A major reason people credit for not pursuing healthier snacks is simple convenience. It’s easy to simply snag a slice of pizza off the rack at your local convenience store or a bag of chips at the grocery store checkout aisle and substitute it for a real meal. But the fact of the matter is that snacks aren’t just an opportunity to cheat on our regular diet. They’re a natural part of our metabolism and our balanced daily nutrition. And preparing healthy snacks doesn’t have to be difficult. There are plenty of places to go to find healthy and affordable snacks.
National Grocery Chains
There’s a cottage industry of grocery stores that are centered on being healthy and all-natural. Most people won’t have to search too hard to find a Sprouts or Whole Foods in their area, but that convenience will come at a premium. You can expect a decent upcharge on the products here, but they’re a bountiful resource for both prepared snacks and ingredients you can use to make your own snacks. And chances are good that you can find healthier alternatives at your local grocery store as well. More and more grocery stores are stocking a wider range of organic and all-natural choices to suit the needs of more conscientious shoppers.
Food Co-Ops
If you’re looking for healthy snacks that are also sustainable and driven by the needs of local farmers and the communities they support, there’s no better choice than a food co-op. Rather than being organized like a traditional business, food co-ops are communal, and the pricing, operations, and stock are all determined by the members. There’s no better choice out there if you’re looking for snacks and ingredients that are actually rooted in the community that you live in, and it’s a sensible choice if you want all of your snacks and ingredients fresh.. The only problem is that the limited scale of food co-ops means that your selection might be more limited than what you’d find in a traditional grocery store.
Farmers’ Markets
A farmers’ market cuts out the middleman of a grocery store or co-op entirely by connecting farmers directly to customers. That means that you’ll know exactly where the nuts and berries you’re using in your trail mix are coming from. It also means that you know exactly who your money is going to. Shopping at farmers’ markets means your options are going to be severely limited. Plenty of markets have a bountiful selection of locally grown and produced snacks, but you may have to get creative depending on your farmers’ market. Fortunately, a few simple and all-natural ingredients can be used to make some effective and delicious snacks.
Online Brands
There are a number of companies that have burst out in the health snacks industry, and that means that grocery stores and co-ops are often scrambling to find enough shelf space for everything. As a result, some of the most interesting options go unnoticed.
That’s when a little research – and a willingness to go straight to the producer – can be a positive choice. Brands like Outstanding Foods keep their relationship directly between them and their customers, and that gives them the freedom to be completely autonomous with their ethical decisions. Built on the brand of Chef Dave Anderson – the creator of the famous Beyond burger – Outstanding Foods’ completely vegan snack puffs and pork rinds are designed to be completely humane and to employ complete transparency throughout the production and manufacturing pipeline.
Working directly with brands like these helps keep creative ideas afloat and hold companies accountable for their decisions. And it helps ensure that there’s a more delicious variety of healthy snacks to buy.