Healthy Snacks For Fall | Irvine Spine & Wellness Center

It’s time for healthy snacks for fall! Not only is it back-to-school time, but it is also holiday time. I notice this time of year is so busy for folks as activities increase. We are all hustling and bustling around from sporting events, school events, work events, birthdays, and holiday festivities. So one, it is important we stay nourished and two you may be wondering what healthy options I can provide my children, partner, and or friends at these events.

What Are Good Fall Snacks?

I am a big fan of anything easy and seasonal. Some easy grab-and-go snacks are fruits and vegetables. You may be thinking this sounds boring but let’s get creative with the fruit and veggie snacks.

Mini Bell Peppers: These are super easy to cart around and you can just munch on them like chips. You can add some healthy fat and make this snack even more delicious by having some of my favorite dipping sauces (mini guacamole containers, Bitchin’ sauce, garlic dip aka toum, hummus.)

Apples: This tasty fruit is typically available year-round, but they thrive in the Fall. You can simply slice apples and eat them or dip them in peanut or almond butter. A fun way to make them easier to grab and go is to dehydrate them. Here are some ways to dehydrate them in either an oven or air fryer/dehydrator.

Dehydrate in an oven:

Thinly slice the apples (It’s easiest to use a mandoline).
Place on a baking sheet. You can sprinkle lemon juice on the apples and then dust them with cinnamon for the best results. (Don’t let any apples overlap: keep them all in an even layer)
Bake ½ to 2 hours at 225F until dry. Bake until curled and light brown.
Cool the chips, they become crispier as they cool.

Dehydrate in an air fryer: (Recipe from mindovermunch.com)

Wash apples and cut them into thin slices, either using a mandoline or carefully with a knife. Be careful! Thinner will yield a crispier chip. (Aim for ~⅛-inch thick.)
Preheat the air fryer to 300°F (150°C).
Lay apple slices on a flat surface and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Arrange apple slices in an air fryer, covering them with a metal rack/trivet to keep the apples from flying around while cooking. Cook for 15 minutes, stopping to flip the apples every 5 minutes.
Once apple slices are drying out, turn the temperature up to 330°F (165°C) and cook for another 8-12 minutes to crisp, flipping them halfway. (Remove browner chips as needed and continue cooking until all are crisped to your liking.)
Transfer to a bowl or plate to cool. (They’ll crisp up more as they cool!)
Serve and enjoy! Store in an airtight container or sealed bag for 1 week at room temperature.

Frozen fruit: Some parts of the world are not cool in Fall and so frozen fruits are still an amazing snack. Frozen grapes and frozen orange slices are the easiest and most delicious.

Healthy Fall Treats

Fall Harvest Homemade Granola Bars (from theseasonedmom.com)

Ingredients:

2 cups old-fashioned oats (don’t use instant or quick-cooking oats!)
1 cup whole almonds, roughly chopped
½ cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup packed pitted Medjool dates
⅓ cup maple syrup
¼ cup creamy almond butter or peanut butter
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup dried cranberries

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Spread oats, almonds, and pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet with sides. Toast in the oven until slightly golden, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
Chop dates in a food processor in short bursts until you have a rough paste. Scrape into the bowl with the oat mixture.
Warm maple syrup, almond butter, and salt in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring to blend. Add to the bowl along with the dried berries. Mix well to evenly distribute the chopped dates.
Line an 8x8in pan with baking parchment so the paper hangs over the sides. Spoon the oat mixture into the pan and pack it down with the back of the spoon. Freeze for 20 minutes.
Lift the contents out of the pan and set them on a cutting board. Cut into 16 bars. Store the bars in an airtight container for a few days or freeze them for longer storage.

Roasted Pumpkin Hummus (by 31daily.com)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups pure pumpkin puree
15-ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 cloves garlic, (roasted – see instructions, or minced)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish with: Olive Oil and Seeds (pumpkin, sesame, etc.)

There are two ways to make this Roasted Pumpkin Hummus. The first takes a bit longer, but the pumpkin flavor is intense and incredibly delicious. The second way, maybe 5 minutes. It’s all about the pumpkin. Whether you roast a small sugar pie pumpkin or use canned pumpkin puree. To be honest, both ways are so, so good.

Instructions:

Roasting the Pumpkin:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. Slice off the top of the pumpkin, scoop, and discard the seeds and pulp; slice into wedges.
Lay the wedges on the prepared baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season generously with salt and pepper.
Roast for 45 minutes or until tender. Let cool; remove the flesh and puree.

Roasting the Garlic:

In a small saucepan over low heat, warm 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Add 3 peeled cloves of garlic and simmer for 15 minutes.
This will intensify the garlic flavor and infuse the olive oil as well. An incredibly easy trick to bump up the garlic flavor in sauces, pasta, pizzas… and pumpkin hummus too!

Hummus:

Puree all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add oil as needed.

Paleo apple muffins (by texanerin.com)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups (125 grams) blanched almond flour
2 1/2 tablespoons (20 grams) of coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs (50 grams each, out of shell), room temperature (2 eggs is correct!)
5 tablespoons (70 grams) refined coconut oil, melted (if you use unrefined coconut oil there may be some coconut taste to the muffins)
1/3 cup (106 grams) of pure Canadian maple syrup
2-3 tablespoons coconut sugar, optional (see note)1
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup (90 grams) coarsely grated Granny Smith apples
1 1/4 cups (155 grams) Granny Smith apple chunks (about 1/4″)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a muffin pan with 8 muffin liners.
In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients together (almond flour through nutmeg). Set this aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, pure Canadian maple syrup, and vanilla.
Add the dry mix to the wet and mix just until combined.
Gently fold in the grated apples and then the chopped apples.
Divide the batter evenly among the liners, filling them almost full, and bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerate for up to 4.

If you feel like you are wanting more recipes, tips, and tricks on mental health, mindset, relationships, and a roadmap to living your healthiest life, I have many more tips and tools for your toolbox where those came from. Thanks for reading. I hope this information was useful and finds you in a space of the heart.

Love and Light Always, Sarah

– Sarah Savino is my recommended Wellness, Mindset and Nutrition Coach who resides in Colorado but has a community of clients she guides and manages nationally. She has her frequent retreats that her clients are encouraged but not required to attend and someone who knows first hand how it is to be overworked and overweight. She is a living truth that once within the right community and with the right guide, everything is possible. She can be reached:

Dr. Shakib, your Irvine Posture Chiropractor