In a previous blog post, I wrote about 5-ingredient Granola Bars as one of the healthy snack ideas you can serve your family. Most parents opted to homeschool their children — myself included — to avoid contracting the virus. Since kids are mostly at home, sometimes they get bored and resort to binge-eating. I am planning to cordon off the kitchen just to keep them away from it!
For most parents like me, keeping the fridge and pantry well-stocked while still maintaining the budget is difficult. Especially in my case, with 3 sons, they eat almost every hour! So, I decided to come up with a few snack ideas that are not only budget-friendly but healthy, too.
Healthy Snack Ideas to Make at Home
What I normally do is buy raw ingredients from the market and bake them in the oven. For example, I made some apple crisps with apple slices, peanut butter, and sprinkled them with nuts.
Instead of buying chips, I make them out of potatoes, eggplant, and sweet potatoes. The kids loved the Eggplant Parmesan Chips that I made and couldn’t believe they were eggplant! To make potato chips or fries, I just cut up the potatoes or sweet potatoes and season them with salt and pepper. After that, I arranged them on a cooling rack, drizzled with olive oil, and baked them in the oven preheated at 400 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes.
I even make my own dip! I buy some avocados, dice them using the cooling rack, and season them with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. I also add some cilantro for more flavor.
You can also make some garlic aioli dip. Just mix in some mayo, lemon, and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper and you’re good to go!
Here’s another favorite: Keto Bacon Avocado Fries! Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F while you prep the ingredients. Slice up some avocados, wrap them in bacon strips, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until bacon is crispy.
To add festivity to snacks with a Mexican touch, I also make Keto Bell Pepper Nachos for snacks, mostly during weekends. Check out the recipe below:
Low Carb Keto Bell Pepper Nachos
Ingredients
- 6 bell peppers different colors
- Kosher salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 8 oz lean ground beef
- 1 cup full-fat Mexican blend cheese or cheddar cheese shredded
For serving:
- 1/4 cup guacamole
- 1/4 cup pico de gallo
- 1/4 cup full-fat sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Remove the tops of the bell peppers with the stems to form a cup. Remove the seeds. Place in a microwave-safe bowl, season with salt, and add a splash of water to moisten them. Cover with parchment paper and microwave for about 4 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- In a non-stick skillet, heat some oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook for about 4 minutes until the beef is browned. Make sure to break up the ground beef with a wooden spoon to avoid clumping.
- Get your baking pan and pour some water just enough to cover the bottom. Place the cooling rack on top and arrange the bell peppers. Spoon the beef mixture into each bell pepper. Sprinkle with cheese on top. Drizzle the bell peppers with olive oil and cover with foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Serve with guacamole and pico de gallo topped with sour cream.
