Snacks that Taste Good and Feel Good
Let’s talk about something very important – our snacks. I don’t know about you, but my snacks are what keeps me going when I have a really busy day… which for me is every day. Snacks make or break my entire vibe – so it is very important to me that they are not only delicious, but also planet-friendly!
Planet-friendly snacks can mean many different things. It can mean buying snacks with less plastic packaging, or recycled plastic packaging. It can also mean biodegradable/compostable packaging. It can also be directed towards the ingredients – ie. plant-based ingredients.
This isn’t just about eating the right foods, it’s about supporting brands that are changing the food industry for the better. Let’s talk about some super delicious AND planet-friendly options – because we can definitely have both!
Nut Butters
Justin’s – If you love peanut butter or other nut butters, I highly recommend making the switch to Justin’s nut butters. Justin’s prides itself on their high quality ingredients that are sourced in ways that will not harm the environment. Speaking of the environment, they know just how important bees are to our food chain, so they’re striving to better protect the bees!
Nutiva is another great nut butter brand that’s been around since 1999 – that’s when I was born! They have donated over $1M to sustainable agriculture and pride themselves on their planet-friendly products that you can enjoy without spoiling your ethics. If you’re interested, Nutiva has a list of really great recipes that you can make using their products!
Yogurt
Stonyfield Farms has been ethically making their yogurts since 1983 – that is so impressive! Not to mention that their yogurts are absolutely perfect in texture and flavor, which is very important to me. They not only work sustainably themselves, but encourage other farmers and manufacturers to as well!
Forager is another incredible brand when it comes to organic, plant-based and minimally-processed products such as cashew milks and yogurts. They also have a few dairy-free products, which I love as I try to limit my dairy consumption.
Granola bars/ oatmeal
Clif Bars have been a staple in the granola bar industry for forever. Did you know that they’re not only amazing energy sources for things like hiking or running, but they are also making a huge effort to be zero-waste and have maintained a carbon-neutral status. Who knew? Not me!
Regrained uses upcycled grains leftover from beer brewing to create impeccable snack bars in various flavors. It’s amazing the things we can do to create positive change if we just dig a little deeper.
This Bar Saves Lives is on a mission to provide clean food and end malnutrition in children. For every product that is purchased, they donate a product to a person in need. They have been able to send over 27 thousand life saving packets worldwide!
Banana Chips
Barnana is a genius when it comes to preventing food waste, specifically bananas. They take bananas that would otherwise not be consumed, because they are not deemed ideal for shelves, (they’re still perfectly good to eat!) and use them to make snacks like banana chips and banana-coconut bites.
Popcorn
Quinn is an incredible sustainable snack brand in that they completely changed the game of microwavable popcorn. They created the first and only microwavable popcorn bag that is free of all PFOAs, PFCs and plastic coatings. On top of that amazing achievement, their ingredients in the actual popcorn are super planet-friendly as well! They use organic, non-GMO popcorn kernels, high oleic sunflower oil, and never add natural flavorings, they pride themselves on using only real ingredients.
Sustainable Snacks…. Literally
Sustainable snacks is an awesome brand that … you guessed it.. Creates sustainable snacks! Based in the Bronx, NY, they make chocolate clusters of various flavors and combinations and pride themselves on their clean ingredients (they’re 100% plant-based).
Sweets
Back to Nature is a stable brand that shelves various organic and GMO free snacks. One of my favorites is their classic creme oreos – a guilt free Oreo if you will.
Endangered Species Chocolate donates 10% of profits to help protect our endangered species with each chocolate bar sale.Their various chocolate bars and bites are made of fair trade ingredients which is great for us animals too.
Ben & Jerry’s launched an ice cream flavor called “Save our Swirled” back in 2015 to help spread more awareness about climate change. If you didn’t love them before, you love them now.
Let’s Snack Well Together
Many do not think of their snacks when they think of being a planet-friendly human. For me, this was something I definitely overlooked for a very long time. Now, I am better educated and I hope that this piece will help you be too! I hope that you will try at least one of the amazing snacks and brands from this piece- you won’t regret it!
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