It is 5 pm in the evening, you had lunch three hours ago, and there are still four hours left till dinner is ready. What do you do? All you need is some decaf coffee and healthy tea-time snack recipes to get you through!
Don’t worry; snacking isn’t all bad for your body, as long as you eat within your calorie requirement and don’t overdo the sugar.
Eating the correct snacks is important as indulging in fried food or overly sweet desserts can raise your sugar and cholesterol levels. However, starvation is not the solution. Recognizing healthy food can take you a long way. Of course, that does not mean that you cannot consume sweets but instead eat everything in moderation.
When you feel like snacking, choose foods high in fiber that will release sugar slowly into your bloodstream rather than making your blood sugar spike instantly. The best part about healthy snacks is that they will manage your cravings and keep us full until dinner. Adding protein is also a great option since it digests slowly and will leave you feeling satisfied for longer.
Healthy Tea Time Snack Recipes
1. Chicken Satay Salad
Ingredients
- Tamari: 1 tablespoon
- Curry powder: 1 teaspoon
- Ground cumin: 1/4 teaspoon
- Garlic clove: 1, grated
- Honey: 1 teaspoon
- Chicken breast fillets: 2, skinless
- Crunchy peanut butter: 1 tablespoon, sugar-free
- Sweet chili sauce: 1 tablespoon
- Lime juice: 1 tablespoon
- Sunflower oil: To wipe the pan
- Lettuce hearts: 2, cut into small pieces
- Cucumber: ¼, sliced
- Banana shallot: 1, halved and sliced
- Coriander: To taste, chopped
- Pomegranate seeds: ½ pomegranate
Method
- Take a large dish and pour the tamari into it. Then, put in curry powder, garlic, honey, and cumin, and mix everything properly.
- Halve the chicken breasts horizontally so that you have 4 fillets in total. Add in the marinade and mix so that the chicken fillets are coated. Put in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight so that the flavors can penetrate the chicken deeply.
- In a separate bowl, stir in peanut butter, lime juice, chili sauce, and 1 tablespoon of water. Set this aside.
- When the chicken is ready to be cooked, take a big frying pan and grease it with some oil. Put in the chicken fillets and cover the pan with a lid to cook for 5 to 6 minutes over medium heat. At the last minute, flip the fillets and cook until they are moist from the inside. Shut the flame and slice up the fillers. Set the sliced chicken aside.
- Take some pomegranate, lettuce, shallot, cucumber, and coriander and divide it up into plates. Drizzle some of the peanut butter sauce onto it. Put the chicken on top, layer with some more sauce, and eat as soon as possible! You do not want the chicken to go cold.
2. Salsa Verde Baked Eggs
Ingredients
- Olive oil: 5 tablespoons
- Paprika: 1 teaspoon
- Cumin seeds: 1 teaspoon
- Cherry tomatoes: 400 grams
- Garlic cloves: 2
- Parsley: 1 bunch
- Basil: 1 bunch
- Mint: ½ bunch
- Capers: 2 tablespoons
- Dijon mustard: 1 teaspoon
- White wine vinegar: 2 tablespoons
- Baby spinach: 200 grams
- Eggs: 4
- Chili flakes: ½ teaspoon
- Flatbread: To serve
Method
- Take a frying pan and drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil in it. Fry the cumin and paprika for 30 seconds using medium heat. Put in canned and fresh tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Allow this mixture to stay on the stove for 5-6 minutes or till the tomatoes become soft.
- Take a food processor and put some parsley, basil, capers, mint, mustard, 4 tablespoons of oil, white vinegar, garlic, and 3 tablespoons of cold water. Blitz till you have a smooth paste. Season based on your preferences.
- Mix the spinach with the tomatoes until it becomes soft. You can cover the pan with a lid to quicken this process up. In the mixture, make four dips for each egg and crack them in. Cover with a lid and allow the eggs to cook for 6-8 minutes over medium heat.
- Take the lid off the pan and put the sauce on top. Top with the remaining parsley and chili flakes. If you want, you can serve this with some flatbreads.
3. Spicy Lentil and Carrot Soup
Ingredients
- Cumin seeds: 2 teaspoons
- Chili flakes: To taste
- Olive oil: 2 tablespoons
- Carrots: 600 grams, grated
- Red lentils: 140 grams, split
- Vegetable stock: 1 lb.
- Milk: 125 ml, dairy-free
- Yogurt and nan bread: For serving
Method
- Take a big saucepan and fry the cumin seeds with some chili flakes for a minute. Once they start to release their aroma, turn the flame down. Take out half a spoon and put it aside on a plate.
- Add the carrots, lentils, vegetable stock, milk, and olive oil to the saucepan. Bring everything to a boil.
- Let it simmer for 15 minutes or till you find that the lentils have softened.
- Use a stick blender to mash up the soup until it is smooth. If you prefer the soup to be chunky, mash it up roughly.
- Season according to your taste.
- Serve with plain yogurt and sprinkle the remaining spices on top.
- Eat with naan bread for a wholesome tea-time snack.
Our Final Thoughts
All these recipes can be made in under 30 minutes. We understand that you want to eat the first thing you find in the fridge when you are looking for snacks, regardless of how unhealthy it is. In fact, many people do not even heat their evening snacks because they are too impatient.
However, if you want to lead a healthy life, we recommend planning your snacks in advance. These healthy tea-time snack recipes can be prepped for a day before so that you know what you will be consuming when you get hungry the next day. Remember, your snacks do not have to be plain and boring. You can eat 2 to 3 snacks a day and enjoy every one of them.
