I know, but I find what they use to make things "sugar-free" is usually worse for my health than just having the small bit of sugar in the *real* chocolate chips (I always use the mini chips, and typically around half of what a recipe calls for, so I'm not particularly worried about that. Erythritol, for example, was recently implicated as increasing risk for cardiac issues (especially, blood clots) and it's also known to cause digestive upset. While you'd likely have to consume a lot of it to have that occur as a side effect, consider that it's now found in things where you wouldn't necessarily expect to find it (toothpaste, for example), so many people who are trying to go "sugar-free" and are using sugar substitutes are more likely to encounter those kinds of unwanted side effects. Often people are consuming more artificial sweeteners than they realize in their quest to avoid regular sugar. Is one better than the other? I don't really know, but sugar is sugar, and artificial sweeteners aren't always what they appear to be. Monkfruit sweeteners, for example, are *almost always* mostly erythritol, which is totally misleading. Stevia is a good alternative and natural, but I find it has an unpleasant aftertaste so I don't use it either. I stick to regular sugar and use it as the "treat" it's intended to be, not as something that's a staple in my diet like most Americans, so I don't worry about a few chocolate chips here and there. I also don't subscribe to the idea that eating too many fruits (due to the sugar content) is bad for health. What American is eating too many fruits?!! LOL

I like hummus as a snack, either with veggies or with a pita or cracker (which obvs can be made gluten-free if desired). I have kind of a thing for dips, especially Mediterranean and Middle Eastern ones, but you have to put them on something, so we're back to veggies (or starch). 🤷‍♀️ In the summer, I make a lot of fresh salsa that I have with multigrain tortilla chips (from Aldi) that are surprisingly tasty and a little healthier than your typical corn chip. Olive tapenade, guacamole, bean dip...yeah, ok, I'm a freak for a good dip. The great thing about them is that if you make them yourself they can be super healthy and taste loads better than the store-bought versions. I like roasted pumpkin seeds and recently I had squash and roasted those seeds and they were surprisingly satisfying as a snack (I tossed them with olive oil and sprinkled a little sea salt and garlic powder before roasting). Chia pudding is a good snack if you are craving something satisfying and a bit sweet - it doesn't take a lot of sugar and most recipes I've seen use maple syrup (the real stuff, not the pretend "maple flavored" stuff).

Peanut butter or almond butter (no sugar added) is also a great "dip" for things, but they also work great as a base for energy balls, which are easy to make and are healthy and satisfying as snacks. Here's a recipe if you're interested: https://www.loveandlemons.com/energy-balls/
Obviously, there's sugar in the mini chocolate chips, but I like a little nip of semi-sweet or dark chocolate once in a while, and these are pretty forgiving, so you could use less or just omit them altogether if you wanted to or use a different "add-in" in their place. You'll probably find some other good ideas on her blog as well, like homemade granola bars and stuff like that...and, um...dips. LOL. 😁

All the things I've suggested are things you can make yourself and are really easy to throw together but most of them you can buy already made too, but it might be harder to meet some of your restrictions doing that. Anyway, it's hard to make suggestions when I don't know your particular tastes, but I hope some of these ideas will work for you.

Thanks so much for the ideas. You can get sugar free chocolate chips 😉