Get Rid of Unhealthy Snacking Habits: Healthy Indian Snacks to Make at Home (2020)

Get Rid of Unhealthy Snacking Habits: Healthy Indian Snacks to Make at Home (2020)

Source food.ndtv.com

Snacks play an essential role in the life of kids as well as adults. With healthy Indian snacks to make at home, you can add an easy, healthy, and fun eating routine to your life. You can make a list of foods enriched with a variety of nutrients, proteins, and vitamins, among others. In this post, we bring you 10 best healthy Indian snacks that you can prepare at your home effortlessly.

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Why are Snacks Important in a Diet?

  • Improve productivity, focus, and reduce stress: Healthy snacks boost your energy. As per studies, a person who consumes snacks is known to have more mental acuity, energy, and performance. However, it improves overall focus, productivity, and reduce stress.

  • Maintain mood: Food with a low quantity of nutrients such as potato chips, sugary drinks, and candy bars gives a rush of fuel and also keep you feeling hungry, cranky, and not able to focus. But, healthy snacks add a slow-burning fuel to your body that keeps it energetic all day. You will experience great feelings and also maintain your mood.

  • Helps curb cravings: Your blood sugar drops almost 3 to 5 hours after you eat. Eating frequent and small snacks maintains your metabolism and helps your blood sugar level stay normal. Foods such as nuts, vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and low-fat dairy items provide you satisfaction for a longer time. It protects you from caffeine or sweet addiction.

  • Effective for weight reduction: Adding healthy snacks to your diet helps keep the body free from extreme hunger. However, when you are so much busy at work, you may eat a proper meal after a long gap. But, as per nutritionists, you have to eat small meals at an interval of 3 hours to satisfy your urge to eat. Also, when you consume mid-meal snacks at regular intervals, it is essential to pack healthy snacks to your diet. Besides, you should avoid eating chocolate or doughnuts that affect your weight negatively.

  • Better concentration: Eating healthy snacks increases your performance as well as focus. Kids can retain and comprehend information at a greater rate when their body is continually fueled. Adults eating mid-meal snacks can do their work efficiently and quickly.

  • Increase energy: A healthy snack recipe prepared from healthy fats, proteins, and carbohydrates enhance your energy for a longer time. Carbohydrates are the energy sources, and including these to your snacks adds more power to your body for doing certain tasks efficiently.

10 Healthy Indian Snacks to Make at Home

Rava Uttapam

Uttapam is a South Indian recipe prepared with spices, veggies, herbs, and semolina. It is the simplest and quickest breakfast that you can prepare in a mere 20 minutes. Roasting Rava is essential to make fluffy, non-sticky, and good upma. You can add the double amount of roasted suji to reduce the cooking time. Using a perfect oil amount is also the key to prevent the making of sticky upma.

How to Make Rava Uttapam?

  • Prepare a mix of salt, ginger, green chili, sooji, yogurt, cabbage in a bowl, and add some amount of water.
  • Then, make a batter which can be a little thicker rather than dosa batter.
  • Over medium temperature, heat the oil followed by adding some mustard and cumin seeds. Add it into the batter and leave it for a minimum of 15 minutes.
  • In the batter, add Eno fruit salt and mix it well.
  • Over the medium temperature, heat the skillet and grease it.
  • Pour almost 2 batter spoons and spread it. Then sprinkle tomatoes and bell pepper and press it gently.
  • Cook for 2 minutes and your uttapam is ready to eat.

Dates and Nuts Bar

Dates and nuts bar is a perfectly nutritious snack for evening time. You can make bars and store them in a container to consume them after some time. To make, you need pitted dates, roasted cashews, pumpkin seeds, cocoa powder, roasted almonds, cashews, and walnuts. Also, get some sesame seeds, seed meal, and coconut powder.

How to Prepare Dates and Nuts Bar?

  • First of all, in the microwave oven, soften the dates for at least 30 seconds.
  • Then, all the dates to be blended in the food processor for at least 15 seconds or until preparing a paste.
  • Add cocoa powder, salt, and flaxseed meal into the food processor and mix it well.
  • All the items should be kept in for at least 15 seconds.
  • Add roasted cashew nuts, almonds, and walnuts, and chopped nuts. All other ingredients should be included, but nuts take almost 20 blending seconds.
  • Now, remove all the mixture from the processor and make balls from it.
  • Next, sprinkle pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds to the rolled balls and gently press the seeds to stay it into the bar.
  • In the end, cut the prepared bar into the desired shape.

