10 healthy snacks in UAE may exactly what you need to reach your fitness goals this year. If you’re someone who is sincere about fitting into those smaller size jeans or wants to feel more comfortable in their own skin cleaning up your nutrition is essential. However, simply addressing your breakfast, lunch, and dinner might not be enough. In-between munching and snacking is just as important, if not more, to maintain a slim waistline. It does you no favours to gorge down on a bag of Cheetos and Doritos in the evening after having a kale-carrot juice with whole eggs for breakfast.
Most processed snacks have tons of trans fats and preservatives to increase their shelflife. To make matters worse they are loaded with copious amounts of calories that only set you back on your journey. Even the ‘berry smoothie’ at your local store likely has sugar as its main ingredient. By stocking up on better snacks you can improve the quality of food you eat, consume fewer calories, and provide better-snacking options for your family members as well.
To-Do List
Here is a list of some foods you should consider adding to your storage cabinet to avoid unnecessary binge eating.
- Dry fruits such as dates, figs, and apricots
- Nuts and seeds such as flax seeds, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pistachio, lotus seeds, sunflower seeds, etc. (Consume nuts and seeds in moderation as they are calorically dense but provide many essential vitamins and fats.
- Cheese such as gouda, cheddar, mozzarella, camembert, etc.
- Fresh fruits such as watermelon, oranges, apples, grapefruit, etc.
- Nut butter such as almond butter and peanut butter are great additions to whole wheat or Ezekiel bread that taste great alongside a cup of tea. You can even choose to top carrot sticks with peanut butter for a low-calorie snack.
- Protein shakes and chips. They can satiate your sweet tooth or junk food craving without piling on many calories.
Now if you are someone who finds yourself consistently on the move it can become cumbersome to prepare your snacks and carry them around. Luckily, there is an alternative, here are 10 healthy snacks in UAE to stock up on and have delivered to your doorstep.
Kale and Quinoa biscuits
Ingredients: Wholemeal wheat flour, sugar, quinoa seeds, vegetable oil, kale, wheat bran, whey powder, cinnamon powder, etc.
Nutritional Content: 25g per serving that makes one biscuit. Each biscuit has 116 calories and contains 16.8g of carbs. It has 4.3g of total fat and 2.4g protein.
Allergens: It contains milk, soy, and wheat (gluten) which may not be suitable for those with allergies. As long as you are not allergic to the following this is biscuit is definitely one of the 10 healthy snacks in UAE to stock up on, especially if you have children at home.
Why buy it: Lower number of calories than most biscuits, contains kale and quinoa which are great for your immune system. Further, it contains dietary fibre which helps digestion and leaves you feeling fuller for longer.
Organic protein cookie
Ingredients: The protein cookie contains protein from vegan sources such as brown rice protein, pea, and chia protein. It is completely gluten-free. It contains gluten-free oats, dates, coconut nectar, coconut oil, almonds, dark chocolate chips, chia seeds, and butter.
Nutritional Content: Per 100g (2 cookies, with each weighing 50g) you get 700 calories and 46g of fat. A high carb content of 52g with half occurring from sugars. On the plus side 12g of fibre accompany each 100g along with 15g of protein.
Allergens: The Bulgarian product is gluten-free but does contain almonds and coconut.
Why Buy It: Organic protein cookies are all-natural with little to no preservatives. They are calorically dense and are suited for people who are looking to gain some weight. Despite its sugar content it does offer a high fibre intake and can help curb sweet tooth cravings.
Vitality Smoothie Mix
Ingredients: Mesquite powder, lucuma powder, maca standard powder, ashwagandha powder, cinnamon powder, and stevia powder are used to make this blend.
Nutritional Content: The vegan smoothie mix has just 50 calories per serving. The pack offers you 14 servings as each serving comprises 4.5 teaspoons. It does not contain fat or protein and has no added sugar. Just 8g of carbohydrates out of which 3g are naturally occurring sugars.
Allergens: It is manufactured in a facility that processes tree nuts but does not directly contain major known allergens.
Why Buy It: Contains 4g dietary fibre ensuring you will stay fuller for longer without compromising on taste. The smoothie mix is intended to give you the required vitamins and minerals and provide great texture to a fruit mix of your choice. Add it with a banana or other fruit, toss in some peanut butter and skimmed milk for an absolute delight. It’s a great way to consume fewer calories without compromising on flavour or satiation.
Protein Bar (grenade bars)
Ingredients: The bar contains milk chocolate, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, soy protein blend, hydrolysed beef gelatin, sweeteners, and flavourings.
Nutritional Content: Each bar of 60g offers you 218 calories. From this nearly 9g come from fats. Carbohydrates measure in for 16.9g per bar while protein accounts for 20.3g of the bar.
Allergens: It does contain soy which should be noted by people with allergies. And it does contain beef gelatin which makes it unsuitable for consumption for vegetarians.
