Healthy snacks: how to choose better cookies, bars and candy

Healthy snacks don't have to be complicated: the best ones pair a little protein or healthy fats with fibre, use wholesome ingredients you recognise, and taste good enough that you actually look forward to them. This guide is for anyone filling a lunchbox, a desk drawer or a hockey bag in Halifax, Bedford or Dartmouth. It shows you how to read a granola bar wrapper, walks through the better cookies, bars and candy on our shelves, from Made with Local bars baked in Nova Scotia to low-sugar gummies and dark chocolate, and ends with an easy recipe for homemade granola bars.

Snacks get a bad name, but a good one between meals keeps your energy steady, takes the edge off hunger so you don't overeat at supper, and is one more chance to fit in fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals. The trick is choosing snacks that do some of that work while still feeling like a treat.

What makes a snack healthy?

No single snack is "the" healthy one, but the better choices share a few traits. Here's what we look for when we bring a new bar, cookie or candy into the store:

• Whole foods near the top of the list. Oats, nuts, seeds, dates, dried fruit, nut butter. If you can picture the ingredients in your own kitchen, that's a good sign.
• Protein and fibre together. A snack that pairs protein or healthy fats with fibre keeps you full longer than one that's mostly sugar. That's why apple with peanut butter beats apple on its own.
• Sugar in proportion. Some sweetness is the point of a snack. Honey, maple syrup, brown rice syrup or dates are common in good bars; just check that sugar isn't doing all the work.
• A sensible size. A 40 to 60 g bar or a handful of nuts is a snack. A 100 g bag is a share bag.
• Something you enjoy. A snack you don't like ends up at the bottom of your bag. Pick ones that taste great to you.

What are the healthiest snacks to keep on hand?

Here are ten healthy snack ideas we come back to again and again, most of them ready in under five minutes:

1. An apple or banana with a spoon of peanut butter, almond butter or sunflower seed butter.
2. Plain yogurt or quark with berries and a drizzle of honey.
3. Hummus with carrots, cucumber and peppers.
4. A small handful of nuts or pumpkin seeds with a few dried cranberries or raisins.
5. Cheese with whole grain crackers and grapes.
6. A hard-boiled egg with a pinch of salt.
7. A real food bar made from oats, nuts and fruit.
8. Oatmeal "breakfast cookies" made at home (recipe ideas below).
9. Two squares of dark chocolate with almonds.
10. Air-popped popcorn with olive oil and nutritional yeast.

How to read a granola bar or protein bar wrapper

The front of the wrapper sells; the back tells you what you're eating. Turn it over and check these in order:

1. The first three ingredients. Ingredients are listed by weight. Oats, nuts, dates or nut butter first is a good start. Sugar, syrups or "crisp rice" first means the bar is mostly sweet filler.
2. Fibre and protein. A few grams of each per bar makes it more satisfying. Protein bars aim higher, usually 10 to 20 g.
3. Sugars. Compare bars of the same size. Bars sweetened with dates or fruit will show some natural sugar, which is normal.
4. Saturated fat. Coconut oil, chocolate and nut butters all bring some. It's not a problem in a snack, but compare if you're choosing between two similar bars.
5. Allergens. For school, look for a nut free or "free from the most common allergens" statement, and read the "may contain" line too.

Granola bars and real food bars

Our favourite granola bars read like a recipe you could make at home: oats, nuts, seeds, a natural sweetener and something chocolatey.

Made with Local started in Halifax in 2012, and its Real Food Bars are made by Flower Cart, a social enterprise in the Annapolis Valley that employs people with barriers to work. The Peanut Butter Blondie combines oats, honey, peanuts and pumpkin seeds with natural peanut butter from Windsor, Nova Scotia and fair-trade organic milk chocolate from Grand Pré. The Blueberry Almond Butter bar is soft and fruity with dried Nova Scotia blueberries, almond butter, honey and walnuts. The Blueberries & Vanilla Little Treats bite, made with gluten-free oats, has 10 g of plant-based protein and 6 g of fibre.

