5 Healthier Snacks To Enjoy During the Holidays

The holiday season can be the perfect storm for bad eating, especially if you’re travelling. You’re under stress, surrounded by tempting, unhealthy treats, and often tired and cranky from fighting crowds. But things are looking up — as far as convenience foods go, loads of stores have improved their healthy offerings, so you don’t have to look hard to find satisfying, healthy snacks to enjoy when the cravings hit.

That’s right, you don’t have to give up your holiday favourites, by simply making smarter snack choices, you will at least be consuming more nutritious foods. By opting for more nutritious versions of the same snacks, you can be sure you’re taking in valuable vitamins and minerals, even if you’re increasing your calorie intake. Whether your snack of choice is potato chips or chocolates, this list has a healthier snack find for you. Check out a few of our favourite healthy snacks to enjoy this holiday season.

Eat Real Chips

If you love a crunchy savoury snack but don’t want to reach for a bag of traditional potatoes chips, then these little nutritious bites of joy are ideal. Made from real, natural ingredients with no added nasties (artificial flavourings, colourings and preservatives), Eat Real chips offer a healthier alternative to crisps or potato chips.

With no added sugar (only the natural stuff) you’re getting a healthy snack that is also packed with nutrients. The range includes something for everyone to enjoy with lentil, hummus, quinoa, and veggie chips which are all perfect for a quick snack on-the-go. Keep a few bags in the pantry for easy snacking when you’re at home, or pop a bag or two in your handbag for a bite in-between errands.

Eat Real chips are available at select health stores as well as online from Faithful to Nature at R74.99 for a 5-pack.

GD Chocolate Slabs

These vegetarian, sugar-free, dairy-free chocolate slabs contain no cane sugar, are sweetened using raw honey, and flavoured with fresh non-artificial ingredients. Plus, the brand’s use of a pure and ethically sourced superfood, cocoa, means that your treat is loaded with important mineral magnesium, theobromine (which aids heart health), anti-oxidants and tryptophan (a natural anti-depressant that helps stress relief). What’s more, GD chocolates contain no soya lecithin, preservatives, artificial colourants or flavourants. Basically, it’s the chocolate treat that keeps on giving.

The GD chocolate slabs are available in a variety of decadent flavours including, Lemon & Black Pepper, Plain, Vanilla, Coffee, Orange, Mint, as well as Rooibos & Matcha. The Plain and Vanilla flavours are also available as a vegan and keto-friendly option without honey, using Erythritol as a sweetener.

Find it at Wellness Warehouse at R65.95 per 100g slab.

Eat Real Veggie Straws

The holidays can be especially tough for parents. Kids love snacking during the holidays, but filling them up with sweets and chocolates isn’t the best idea for your long-term sanity. Of course, even little ones deserve a treat during the holidays. This vegetable potato-based snack gives parents peace of mind that their little ones are enjoying smart, healthier snacks loaded with vitamins and minerals.

The fun-shaped gluten-free, vegan, vegetable flavoured snack looks like an ordinary chip, but is secretly loaded with good-for-them nutrients. Made from real, natural ingredients with no added nasties (artificial flavourings, colourings and preservatives), this tasty crunchy treat from Eat Real is something the whole family can enjoy at any time of the day!

Find it at Wellness Warehouse at R64.95 per 100g multipack.

GD Chocolate Buttercups

The GD Chocolate range also includes single-serving Loaded Logs which are great for a quick treat when you’re on the go or as a pick-me-up at home. The bite-sized GD Buttercups are sure to satisfy your cravings for something sweet without the temptation of over-indulging too much. The artisanal, gourmet dark chocolate bites pack a powerful but delicious health-boosting punch. Free from dairy, preservatives, refined sugar as well as HFCS, and sweetened only with raw honey, these little bites are made with 71% dark chocolate and about 80% raw ingredients, providing all the superfood benefits of cacao.

The buttercups are available in five deliciously indulgent soft-centre fillings to choose from including Mint, Mocha-Coffee, Turkish Rose, Almond Butter and Vanilla. The Almond Butter, with its gooey almond butter centre, is our favourite. We love that the honey flavour really comes through in each bite of these chocolate treats, and the different flavours combined with the bitterness of the dark chocolate helps to ensure they’re not overly sweet.

The GD Buttercups retail for R19.95 from Wellness Warehouse.

GD Chocolate Loaded Logs

A chocolatey friend with major benefits, GD’s Loaded Logs are deliciously nutritious. They’re loaded with health-giving, flavourful goodness and nothing else. Each of the four flavours at the centre of these raw honey-sweetened chocolate logs has unique nutritional properties. The one thing they do have in common is how deliciously each of the loaded flavours blends with the smooth, enticing taste of GD’s dark chocolate.

Choose from Collagen, Vitamin C, Maca Moringa, and Turmeric Loaded Logs for a quick treat. We love the Vitamin C Loaded Log. It’s tart, yet sweet with a tangy citrus zing and as an added bonus of offering your body an extra dose of much-needed vitamin C. These little chocolate bombs are the ideal choice if you want to indulge in an irresistible treat while still offering your body some added nutritional benefits.

The Loaded Logs for R24.95 and are available from Wellness Warehouse.