Why Buy It: 6.6g of fibre keep you feeling full. It has a delicious texture and flavour. Additionally, the bar is a high protein snack which is ideal for anyone looking to build muscle or recover from an intense workout/activity.
Protein brownies
Ingredients: It contains a protein blend of whey and whey isolate. Chocolate wafers, vegetable oil, maltitol, cocoa, soy protein isolate, margarine, soybean oil, sugar-free choco-chips, baking soda, brown rice flour, almonds, and peanuts are used to make the brownie.
Nutritional Content: Each 53g brownie comprises 210 calories. The total amount of fat in the brownie accounts for 9grams. 20g of carbohydrates also accompany each brownie along with 16g of protein.
Allergens: The product contains milk, soy, almonds, and peanuts.
Why Buy It: Protein brownies are a delicious high protein snack. They may not be devoid of sugars and carbs but are certainly one of the healthier options that you can buy. They allow you to meet your daily nutrition goals and curb sweet tooth cravings.
Protein Chips
Ingredients: Protein blend, sunflower oil, corn starch, natural flavourings, buttermilk powder, nonfat milk, cheddar cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, tomato powder, yeast, and other agents.
Nutritional Content: Each bag of chips gives you 140 calories from which 40 calories come from sources of fat. The total fat content is about 4.5g and carbohydrates account for 5g. You get 19g of protein per serving of 32g.
Allergens: The protein chips by Quest do contain milk and may be unsuitable for persons who are lactose intolerant.
Why Buy It: Protein tortilla chips are a great savoury snack for those who crave chips. They are not tremendously unhealthy and provide a sizeable amount of protein, helping you meet your daily goal. Plus, it allows you to indulge in eating your favourite snack without feeling guilty.
Flavoured nuts (Sahale pistachios)
Ingredients: The bag contains pistachios, almonds, dried apples, pomegranate flavour, orange cane sugar, dried cherries, organic tapioca syrup, sea salt, dried lemon peel, spices, lemon juice, and nutshell ingredients.
Nutritional Content: A serving is roughly 30grams and you get 4 per packet. Each serving offers you 150 calories from which 90 come from sources of fat. Total fat represents 10g while carbs make up 13g. You even get 5g of protein in each serving.
Allergens: Contains nuts, people with nut allergies should refrain from consuming the product.
Why Buy It: Though calorie-dense nuts are a healthy source of fat which is important for your body. They are tasty and provide a high level of satiation. Flavoured nuts are a great way to break away from generic tastes and excite your palette from time to time.
Keto-friendly bars
Ingredients: It contains chocolate flavoured coating, cocoa powder, whole milk powder, salt, sucralose, caramel layer, palm kernel, palm oil, cocoa soya nuggets, unsweetened chocolate, and artificial flavouring.
Nutritional Content: Each bar provides 160 calories with half amounting from sources of fat. The 44g bar has 9g of total fat. The bar does host 20g of carbohydrates but these come in the form of dietary fiber (14g) and just 1g of sugar. You also get 10g of protein per bar.
Allergens: It contains milk products like whey protein concentrate. It may be unsuitable for those with lactose intolerance.
Why Buy It: Ready-to-eat Keto foods are not all that common especially when it comes to snacks. Many bars, chips, and biscuits contain high amounts of carbohydrates that are likely to throw you out of ketosis. This bar is a great way to ensure you have a tasty treat in your back pocket and is definitely one of the 10 healthy snacks in UAE to stock up on.
Nut butter (Mother Earth peanut butter)
Ingredients: Contains peanuts, chia seeds, and salt.
Nutritional Content: Each serving is roughly 20g and gives you about 8.2g of total fat, 3.4g of carbs, and 5.2g of protein.
Allergens: It may contain traces of tree nuts, soy, milk, gluten, and sesame seeds.
Why Buy It: The product contains high oleic peanuts. Peanuts are a healthy source of fat and are used in a number of recipes. You can choose to add nut butter into your desserts, smoothies, or have it plain from the jar.
Sunflower seeds
Ingredients: Roasted and salted sunflower seeds
Nutritional Content: Sunflower seeds have fibre, vitamin E, Niacin. 30g of sunflower seeds contains 14g of fat, 6.5g of carbs and 5.5g of protein.
Allergens: None
Why Buy It: Sunflower seeds are low in calories and provide a number of health benefits. They can prevent anaemia, insomnia, hypertension, and improve memory. They also help reduce blood cholesterol levels.
These are 10 healthy snacks in UAE to stock up on that will not set you back on your fitness goals when consumed in moderation. Inherently foods aren’t good or bad. Even if you eat ‘healthy foods’ in excess, which means exceeding your caloric limit on a daily basis, you will gain weight. By including protein-rich foods you can curb hunger pangs. Further, fibrous food will also keep you full for longer, which is ideal if you want to lose a few pounds.