Chana Dal and Cabbage Tikki

This is a diabetic-friendly snack that includes cabbage and chana dal as main ingredients and flavoured with cumin seeds powder. Further, mint leaves are added to make delicious tikkis. To make this recipe, you need several ingredients like chopped cabbage, drained soaked chana dal, turmeric powder, besan, oil, salt, low-fat curd, cumin seeds powder, chopped mint leaves, and chopped green chilies.

Recipe for Chana Dal and Cabbage Tikki

  • In a mixer, take green chillies, 2 tablespoons of water, and chana dal, and blend it until becoming a paste.
  • Put this paste into one bowl and add all the other ingredients, mix it well.
  • Divide this mixture into equal parts and keep it aside.
  • Heat the griddle and grease it with the oil.
  • Give a shape to the mixture portion into the flat and round Tikki.
  • On a low flame, cook this Tikki on the griddle until it turns golden brown from both sides.
  • Now, you can serve it with green or red chutney.

Oats Idli

Idli is another South Indian snack that you can consume during lunch or breakfast as well. It is generally prepared from a batter of urad dal and fermented rice. You can also prepare it from ragi, oatmeal, semolina, etc. Oats idli contains calcium and iron and is a perfect snack to maintain blood sugar. For oats steamed idli, you need grated carrots, coriander, chopped chilies, and roasted oats.

Oats Idli Recipe

  • Add ½ cup of urad dal into one bowl and 1 cup of rice into another one.
  • Wash both items separately till the water clears and then soak them into the water for a minimum of five to six hours.
  • If you use fenugreek seeds, add it into the urad dal and soak. After four to five hours, drain water from the rice, Rava, and urad dal.
  • To make the batter, grind urad dal and add cold water and salt. Grind until smooth, bubbly, frothy, and thick.
  • On a large flame, you need to take a sufficient amount of water in a pressure cooker or idli steamer.
  • Then gently grease idli plates.
  • To rinse water from it, spread a cloth on the plates of idly.
  • Blend the batter and fill it into the molds. Steam, and cover for 10 minutes.
  • After 2 minutes, remove the stand and cool down and make sure that your idli doesn’t get wet on top. Now, you can serve it.

Bhel Puri

Bhel Puri is a savory snack from the central Indian part. It is prepared from mixed spices, vegetables, puffed rice, peanuts, and tamarind chutney drizzle. To make the snack guilt-free and delicate, you can keep chutneys aside and add lots of nuts, herbs, and fresh vegetables. One bhel puri serving has 60 calories, which combine complex carbs and adequate protein perfectly. You can also make a variety of chaats using whole moong or boiled chickpeas.

Another variation is by preparing chaat with green beans, chickpeas, and kidney beans. Then, drizzle it with chaat masala, lemon juice, and olive oil. Corn bhel is a perfect evening snack that includes corn, chopped onions, tangy chutney, coriander, and lemon juice. You can also prepare yummy and healthy snacks from boiled corn and add some spices into it.

Sweet Corn Soup

Sweet corn soup is a delicious and healthy soup prepared from veggies, kernels, and corn. It can serve as a starter before the main meal. It also goes well with fried rice or noodles. To make this recipe, you need peas, corn kernels, chopped beans, cornflour or cornstarch, chopped spring onions, and water.

How to Make Sweet Corn Soup?

  • In a pot, heat oil and sauté garlic and ginger until aromatic.
  • Then add sweet corn kernels, carrots, beans, spring onion, and peas.
  • Sauté it for at least two to three minutes.
  • Pour stock or water and boil until all the veggies get cooked.
  • Once the veggies are cooked softly, slowly pour it into the pot and stir until it becomes thick.
  • You can add sugar and salt as per your taste.
  • Then, add pepper and spring onions.
  • Pour it into the soup bowls. You can also put into the bottle and sip it when you hungry.

Paneer Sandwich

The recipe of paneer sandwich is the simplest and easiest one. And, you can serve this cuisine as a snack or breakfast. To make this recipe, you need ingredients such as brown bread, paneer, boiled sweet corn, chopped chili, cucumber, and coriander leaves. Chili sauce, schezwan sauce, tomato sauce, carrot, salt, and lemon juice are other things that you need.