• Short ingredient lists. The Oat Company Peanut Butter Cup Bar is five ingredients: organic dates, gluten-free oats, dairy-free chocolate chips, peanuts and peanut butter.
• All organic. Hornby Organic bakes its Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter bar from organic peanut butter, gluten-free rolled oats, honey, molasses and sesame seeds, with 11 g of protein per bar. It's certified gluten free.
• Vegan and nut free. GoMacro Oatmeal Chocolate Chip is built on brown rice syrup, sunflower seed butter and a brown rice and pea protein blend, with gluten-free rolled oats. A good pick when you want granola bars vegan and nut free.
• Free from common allergens. MadeGood, a family-founded Canadian company, bakes its organic soft baked oat bars in a dedicated nut-free facility, so they're welcome in nut-free classrooms.

Which granola bars are the healthiest?

The healthiest granola bars are made mostly from whole oats, nuts, seeds and fruit, sweetened lightly with honey, maple syrup or dates, with a few grams of fibre and protein. Made with Local, The Oat Company and Hornby Organic all fit that description. Bars built mostly on crisp rice and syrup are lighter and sweeter, and better thought of as a treat.

Protein bars: when they make sense

Protein bars are handy after a workout, on a long shift or when lunch is hours away. The best protein bars still use real food ingredients, and the protein usually comes from nuts, whey, or plant protein from peas, brown rice or fava beans.

• TruBar Smother Fudger has 12 g of vegan protein from brown rice and pea protein, with peanut butter and cocoa. It's gluten free and chewy without the fridge.
• No Sugar Company Keto Bars have no sugar, sweetened with erythritol and stevia, for low-carb snackers.
• Mid-Day Squares are half chocolate bar, half snack square, with pea and fava bean protein, made with organic peanuts and Fairtrade dark chocolate. They're kept refrigerated, so they're local delivery and pickup only.

Are protein bars actually healthy?

Some are, some are closer to a candy bar with protein added. A healthy protein bar has a short list of real ingredients, a moderate amount of sugar and enough protein to make it worth eating. Use them as a snack or a bridge between meals, not every day in place of a meal. Our protein snacks guide compares more bars and savoury options.

Is 20 g of protein a lot for a bar?

Yes, 20 g is on the high end for a bar; most sit between 10 and 15 g. A 20 g bar can work after training or as part of a light meal. For an everyday snack, 10 g or so, paired with some fibre, is plenty for most people.

Healthy cookies

A healthy cookie is still a cookie, but the better ones use whole grains, oats, nut butter, seeds and less refined sugar. A few on our shelves:

• Nova Scotia baked. Schoolhouse Gluten Free Gourmet bakes in a dedicated gluten-free kitchen in Nova Scotia. Its soft gingersnaps are a classic Maritime molasses spice cookie made with organic blackstrap molasses, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg, and they're vegan. They're local delivery and pickup only.
• Whole grain. Birdies, our neighbour on Pleasant Street in Dartmouth, mills whole grain flour on a stone mill in the bakery. Its Rye Chocolate Chip Cookie shows how good whole grain rye tastes with chocolate chips.
• Lunchbox safe. MadeGood Sweet Cinnamon Soft Baked Mini Cookies and Allergy Smart Maple Oat Mini Cookies come in snack-size packs, made with gluten-free oat flour.

What is the healthiest cookie I can eat?

Look for cookies made with oats or whole grain flour, nuts or seeds, and less refined sugar, in a sensible size. Oatmeal cookies with nut butter, and simple homemade breakfast cookies, are about as healthy as cookies get. Our advice: enjoy one good cookie rather than half a box of plain ones.

What are some healthy 3-ingredient cookies?

Mash 2 ripe bananas, stir in 1 cup of old fashioned oats or quick oats, and add ¼ cup of peanut butter or almond butter. Scoop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350°F for about 12 to 15 minutes. A handful of mini chocolate chips, raisins or a pinch of cinnamon makes a fourth ingredient that tastes amazing.

Healthier candy and chocolate

Candy will never be a health food, but some candy is made with far less sugar, no artificial dyes or simpler ingredients:

• Low sugar gummies. SmartSweets, from Vancouver, makes gummies with a few grams of sugar per bag instead of the usual thirty. There's no added sugar, no sugar alcohols and no artificial sweeteners; the sweetness comes from stevia and plant fibres.
• Organic and dye free. YumEarth organic candy is coloured with fruit and vegetable juices, and JOM organic gummies are vegan, set with corn starch instead of gelatin and coloured with carrot.
• Three ingredients. Chimes Ginger Chews are cane sugar, ginger and tapioca starch.
• Two ingredients. That's it. Dark Chocolate Date Truffles are organic dates wrapped in organic 64% dark chocolate.
• Dark chocolate. Giddy Yo makes raw, organic, bean-to-bar chocolate in Orangeville, Ontario; the 76% Original is two ingredients. Zazubean Nudie is 80% dark chocolate from four ingredients, and Alter Eco Blackout is 85% cacao for anyone who likes it really dark.

