The Snack Hack: The WHAT of Snacks

You’re going for:

• Variety: A variety of flavors and textures

• Not too much: Overwhelm is not inviting!

• At least one: Always one new thing in the selection

• Rotate: Change it up. Keep a separate overflow area for snacks

Remember: Each of the snack foods is an invitation. When you have a variety of textures and flavors, you create invitations for everyone to combine foods in a way that calls to them at any given moment. You may find that family members are most drawn to sweet and salty flavors at first, for example, but continue offering bitter, sour, spicy, and umami. Typically, with exposure comes exploring.

Let’s get into the variety. Textures are crunchy, chewy, and soft. Flavors are sweet, salty, spicy, sour, bitter, and umami.

TEXTURE:

Crunchy:

1. Nuts and seeds: Remember variety here.

2. Pretzels

3. Plantain chips

4. Potato chips (go for ones in coconut or avocado oil)

5. Crackers

6. Rice cakes/snacks

7. Popping corn (such a fun one to do yourself and season it on your own!)

8. Apples and pears

Chewy:

1. Jerky

2. Turkey or beef sticks

3. Dried fruit. Try out some of the less-common ones like mulberries, goldenberries, unsweetened dried cranberries, tart cherries, etc

4. Gummies

Soft:

1. Hot cereal/porridge

2. Soft bread, fig bars

3. Bananas

4. Nut butter

5. Apple sauce

6. Avocado

7. Yogurt

FLAVOR:

Sweet:

1. Fresh and dried fruit

2. Chocolate and candies

3. Apple sauce

4. Bars

Salty:

1. Pretzels, crackers, chips

2. Nuts

3. Seaweed

Sour:

1. Tart cherries

2. Citrus fruits

3. Yogurt/Kefir

Spicy:

1. Jerky

2. Beef or turkey sticks

3. Spiced nuts

Bitter:

1. Seaweed

2. Kale chips

3. Turmeric spiced nuts

4. Dark chocolate

5. Dried cranberries (unsweetened)

Umami:

1. Beef/Turkey jerky

2. Seaweed

3. Soy sauce or miso-flavored nuts or seeds

4. Cheese

5. Dried mushroom snacks

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