Paneer Sandwich Recipe

  • In a large mixing bowl, add crumbled paneer, chopped cucumber, boiled corn, grated carrots, and tomatoes. You can add some veggies that you like.
  • In case you use onion, fill immediately otherwise flavour and taste alter.
  • Then add chilies, sauce, and coriander leaves as well as a little amount of chaat masala.
  • Mix it well and add spices and salt as per your taste.
  • Keep it into the refrigerator for later use.
  • Spread schezwan sauce on one side and then spread a mixture of paneer.
  • On the other side, you can use green chutney, thick curd, or any spread that you like.
  • Then, butter the slices of bread and toast them into the oven or bread toaster.
  • You can also grill it on the Tava until it turns into golden brown.
  • Once it cools down, slice it and serve!

Rava Dhokla

One of the famous Indian snacks of Gujarat is Dhokla. It is prepared from rice batter and fermented chickpea, which is a perfect snack or light breakfast. The dish serves multiple purposes and can be consumed as breakfast, side dish, snack, or a main course.

Steps to Prepare Rava Dhokla

  • First, mix all the ingredients such as Rava, ginger chili paste, salt, sugar, lemon juice, and water. Keep it aside for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Then, add 1 tablespoon of Eno fruit salt. Stir it briskly and quickly, ensure that Eno is distributed in the batter.
  • Rapidly pour this batter into a greased pan.
  • Evenly spread and shake the pan and keep it into the steamer.
  • Steam it for at least 18 to 20 minutes and check it with the toothpick. If the toothpick is clean, it means your dhokla is prepared.
  • Add mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves, and sesame seeds into the pan and fry it for few seconds. And, add some water.
  • At last, pour the mixture on the Rava dhokla.

Stuffed Samosa Curry Buns

Stuffed samosa curry buns are another easy to make and simple recipe on the list of healthy Indian snacks to make at home. It takes approximately 30 minutes to prepare. To make stuffed samosa curry buns, you need potatoes, dough, curry powder, butter, vegetables, and egg is optional.

How to Make Stuffed Samosa Curry Buns?

  • You need to make masala with veggies, curry, and potato filling.
  • Stuff this stuffing into the dough and make some round balls.
  • Put the stuffed samosa curry buns in a skillet or baking tray.
  • Brush it with butter mix or whisked egg. Bake it for at least 10 minutes until golden crust occurs on the top.
  • Turn off and slather butter on stuffed curry buns.
  • Now, your stuffed samosa curry buns are ready to serve.

Shrimp and Potato Croquettes

Shrimp and potato croquettes are a tastier add-in to tea. These are a mixture of shrimp, spices, and potatoes, all cooked together and rolled in a batter and shallow fried. The croquettes feel crunchy on the outer side with a tender inside that makes mayonnaise a perfect match to it.

Baking Recipe

  • Preheat the microwave oven at a temperature of 375 degrees.
  • Then, place the balls of croquettes in a baking tray.
  • Spray and brush all the balls with the cooking oil.
  • Bake it for at least 12 to 15 minutes.
  • And, your Shrimp and potato croquettes are ready.

3 Crucial Tips for Healthy Meals!

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  • Healthy Eating Needs Planning: Healthy eating needs planning. If you work for 8 hours a day, it may be difficult to eat healthy snacks with no plan made beforehand. Each Sunday, you can make a plan for the weekend. You can extend the plan to eat at regular intervals of time of week during work as well.

  • Combine Carbohydrates with Protein: You need to combine carbohydrates with protein like oranges with almonds. Carbs give energy to your brain and body. And, protein-packed food items help your stomach stay full as they take some time to break in your body.

  • Frequency is Important: Meals frequency is important because it facilitates easy digestion and keeps your metabolism working. You need to take snacks at an interval of two to three hours to maintain the rate of your metabolism.
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You Regular Snacks can be Made Tastier with a Simple Twist!

Modern-day snacks are rich in sodium, sugar, and fat. And, consuming such food can badly affect your health with problems such as inflammation, body fat, etc. Moreover, it isn’t possible to completely get rid of snacks as those have become a staple while watching TV, on a lazy afternoon, or after work. There are a plethora of healthy options available for snacking, which can be made tastier with a simple and exciting twist, such as mixing fruits with oats or trying different flavours of oats. The possibilities are endless!