10 healthy + quick vegan snack ideas when working at home

Working at home means the snack cupboard is never far away and tempting snacks can be eaten with no one else watching. This means strong willpower is needed to stick to a healthy diet and make sure the biscuit tin isn’t raided all day long!

Many people will currently be at home a lot more than usual as we experience a lockdown due to COVID-19 as well as millions of people being furloughed from their jobs.

With gyms closed and being out and about limited, it’s really important to stick to a healthy diet at home to maintain a healthy weight, for good nutrition, a boost to the immune system and for mental wellbeing.

Luckily there are lots of easy and healthy snack ideas you can easily enjoy at home that require no or little effort.

From fresh fruit to smoothies and bliss balls to nuts, there are lots of ways you can easily satisfy a sweet tooth or junk food craving with wholesome natural ingredients.

Here are ten healthy vegan snack ideas and some recipes to keep you going for now!

1. Berry smoothie bowl recipe

Ingredients

1x small banana (preferably frozen, but fresh is fine too)
As many frozen berries as you can fill to the line of your largest blender cup. I used redcurrants, blackcurrants, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries.
Oat milk (or water or whatever plant based milk you prefer)
1x heaped teaspoon dried berry powder. Not essential, but adds a boost of nutrients and a vibrant colour! I used Indigo Herbs Vital Powder (if you’re not used to superfood powders then start with less and build up over time)
Flaked almonds, blueberries and berries for decoration

Method

Using your largest smoothie cup, add the banana and then top up with frozen berries to the fill line. I use a Nutri Ninja and used the largest cup with makes a good large bowlful of smoothie, or two smaller bowlfuls to share.
Pour the milk or water up to the fill line
Add the powder
Blend until smooth – this may take a little longer than usual as it crunches through the frozen ingredients, so make sure you keep pulsing until they’re all blended properly
Pour, or scoop out, into a bowl
Add some flaked almonds and berries to make the bowl look extra pretty (and totally Instagramable)
Devour and enjoy!

2. Mixed dried fruit + nuts

Nuts and dried fruit are super easy to grab as a healthy quick fix snack.

It works out better value to buy bulk bags of fruits and nuts which last a long time as you only need a stall amount to satisfy a sweet craving.

Keep a jar of dried fruit and nuts on your kitchen side so you can grab a handful whenever needed instead of reaching for those biscuits!

3. Wholewheat cereal with dried fruit and nuts

Cereal is a quick and easy snack,or even meal ,when you are super busy!

Any sugar-free wholegrain cereal is a good start and add dried fruits and nuts for extra taste, texture and nutrients. Use a plant based milk and you’re off!

4. Celery and peanut butter

Celery can be quite boring on its own, but add peanut butter and it’s delicious! My kids love this too!

Just make sure you choose a 100% nut butter and not one containing bucket loads of added sugar!

5. Bliss balls

Bliss balls, or energy balls, are a quick no-bake vegan treat that are easily made at home.

These contain dates, mixed nuts, vegan protein powder, cacao powder and lemon juice.

They can be made with a variety of fruits and nuts though and ours vary each time depending on which ingredients we have at home.

I always use a small mixing bowl worth of dates. I use regular dates and soak them in warm water for ten minutes to make them more sticky. Then a big scoop of cacao powder, scoop of protein powder, handful of plain mixed nuts and dash of lemon juice.

Drain the dates and put everything in a food processor. Pulse until they form a large ball. Roll into bite sized balls and roll in cacao powder to finish. Set in the fridge.

Yum!

They can have raisins added for extra chewiness, seeds for crunch and could be rolled in desiccated coconut for a sweeter flavour.

6. Homemade cacao + banana milkshake

These are a regular in my household and are a great snack when you fancy a sweet treat. If you add protein powder and oats then they’re a great meal replacement too if you’re in a hurry for lunch.

A healthy wholesome homemade milkshake is so easy to make. I simply blend a banana with plant based milk, like oat or soy, and a scoop of cacao powder.

I use a Nutri Ninja which blends everything in a cup in seconds. I’ve had my Ninja for six years now and it’s still as powerful as the day I bought it and it gets used daily! Check out the Ninja range here.

7. Sliced fresh fruit

Simple, 100% natural, healthy, sweet, delicious. By making sure you always have a stocked up fruit bowl, you can always grab a healthy snack just the way nature intended.

Too busy to go to the shops? Let Abel and Cole delivery fresh, organic, local fruit to your doorstep every week.

8. Homemade vegan pancake with lemon juice + xylitol

My seven year old daughter made me this pancake!

Homemade pancakes are pretty quick to make, but the real beauty of them is they are super tasty and really, really cheap!

If you have a sweet craving then a ‘sugar and lemon’ pancake with a twist will sort you out. The twist is to use xylitol instead of sugar. It’s a natural sweetener which comes from trees and it’s actually good for your teeth, unlike sugar!

A squeeze of lemon juice and sprinkle of xylitol is delicious on a fresh pancake!

Vegan pancakes are really easy to make. You simply need flour, plant based milk and a dash of oil to stop it sticking to the pan.

You don’t need eggs, vanilla, baking powder or any of the other ingredients often listed on pancake recipes. It’s much simpler and easier to literally use flour and soy milk, or your preferred vegan milk.

It tastes delicious plain, but even more incredible with your favourite toppings. Just keep them healthy – fresh fruit like banana, a sprinkle of raw cacao powder or xylitol and lemon or lime juice.

9. Vegetable sticks and/or wholemeal pitta + houmous

Another quick and easy snack idea, or lunch idea too. This photo was of my lunch, but a smaller portion can easily be made for a quick snack!

Slice up some vegetable sticks and serve with a scoop of delicious houmous. You can serve with a warm wholemeal pitta bread in slices for dipping.

10. Falafel balls and houmous

Falafel balls are a tasty bite sized snack that are of course delicious when warm, but equally as good straight out of the fridge as a quick snack. Served with a houmous dip, they make a great mid-afternoon snack when you are feeling peckish.

Most shops sell ready made falafel balls or packet mixes so you can quickly whip up a batch.

There are so many quick, natural and delicious snacks that are vegan, wholesome and healthy. Skip the biscuit tin and give these healthier options a go!