10 Super Clean Packaged Snacks With 5 (or Fewer!) Ingredients
Sometimes you just need a convenient little snack to power you through your last few meetings or to tide you over until dinner after a sweat session. But, of course, most grab-and-go foods don’t exactly have a reputation for being healthy.
To learn what you should keep stashed in your desk drawer (bruised fruit and stale almonds not included), we scoured product labels for the cleanest snack options out there. We limited our picks to snacks that have just five ingredients (and skip all the preservatives, additives, artificial flavors, and colors).
Related: 20 healthy post-workout snacks SoulCycle instructors love
Oh, and we also taste-tested them, just to make sure they were worthy in the deliciousness category, too.
Not only do these options pass both tests, they’re also non-GMO, and mostly organic and gluten-free. Here are ten great choices for your next snack attack…
The original version of these chewy banana bites contains nothing more than two ingredients: organic bananas and banana powder. But even a few of the flavored versions, like banana coconut and banana apple cinnamon make the less-than-five-ingredients cut. You’ll also get a mega-dose of potassium (of course) and 4 grams of fiber per serving.
Related: 6 recipes that prove bananas make the healthiest frozen desserts
Beef jerky has become the healthy Paleo snack du jour, thanks to the fact that unlike gas station Slim Jims, healthier versions are now super simple and packed full of clean protein. This one is just bison meat, uncured pork, golden raisins, and chia seeds. They have an, um, epic 9 grams of protein per serving, and they have a hybrid sweet and nutty flavor to them that will satisfy both sides of your snacking brain.
Beanitos Original Black Bean Chips
When your cravings won’t be satiated without a crunch (it’s a real thing!), Beanitos are a few-ingredient alternative to the tortilla chips laced with ingredients you can’t pronounce. Like plain old black beans that are a main ingredient, these chips are a source of natural vegan protein and fiber.
Related: Why you should probably be eating mung beans
Nourish Snacks Cinn-sational
Nutritionist Joy Bauer’s simple snack line makes single serving portions of creative non-GMO, gluten-free and vegan options that range from salty to sweet and all blow trail mix out of the water. This blend of almonds and dried Fuji apples is seasoned with a sweet zing of cinnamon and sugar.
Angie’s Boom Chicka Pop Sea Salt Popcorn
Ninety percent of U.S. corn crops may contain GMOs, but this popcorn isn’t made from one of them. And its clean kernels are simply popped in sunflower oil and lightly salted. Because, you know, that’s the way popcorn was made before BPA-laced microwave bags and processed versions.
Related: Popcorn contains more antioxidants than fruits and vegetables
No, we can assure you this isn’t actually a cookie, even though it tastes a lot like one. It’s just dates, peanuts, and sea salt, made into a protein bar that’s also rich in the good monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that are linked to great health.
The slightly earthy lentil flavor in these chips makes these a great partner for hummus (but salsa and guac will work just as well, just saying).
This Scandinavian brands churns out bite-size bars like this date- and nut-based version, which is completely raw and certified organic. It tastes like a (vegan, gluten-free) coconut pie, with only dates for sweetness.
Related: Why you should be cooking with coconuts
Organic Cacao Cashew Clusters
Walk quickly away from the candy bar and go this route with nut and chocolate clusters, made with cashews, cacao beans, coconut palm nectar, and a sprinkling of sea salt. It’s a (clean!) way to satisfy your hangry chocolate craving and get some necessary protein all at once.
Crunchy Banana Chocolate Bar
New York City’s Hu Kitchen makes gluten-free, unprocessed goods on the reg, like this genius mashup bar of crunchy dried organic bananas, cacao, and coconut sugar. We can’t help but notice that it’s sold in more and more places, which we really like to see.
By Amy Marturana for Well+Good
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