10 Healthy Snack Ideas for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Start with a variety of berries, citrus fruits like oranges or mandarin oranges, celery sticks, broccoli, and cauliflower. Dr. Sandon also advises looking for snacks with edible peels, like apples, grapes, peaches, and pears — those skins are rich in nutrients and anti-inflammatory compounds.

Rheumatoid arthritis snacks don’t have to be a canapé contest. Prepare simple snacks that are easy to carry so you’re ready for any eventuality, including painful hands. “Buy chunks of watermelon, pineapple, or cantaloupe precut,” says Sandon, who has rheumatoid arthritis. She also suggests looking for veggies that can be bought in snack sizes, like cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, and snap peas.

“Frozen fruit or fruit canned in water or its own juice is another option,” she says. Think, too, about the tools you can use to help you. To make things easier, use kitchen scissors to open bags instead of trying to tear them open bare-handed, and invest in an electric can opener to save on effort.

It can help to plan ahead and pack a few snacks to carry with you throughout the day. A bag with nuts, dried cherries, low-fat string cheese, and a piece of fruit can go with you almost anywhere without needing refrigeration. Save the more labor-intensive RA snacks for days when you know you’ll be near a kitchen to prepare them.

A serving of nuts makes a filling, good-for-you RA snack. Nuts contain healthy fats and protein and are smart additions to a rheumatoid arthritis diet. Nuts also have fiber, which may help with weight maintenance. And they're especially convenient snacks: Just pack a 1- to 2-ounce portion size in advance to carry with you. Plus: “Shelled nuts and seeds are also easy for people with RA to handle,” Sandon notes.

For an additional RA snack option, go for a spoonful or two of nut butter on whole-grain bread or crackers.

Your best sources are sunlight or supplementation, but why not think about vitamin D when you’re picking snacks as well? Sardines are an excellent source of vitamin D, according to Frechman. She recommends a healthful rheumatoid arthritis snack of canned chunk sardines prepared in tomato sauce and eaten on crackers.

“Green tea is in the flavonoid family [a type of polyphenol], and can be a filling healthy drink,” Frechman says. Green tea can be enjoyed hot or cold, making it a perfect refreshment for all seasons, although people sensitive to caffeine might want to cut off their green tea consumption around midday.

RA snacks are also a good way to try new flavors and add variety to your diet. Kale chips, anyone? Kale is loaded with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Frechman recommends lightly oiling and spicing kale and baking it, then serving it as chips. Seaweed chips that you can often find prepackaged in health food stores can also be a good source of nutrients (just make sure they’re not too high in sodium). Chia seed pudding, which you can prep in advance, has fiber, protein, and healthy fats.

The next time you’re in the snack aisle of the grocery store, look for snacks made from whole foods — such as whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables — and check out the Nutrition Facts label to see how they stack up as potential additions to your snack menu.

“You can get healthy omega-3s in fatty fish like salmon,” says the registered dietitian Leah Hoffman Anderson, RD, PhD, an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma’s College of Allied Health in Oklahoma City.

“Try mixing cooked salmon with an olive-oil-based vinaigrette and eating it with whole-wheat crackers for a scaled-up version of tuna salad,” she suggests. “In addition to the healthy fish oils in salmon, the olive oil in the vinaigrette contains additional compounds that fight inflammation.” Fish is also good for lean protein.

“Chickpeas roasted in curry, which is anti-inflammatory, are a healthy and delicious snack,” Frechman says. Curry mixes contain spices like turmeric and ginger, which are thought to have anti-inflammatory properties. Rinse a can of chickpeas and roast them, then toss them in curry seasoning for a new flavor.