We all know this feeling – you’ve been eating so well today, and you’re on track to smashing your health goals. Suddenly, that urge for a snack starts to creep up on you, and you begin to think about throwing all your hard work out the window and reaching for a sugary, unhealthy pick-me-up. For when those times hit, try chowing down on one of these tasty low-cal snacks to keep your hunger at bay without throwing your health plan out the window.
Baked Spicy Chickpeas
134 calories
One of our fave snacks, baked chickpeas make for a crunchy, salty, satisfying treat, and half a cup comes in at just 134 calories. You can use these tasty chickpea snacks as a salad topping too for some extra texture and protein.
Ingredients (makes four serves)
- 1 can of chickpeas
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
Method
- Preheat oven to 200°C
- Drain and wash your chickpeas, before drying them off on a kitchen towel. The drier you get your chickpeas, the crispier they’ll be
- Transfer your chickpeas to a bowl, before tossing with olive oil and the spices to coat
- Spread chickpeas out on an oven tray lined with baking paper and bake for 20 minutes
Pesto Cottage Cheese With Carrots
147 calories
Carrot sticks might not seem like a very exciting snack, but dip them in pesto cottage cheese and you might change your mind. This is a great one to take to work and keep in the fridge for when you get a little peckish.
Ingredients (makes one serve)
- 1 carrot
- ½ cup reduced-salt cottage cheese
- 1 tsp basil pesto
Method
- Peel and slice carrot into sticks
- Stir basil pesto through cottage cheese
- Dip carrot sticks into pesto cottage cheese and enjoy!
Paprika Eggs
145 calories
Super filling and super nutritious, hard-boiled eggs make for one of the healthiest snacks you can eat. Adding a little paprika to them makes them more exciting than a plain egg, while also helping you reap the benefits of some extra vitamins and antioxidants.
Ingredients (makes one serve)
- 2 eggs
- Pinch of paprika
Method
- Boil 2 eggs, then chill in the fridge
- When hungry, remove from fridge, peel and serve sprinkled with some paprika
Bliss Balls
100 calories
Bliss balls can be pretty expensive and high-calorie when you buy them at a cafe, but make your own at home and you can save on both money and cals. A simple bliss ball recipe we love to make only requires a few ingredients and 15 minutes of your time, and you’ll have 10 tasty balls to store in the fridge and enjoy throughout the week.
Ingredients (makes 10 serves)
- ¼ cup cashews
- ¾ cup almonds
- 1 ½ cup dates
- ⅓ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
Method
- Place all ingredients but coconut into a food processor and blend until relatively smooth (a few nutty chunks in your balls will add some delicious crunch and texture)
- Roll mixture into 10 balls, then roll each ball in shredded coconut
- Refrigerate and enjoy when snackish!
PB&B Rice Cake
115 calories
The perfect blend of sweet, salty and crunchy, a rice cake topped with a teaspoon of peanut butter and half a sliced banana makes for a delicious snack. If you’re a PB fan, check out our favourite peanut butter recipes to power you through your day.
Ingredients (makes one serve)
- One rice cake
- 1 tsp peanut butter (our favourite is the Mayver’s Protein range)
- Half a banana
Method
- Slice half a banana
- Spead peanut butter onto rice cake, then layer with sliced banana
Kale Chips
65 calories
Kale had its moment, but to us it’s more than just a fad vegetable. Not only is it incredibly nutritious, but you can cook it in a variety of delicious ways. One of our fave low-cal snacks is to whip up a bunch of crispy, salty kale chips to chow down on when a chip craving hits.
Ingredients (makes 4 serves)
- 1 bunch kale (about 5 cups)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
Method
- Preheat oven to 150°C
- Wash and dry the kale, cut the leaves from the spine then roughly tear into chip-sized pieces
- Massage oil into the leaves, ensuring each leaf has a thin coat. Sprinkle with salt and toss to coat
- Spread kale onto a thin layer on an oven tray covered in baking paper, ensuring they’re not overlapping
- Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, keeping an eye on them. Make sure they don’t brown in the oven as they’ll become crispier as they cool
Parmesan Carrots Fries
83 calories
We’ll always have a special place in our heart for fries, but unfortunately eating deep-fried potato every day just plain isn’t good for you. We’ve filled that fry-sized hole in hour heart with these yummy parmesan carrot fries though, which make just as delicious a snack but are far healthier (and low-cal!).
Ingredients (makes 4 serves)
- 4-5 medium-sized carrots
- 2 tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp sea salt
- Pinch of pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 2-3 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
Method
- Preheat oven to 220°C
- Peel and cut carrots into matchstick slices
- Toss the carrot slices in a bowl with olive oil, salt and a pinch of pepper
- Spread carrots out on an oven tray lined with baking paper and bake for 12 to 15 minutes
- Remove from oven, transfer to bowl and sprinkle with parmesan and basil before serving
Baked Apple
103 calories
After something a little different? These baked apples are the perfect little afternoon pick-me-up or can even be enjoyed as a tasty, low-calorie dessert after your favourite MACROS meal. We think they’d follow our Herb Roast Chicken with Mushroom Sauce perfectly.
Ingredients (makes 6 serves)
- 3 red apples
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup steel-cut oatmeal
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- Pinch of cloves
- 1 cup water
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C
- Wash and slice apples in half along the core, before scooping out the middle with a spoon
- Mix together brown sugar, oatmeal, peanut butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in a small bowl
- Divide the spice mixture between each of the apple halves, placing in the carved out centre
- Place the apple halves onto an oven tray lined with baking paper and divide the water evenly between
- Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes, then enjoy hot or cold
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