Snacking – The New Three Meals a Day
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner—these were the meals most of us were raised on. Not long ago, health gurus looked down on serial snackers, rebuking them for their unhealthy habits and insatiable cravings. But today, that ideology is changing. Snacking is no longer a “criminal offense” but a perfectly healthy way to meet your daily nutrient requirements.
What’s Making Everyone So Snackish?
It’s no secret that our lifestyles are speeding up. If you’ve ever lived in New York or any other major city, you’ll notice how fast everybody seems to be walking. In today’s busy, computer-powered world, there’s always somewhere to be, someone to meet, and something to do.
The internet, AI, and other technological advancements have thrust humanity into an existence that changes faster than any other species. Of course, we still get hungry, and snacking is the solution. A snack is quicker than a sit-down meal, leaving us more time to return to business.
Snacks Can Be Healthy Too
In 2024, snacks are no longer considered unhealthy indulgences reserved for your cheat day. New-age snacking is about eating something healthy that fuels your body while you work, giving you the nutrients you require for top performance.
Raw foods dominate the healthy snack scene—sliced vegetables and hummus, berries, seeds, and whole fruits reign supreme. However, there’s room for pre-packaged snacks too. Many health-focused brands now offer minimally processed bars, bites, and balls high in nutrients and low in sugar for the discerning snacker.
It’s All About Protein
While skipping meals in preference of snacks may give you more diversity, it can leave you hungry after a long work day. Modern-day snackers know that the secret to satiety is protein. Protein-packed snacks take first prize for those who want to ditch the notion of three meals a day altogether.
Traditional high-protein snacks include boiled eggs, jerky, nuts, dairy, and legumes. These foods make sense for snacking purists, but many younger snackers want a more trendy bite. Snack brands have heeded their cry, rolling out exciting new formats such as plant-based protein puffs, dough, mini protein waffles, and more.
Plant-Based is Having a Moment
Humanity has finally concluded that plant-based eating is better for the environment. Fewer people identified as vegan or vegetarian in the past, so snacking companies hardly catered to their tastes. Fortunately, that has changed with the advent of the flexitarian.
A flexitarian actively seeks more fruits, vegetables, and grains but occasionally includes meat and dairy. This diet offers much more flexibility to curious eaters, and many snack brands now offer plant-based products that appeal to meat-eaters.
Less Artificial Additives
Reducing artificial ingredients in packaged foods is vital to the healthy snacking trend. Today’s snackers want clean-label products with ingredients they know and trust, and there is no room for deception. Natural flavorings are acceptable, where there can’t be whole foods, provided people know their origin.
Plant extracts and oils have become the standard in healthy flavoring choices. Many snack brands now label individual flavors using household names instead of complex scientific terms. For example, a brand may use natural banana flavoring instead of isoamyl acetate on a packaged snack bar.
Advanced Biotech is a trusted supplier of natural flavor additives for snacks and other foods. Our all-natural range includes smoky pyrazines, meaty thiazoles, and spicy oleoresins. For more information about our products and their applications, please feel free to contact us today.