Even when you wrap up your appointments on time, traffic can have something else to say about when you get home. Suddenly your commute went from 30 minutes to 90 minutes, and you’re ravenous: keep nuts in the center divider of your car. They pack tons of protein and fiber in just a handful. Almonds have a low calorie count for the nutrients they pack in, so if you’re trying to keep your appetite for dinner, these are a good choice.
You’re hungry, but you agreed to a 3pm lunch meeting. You don’t want to snack right now because then you’ll just be adding in unscheduled calories. Eat a piece of fruit: fruit are very low in calories, but the high fiber and water content makes you feel full, so you’ll be inclined to eat less when the real meal roles around. Now you’ve balanced out the extra calories you were afraid of.
Acidic fruit like apples or citrus, when eaten on an empty stomach, will only make you feel hungrier and can drive you to grab less healthy snacks. If you are choosing fruit as a snack to hold you over until a meal, pair it with a small portion of fatty peanut butter or cheese. This will neutralize the acid in your stomach and make you feel satisfied instead of hungrier.
If you’re having dinner around 6 or 7, but go to bed around 11 or 12, you probably get hungry again before bed. Smart snackers use snacks to push their mealtimes into ideal times. Try this: have a snack around 4 or 5 in the evening, so you’re not hungry for a full meal until 8 or 9. This timing will keep you satisfied until bedtime, and helps you avoid snacking right before you go to sleep.
Next time you feel like you just have to consume something, but fear it might break your calorie bank, make yourself a cup of tea with a little lemon and honey. This is an almost zero calorie beverage, but it will make you feel full.
Any packaged foods with the word “snack” on them are usually void of any nutrition, but pretend to be full of it. For example, many snack bars boast having “five whole grains” but that says nothing about the fiber content, which is what would actually keep you full. In general, the food market seems to equate the word “snack” with “superfluous calories.” Make your own snacks with whole ingredients.
If you have to buy pre-packaged snacks, buy bars with ingredients that you can see. Buy a nut bar with whole nuts, or a bar with whole chunks of dried fruit in it. There are dozens of great brands today making wholesome, packaged snack bars.
Avocados make tons of great snacks like avocado on toast, healthy guacamole, or even just half an avocado with a little olive oil and lemon juice. Avocados satisfy your craving for something fatty, but they’re a healthy fat, and they provide fiber.
Vegetables like celery, carrots and radishes take a lot of time to eat, but deliver very few calories. If you spend a lot of time chewing, your brain gets tricked into thinking you’ve consumed a lot of calories, and can feel full quicker. Crunchy veggies are great to snack on when you have way too long to wait for a meal, and when you know you’re prone to over-snack and spoil your appetite.
Bananas are the antithesis of an acidic fruit: they sooth a hungry stomach, and a hungry temper! Bananas are mood boosters, and since you know you get cranky when you get hungry, they can be what stands between you and a “hangry” temper tantrum. Peanut butter is great with bananas and again adds protein.
