nutrition

The 5 Most Eco-friendly, Sustainable Snacks in the World

Hey Angels and Alphas,

Have you noticed there seems to be a growing awareness among mainstream nutrition brands and consumers about how important sustainability is in the food system?

Understanding the practicality and versatility of foods and ingredients, and then reducing food and water waste, all play a significant role in the health of both our bodies and our planet as a whole… and everyone seems to be catching on to that.

Today, we’re not talking about sustainability as in foods you can easily implement into your diet. We’re talking about sustainability as in healthy to the ecosystem, easy to produce, and productive for the entire planet.

The snacks we’ve listed below are not only a great way to fuel your body… they’re a great way to care for the planet and its ecosystems.

Today, we’re here to explore some of the easiest, nutrient-dense ideas for delicious and sustainable snacks you can use to fuel your weight loss efforts and promote the sustainability narrative that’s becoming more and more important as the days go by.

  1. HARD-BOILED EGGS

Hard-boiled eggs are a weight loss favorite for many athletes since they’re some of the most convenient, budget-friendly, protein-packed snacks you can get. The egg industry has been working overtime to try and reduce the carbon footprint egg production is making over the last five decades. And they’ve done a great job with disease control, hen housing, hen feeding, and the reduction of natural resources required to produce them.

Right now, it takes about 2/3 of the water it took to produce a dozen eggs 50 years ago. And the greenhouse gas emissions of the egg industry has dropped by about 70 percent.

As an egg-lover, one of the best things you can do is to bet on locally-made eggs. Organic, certified humane, and pasture-raised are also things you should be looking out for on egg labels.

  1. POPPED WATER LILY SEEDS

Are you a fan of popcorn? If the answer is yes, now’s your chance to enjoy some popped water lily seeds. They’re basically a staple in the Ayurvedic culture and they’re a sustainable snack pretty much anyone can enjoy. Not to mention, cultivating lily seeds isn’t damaging to the ecosystem and few if any water lilies are destroyed in the picking process. They also come in different flavors – sea salt, white cheddar, chocolate, and more.

  1. PEANUTS

Responsible farming techniques are a big part of what makes food production sustainable. And since peanuts are basically a legume, they grow underground, unlike most tree nuts. This allows peanuts to have nitrogen-fixing characteristics that benefit the soil they once grew on and feed nutrients back to the soil, further helping the next batch of crops grow. This property allows them to help conserve fertilizer for further crop use.

Moreover, peanuts are extremely water efficient. They rely mostly on rainwater. And even though America’s agriculture industry accounts for about 80 percent of the average consumption of water, peanuts have a very low water footprint of about 5 gallons an ounce, way less than other nuts.

  1. ALMONDS

Yes, almonds require a lot more water to produce than the peanuts we talked about above, but almond farmers worldwide have been doing an amazing job cutting down on the quantity of water necessary to produce them. Few if any almonds go to waste during the production since the trees, shells, and hulls all have their own purpose and can be reutilized for other farming purposes. There’s also researching going on as you’re reading this that’s exploring the use of almond hulls for livestock bedding, mushroom cultivation, aquaculture, and more.

  1. LENTILS

I know what you’re thinking. Since when are lentils a snack? But just know this: lentil-based dishes and roasted lentils can certainly fit the bill for a healthy, delicious, and nutritious snack. They’re also very efficient when it comes to the amount of water that goes in producing them and they fertilize the soil where they grew just like peanuts because they absorb (and then use) nitrogen from the air.

You can pretty much whip up your own hummus from lentils instead of, let’s say, chickpeas or something. Certain brands also offer these dry-roasted lentils with premium spices and olive oil. Each of these pouches is biodegradable, resealable, and offers a nutritious and sustainable power snack with a minimal carbon footprint.

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