Aaah, fall. It’s the spiciest season of all – at least, as far as your food is concerned. Whether it’s cinnamon, nutmeg or the ever-popular pumpkin spice, you can probably already taste and smell some of your favorite fall seasonings. Now, it’s time to put those ingredients into something a bit different than the usual glass of cider or plate of pie and instead use fall’s flavors to inspire your healthy snacks.
Don’t worry if you’re wanting for inspiration: here are nine ideas to help you fill out your fall recipe book this year and beyond. These healthy snacks taste great and incorporate the flavors of the season. In other words, you’ll only be disappointed when the season’s over, and you have to switch it up with healthy winter snacks instead.
1. Cinnamon Apple Chips
This snack combines a traditional fall spice with the fruits of a traditional fall activity. So, schedule a time to go apple picking, load up your basket with sweet, fresh apples and bring them home to turn them into apple chips. All you need are five apples, a dash of cinnamon and a few teaspoons of brown sugar to sweeten the deal.
2. Vegan Pumpkin Pie Energy Bars
Don’t let the word “vegan” fool you: even the most carnivorous of people will find this hearty snack bar to be ultra filling. That’s because they’re packed full of filling ingredients like protein powder, nuts and pumpkin seeds, all made tastier with a dash of pumpkin puree and a bit of pie spice.
3. Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
Thinking outside the box can have you trying some snacks in different forms this fall. Take, for example, roasted butternut squash and apple soup. It ticks all of the boxes when it comes to fall flavors. It’s also nice and warm to eat on those chilly fall days. Plus, it’s not filling enough for a full meal, so slurp some up between lunch and dinner to keep yourself full and fall-themed.
4. Autumn Brittle
Choosing a superfood is one of the many easy ways to make your snacks healthier. Cranberries are just one example of a superfood, and they’re on the ingredients list for this creative Autumn Brittle. You can probably mix up the crunch add-ins to this brittle, too, depending on your taste. But a bit of sugar, honey, salt and butter will be required to create a sticky brittle base to hold all of your ingredients together that’s just crunchy enough.
5. Applesauce Parfait
Again, apples are a quintessential fall ingredient, even if pumpkins steal most of the seasonal spotlight. You’ll want to pay more attention to this classic fruit, though, once you try this applesauce parfait. It’s layered with cinnamon-infused breadcrumbs and yogurt, too, for just the right amount of crunch and added tartness.
6. Pear Green Smoothie
Speaking of spotlight-deserving fall fruits, a juicy pear can also get your palette in the perfect mood for fall. Plus, if you whirl one into a green smoothie, you’ll reap the benefits of drinking your greens – they help fortify your immune system and lessen your chances of getting cancer, among other plusses. This recipe incorporates two cups of baby spinach, but you’ll barely taste it behind the sweetness of the pear and the creaminess of an added avocado.
7. Broccoli Cheese Bites
Fall is our first brush with blustery winds and cold temperatures. In other words, you’ll find yourself craving warm, filling snacks on days like those. If soup doesn’t fill you up, try this variation of everyone’s favorite soup combination – broccoli cheese bites. You bake these poppable snacks in a muffin tin, so they’re the perfect size for on-the-go snack bags tossed into your purse and enjoyed later. As a bonus, they’re great at fall football parties too.
8. Caramel Apple Grapes
Speaking of snacks perfect for popping in your mouth, check out these caramel apple grapes. You can probably guess what they are already – grapes speared with toothpicks and plunged into warm caramel before they’re rolled in crunchy crushed peanuts. (This recipe suggests vodka, too, but you can make yours virgin so that they’re even healthier.) With that, you have an easy, tasty replication of one of the best treats at the county fair.
9. Pumpkin Pie-Flavored Pumpkin Seeds
Your fall plans probably consist of cracking open a few pumpkins and carving faces, spooky scenes or seasonal messages onto them. If so, save all of your seeds and turn them into another perfect fall snack.
Once you’ve amassed two cups of pumpkin seeds, toss them with butter, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice to make them taste just about as fall-ready as possible. If you want something a bit more savory, a splash of olive oil and a few dashes of sea salt will do the trick too.
What fall snacks are on your menu this year? If these recipes are any indication, you can’t go wrong by using the season as your inspiration — everything will taste as good as fall already feels.
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Still hungry? Check out out other Fall-inspired food posts!