Not sure if you’re starting to realize this about me, but I love food. It seems I can’t go two hours without munching on something.

Honestly, knowing I can make awesome snacks saves me a ton of money too. I never feel the need to buy chips or a granola bar because I know I make quickly whip up something that is healthier, tastes better, and is a hell of a lot cheaper.

So over this past year, I've fine-tuned my snacks to perfect the ultimate list of amazing zero waste snacks options.

Trail Mix

It’s super easy to make your own trail mix, and you might also be able to find them ingredients in in the package free bulk section.  And as a bonus, you can customize it to your exact liking (like me, I add in a lot more chocolate than I’d like to admit).

Really, the mix is up to whatever you like. If you need suggestions, try adding these together:

- Cashews

- Almonds

-Pistachios

-CHOCOLATE

Hummus + veggies

One of my fav snacks and is also super easy to make. Get yourself some chickpeas and mash them up with some olive oil and a dash of tahini. Don’t have tahini? You can just peanut butter which has a similar taste and consistency or skip all together (it still tastes wonderful).

What you’ll need:

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas or 1 1/2 cups (250 grams) cooked chickpeas

Juice from a lemon (optional)

1/4 cup well-stirred tahini (or peanut butter or optional)

1 small garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon of your favorite spice (I like paprika or cumin)

Salt to taste

Using a food processor, mortar and pestle, or fook and bowl, mash the chickpeas with all the other ingredients. That’s really all it takes. Chop up some veggies and dip in!

If you want a more formalized procedure (and really just another fun variation of hummus) check out this Roasted Jalapeno recipe from the Minimalist Baker.

Roasted Chickpeas

Chickpeas coming in handy yet again. And once again, Minimalist Baker saves my hungry butt.

Chickpeas are high in protein and fiber. Roasting them makes them also taste delicious and an easily transportable snack. Plus, I love a good crunchy snack.

Check out the Minimalist Baker’s Actually Crispy Baked Chickpea recipe here.

Apple Sandwich

When I feel that I need an immediate blood sugar pick me up, I turn to this snack.

I slice and core an apple to give me two thin apple wedges/circles. Then I slather on peanut butter and sprinkle on some chocolate chips and cinnamon.

Then I have myself a delicious, somewhat healthy yet indulgent sweet treat.

Recipe here.

Popcorn

Popcorn is such a versatile snack. It’s great for people who are gluten intolerant, people who like savory snacks, and those that prefer something a little sweeter

I messed up making stovetop popcorn for a sometime before I finally caved and turned to the internet. Check out this recipe for the how-to on popping the perfect popcorn.

Eat your popcorn plain for spice it up!

Savory seasonings:

-Nutritional Yeast (+coconut oil to help it stick)

-Dorito flavored popcorn

-Spicy lime popcorn

-Buffalo Wing popcorn (savory and sweet)

Sweet:

-Vegan kettle popcorn

-Salted Caramel

Chia seed pudding

This is another simple snack that tastes like you spent a lot of time on it. And it can be super nutritious as Chia seeds are mini powerhouses packing more calcium than milk, more antioxidants than blueberries and more Omega-3 than Salmon (it’s really the sugar you can add to it that makes it not o nice on the waistline)!

I take about a ½ of chia seeds and cover it with 2 cups of coconut milk.

If  I have a sweet tooth, I’ll add in a drizzle of maple syrup and perhaps a dash of cinnamon.

Then let it sit in your fridge for about 4 hours or overnight-- you want the chia seeds to absorb the liquid and become a gel like consistency.

Add in a chopped banana, sprinkle of granola, really whatever you like.

Variations

- PB&J: stir in 3 tablespoons of peanut butter and jam.

- Chocolate: stir in a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder (or hot chocolate mix but then nix the maple syrup because it might be too sweet)

- Pumpkin Pie

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Wrapping it up

Who says snacks need to be labor intensive or costly?! I hope this proves that you can make some awesome treats yourself and save a whole bunch of trash from ending up the landfill.

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