What is one of the healthiest candies?

Dark chocolate with 70% cacao or more is one of the better choices: it's less sweet than milk chocolate, and a couple of squares feels satisfying. Date-based treats, like chocolate-covered dates, are another good option. For gummies, low-sugar ones like SmartSweets keep the sugar down.

What candy has the lowest sugar?

Candy sweetened with stevia, monk fruit or allulose and bulked with fibre has the least sugar. SmartSweets gummies and No Sugar Company bars are two examples on our shelves. Check the sugars line on the nutrition facts and compare the serving size.

What can I eat to replace candy?

Fresh fruit, frozen grapes, dates stuffed with nut butter, a square of dark chocolate, or a real food bar all scratch the sweet itch with more fibre than a bag of candy. Many people find that eating a proper snack mid-afternoon takes care of most of the candy cravings.

Homemade granola bars

Homemade granola bars take about 10 minutes of hands-on time, cost less than store-bought, and you control every ingredient. This recipe is chewy, lightly sweet and easy to make nut free.

1. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, stir together 2½ cups old fashioned oats (use certified gluten free oats if you need them), ½ cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, ½ cup dried cranberries or raisins, ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips and a pinch of cinnamon.
2. Warm the wet ingredients. In a small pot, warm ½ cup peanut butter or another nut butter with ⅓ cup honey or maple syrup and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth and runny.
3. Combine. Pour the wet ingredients over the oat mixture and stir until every oat is coated. Let it cool for a few minutes before adding the chocolate chips, so they don't melt.
4. Press it firmly. Line an 8 by 8 inch pan with parchment paper and press the mixture in hard with the back of a spoon or a flat cup. Pressing firmly is what keeps the bars from crumbling.
5. Bake. Bake at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are golden. For no-bake granola bars, skip the oven and chill the pan in the fridge for 2 hours instead.
6. Cool completely, then cut. Let the pan cool completely on a wire rack, chill for 30 minutes, then lift out and cut into 10 to 12 bars.

For a nut free version, use sunflower seed butter and pumpkin seeds. Mix ins to try: chopped pecans, shredded coconut, hemp hearts, chia seeds or chopped dried apricots. Store the bars in an airtight container for up to a week, or freeze a double batch and pull out bars as you need them; they thaw in about 15 minutes.

Snack questions we hear in the store

What should I eat if I crave junk food?

Think about what you're really craving. For salty and crunchy, try popcorn, roasted chickpeas or seed crackers with hummus. For sweet, try dark chocolate, a date bar or yogurt with berries and honey. For something rich, a spoon of nut butter on an apple. A real snack with protein and fibre usually settles a craving better than willpower does.

Are homemade granola bars healthier than store-bought?

They can be, because you choose the sweetener, the nut butter and how much chocolate goes in. Good store-bought bars like Made with Local are made with much the same wholesome ingredients you'd use at home, so they're a fine choice on busy weeks.

How do I store leftover cookies and bars?

Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days, or in the fridge for up to a week. Most cookies and granola bars freeze well for up to 3 months; wrap them individually so you can grab one at a time.

What are good healthy snacks for kids' lunches?

MadeGood bars and mini cookies are made free from the most common allergens, which helps in nut-free schools, and GoMacro's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip is nut free too. Add fruit, cheese or yogurt and a few crackers, and the lunchbox is set.

Shopping for healthy snacks at Luminate

You'll find healthy snacks in the snack aisle at both stores and online in our bars, cookies and desserts and chocolate, candy and sweets collections. Most bars, cookies and candy are shelf stable, so they ship across Atlantic Canada in 1 to 3 business days, with free shipping in Canada on orders over $80. Refrigerated and frozen treats, like Mid-Day Squares and the Schoolhouse gingersnaps, are local delivery and pickup only. In Halifax, Bedford and Dartmouth, Luminate Express brings your order the same day when you order by 11 am.

Looking for more snack ideas? Read our guides to healthy crackers, healthy chips, keto snacks and fair trade chocolate.

Product details come from our own product listings. This article is general information, not medical or nutrition advice.