Nutritionist-approved swaps for sweet-and-savory snack cravings
Whether you have a sweet tooth or enjoy savory bites like nachos or creamy spinach dip, registered dietitian and nutritionist Dawn Jackson Blatner shared some alternative and healthy snacking options with "Good Morning America."
Check out her full, easy-to-replicate recipes below.
Banana Snickers
Ingredients
1 banana
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons shelled whole peanuts
Optional: 1 teaspoon date syrup
1/2 ounce dark chocolate, melted
Directions
Cut banana in half and then cut into quarters.
Spread on peanut butter and sprinkle on peanuts.
Optionally drizzle on date syrup (which tastes like caramel).
Drizzle on melted dark chocolate.
Freeze until the chocolate is hardened and enjoy.
Chocolate Cherry Nice Cream
"Typical ice cream will have 20 grams of added sugar. My chocolate cherry nice cream has zero grams of added sugar because it's only frozen cherries with unsweetened cocoa powder. Then I pop a cherry on top," she told "GMA" of the frozen treat with added nutrition.
1 cup frozen unsweetened cherries
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons favorite unsweetened milk
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
Directions
Put cherries, cocoa powder, and 2 tablespoons milk in a blender.Blend and add more milk slowly until the texture is creamy like ice cream. Top with chopped walnuts.
Mini Pepper Nachos
For this one, Blatner trades the chips for mini bell peppers "that adds immune boosting vitamin C." She stuffs them with beans to get both plant protein and fiber.
Ingredients
1 pound mini bell peppers
1 can (15 ounces) vegetarian refried beans
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Toppings: avocado, cilantro, jalapeño, black olives, plain Greek yogurt
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut mini bell peppers in half and remove seeds.
Fill peppers with beans, place on a baking sheet, and sprinkle w/ taco seasoning & cheese.
Bake for approximately10 minutes, until beans are warm and cheese is melted.
Top with chopped avocado, cilantro, jalapeño, black olives and drizzle of plain Greek yogurt.
Yogurt Spinach Dip
In lieu of a traditional high calorie mayonnaise and sour cream based dip, Blatner said go with a good-for-your-gut swap with Greek yogurt.
"It's going to add protein, it's going to add proicotics and good bacteria for your gut," she said.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
6 cups (6 ounces) baby spinach leaves, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon each: crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt, black pepper
1 cup plain 2% Greek yogurt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
Sauté oil, spinach, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper.
Put yogurt in a bowl and stir in spinach mixture and cheese.
Serve with veggies and whole grain crackers.
Optional: Add chopped canned artichokes or water chestnuts to the spinach mix.
