole ingredients and lack artificial additives, flavours, or preservatives. Check out our top picks.
The Healthiest Savoury Snacks that Hit the Spot Just Right
Meat Snacks
Beef or turkey. Jerky or sticks. Pepperoni or salami. The meat-snacking choices are endless, as are dried meat snacks available. You can even find surprisingly tasty combinations like bison and fruit bars. There are plenty of flavours and meats to try to that end. Probably there’s jerky to match any meat and flavour profile, from hot and sour to tangy and sweet.
Also, remember that deli-purchased cold cuts and fresh meat can serve as quick snacks. If you choose nitrate-free products and keep your meat cold, you can enjoy meat snacks without preparing a full meal before leaving for work.
Seeds and Nuts
Nuts and seeds are healthy savoury snacks that make the ideal pick-me-up because they are high in protein and good fats. Similar to jerky, there are a ton of bizarre flavours for almonds (toasted coconut or habanero, for instance) that can spice up your healthy savoury snack routine if you get tired of plain nuts.
We’d also advise keeping a few nut bars on hand, in addition to your raw chocolate bars, to have something heavier available at your desk. That way, you can avoid mindless nibbling and other forms of giving in to cravings. Nut bars are a great way to supplement your lunch or stave off that 2:30 PM slump because they’re full of protein and flavour. Also, munching on nuts is a simple way to improve your gut health with their high polyphenol content.
Veggie Chips
You don’t have to give up if you enjoy savoury flavours but are aware that you aren’t eating enough greens. Treats like kale and asparagus chips are currently all the rage, offering to satisfy snackers’ cravings for junk food without guilt. Vegetable chips are available in various flavours, some surprisingly addictive (sriracha, anyone?), just like regular potato chips.
Rice Cakes
Many people consider rice cakes a bland, traditional health food, giving them a bad reputation. Thankfully, things have changed recently, which means these snacks have taken on a whole new look.
For instance, you can find a wide variety of rice cakes and mini rice crackers, a far cry from the cardboard-style food you’d find in the grocery store. Additionally, rice snacks with a pizza flavour are something you should try. You can also make savoury rice cakes with chives and garlic if you’re a skilled cook.
Potato Snacks
If you’re looking for healthy snacks, chances are you’ve already accepted that potato chips are most likely a thing of the past. That said, it doesn’t necessarily follow that you should stop eating potatoes altogether. A well-known superfood, sweet potatoes, have a high nutritional value.
There are many natural sweet potato chips available, as there is a massive range of baked chips made from natural ingredients, from traditional potatoes to nuts and vegetables. Additionally, roasting potatoes at home is a clever way to consume more beneficial carbohydrates.
Crackers
For your vegetables and healthy dips, crackers make a great vessel. If you want something more substantial, you can create mini-sandwiches using crackers, meats, and cheeses.
Watching your serving sizes is crucial when eating crackers. Sriracha crackers may be the flavour you’re looking for if plain crackers strike you as boring.
Avocado
Avocados are one of the few naturally savoury fruits, along with tomatoes, that exist. They make a great standalone snack and a tasty addition to guacamole.
Do you need something filling? Check. Do you need something bursting with good fats? Double-check!
A dash of your preferred hot sauce or a sprinkle of salt and pepper can instantly make plain avocado more palatable. A little salt and honey can create any savoury and sweet flavour combination you desire.
Plus, avocados stand out as one of the few healthy salty snacks with a creamy texture. The nutrient avocado got your back if you’re tired of crunchy and crispy.