Hi -- any snack recommendations?

[samphire_glass]

Hi -- I saw this comm on LJ spotlight, and it looked awesome so I thought I'd join. (^_^) Anyway, I was just wondering if anybody has some good recommendations for healthy, low-calorie snacks? I eat a lot of fruit (between 5 and 7 a day) and I like breadsticks and rice-cakes, but after a while it gets a bit same-y

Comments

[spider]

I find that working out does wonders for cutting down on my snacking - I actually feel more hungry more often when I'm just sitting around all day. It also leaves me prone to boredom-snacking.

I really like whole grain toast with a bit of saltless butter, trail mix, and raw mushrooms or carrots with red-pepper hummus. Barring that, maybe a toothpicked roll of lean turkey or two? A cup of black tea can also help you to feel less hungry.

[samphire_glass]

Cool -- thankyou! I'm certainly going to try those out. (^_^) Thanks for the speedy reply, too!

One quick question, though: what's a toothpicked roll?

[fairgoldberry]

You roll up a slice of turkey and stick a toothpick in it. It's neater than just eating a slice of turkey with your fingers, and makes it feel a little more like 'a meal' and a little less like 'I am grazing out of the fridge'.

[samphire_glass]

(^_^) I knew it had to be something like that. Thanks!

[fairgoldberry]

Seconding hummus. Hummus is yummus!

If you're doing a lot of fruit, you may want to switch some of it up to veggies. Chunks of red or green pepper, carrots, celery, radishes, that sort of thing. You can cut them up the night before and drop them in your bag when you head out in the morning. I buy big bags of sugar snap peas and eat them almost constantly.

A little bit of cheese is a nice snack. While it's not strictly low-calorie, it tends to leave you a little more satisfied than the equivalent calories in rice cake.

I've also had good results with adding yogurt to things. I buy a tub of vanilla yogurt, and then when I'm having a peach or some blueberries, I eat it mixed in with a half-cup or so of the yogurt and some Kashi sprinkled on top (processed cereal or not, I love love love me some Kashi...).

You want to look at adding more protein and more soluble fiber to your snacks, because those give you longer-term energy and keep your blood sugar more stable.

[samphire_glass]

Wow, those are really good suggestions! I've never really gone down the yoghurt route -- I think I'll give that a try first. (^_^)

Thankyou so much!!

[stacyinthecity]

Fruit, breads, and rice can actually make you feel hungrier after you eat them due to the carb content. I know it isn't light on calories, but consider adding a bit of fat to your snack. Breadsticks with grassfed butter or coconut oil. The digestion of fat actually releases a hormone that tells your brain you are no longer hungry. Fat is also really good for you, so long as it comes from traditional sources like grass fed cows or coconuts.

You mentioned you are trying to lose a bit of weight, so I can't recommend coconut oil highly enough. It supports the thyroid and actually boosts your metabolism. Plus, due to the satiation quality of the fat itself, you may end up eating less overall. When I was trying to lose weight, I would dissolve about a tablespoon into warm water before every meal and drink that. It helped!

Good luck!

[stacyinthecity]

I believe my use of it has helped boost my metabolism, and I have read that it "supports" your thyroid. I'm not sure what degree that is, but yeah, like you, I suppose if it helps a little bit, it is good!

[folavril]

I had the same problem - slightly overweight & sedentary, but mentally challenging job. I found that changing my snacking pattern helped a lot - I cut out the breadsticks/rice cakes etc (too much pure carbs) & switched to adding a small amount of protein with my fruit. A little turkey, spoon of peanut or almond butter with half an apple, couple of spoons of low fat greek yoghurt with berries (I've been doing this a lot), low fat string cheese, that kind of thing seems to work very well for me, I have fewer mental crashes during the day & I actually lost weight too (I'm down about 5 lbs after doing this for 2 months despite going to big two weddings recently ;D).

[idwoman]

Yeah, I would second this. I've been eating more peanut butter and low fat string cheese lately to go along with my veggies or my fruit. The protein and the fat trigger that part of the brain that registers "this is food" and make the snack soooo much more satisfying. While I have yet to lose more weight (too much peanut butter. Must remove head from jar) I have been able to maintain a healthier weight than I have in a long time.

[folavril]

LOL! (I buy unchurned peanut butter & then pour off the extra oil from the top when I open a new bottle, helps cut down on the fat content, but you're right, saying no to peanut butter is tough!).

[deepdistraction]

Hopefully you are hanging on to that oil, though, right? Peanut oil is so great for stir-frying veggies.

[afufle]

I think fruit carbs are not so bad, they don't leave you hungry like white rice, foods containing bleached flour. So no to the breadsticks, yes to the fruit snacks.

I've read popcorn does leave you satisfied longer than many snacks--air popped corn sounds best.

You do need a little healthy fat in order for your body to process vitamins, for your nerves to work, so the hummus is good. It it is garbanzo beans with a little sesame or peanut butter. Sesame oil and peanut oil as well as olive oil are so-called "good fats". They have much less saturated fat, and more of the HDL cholesterol which strips your veins of built up bad cholesterol.

[afufle]

Also, hummus is mostly protein!

[samphire_glass]

Popcorn? I'm guessing without all the sticky sugar that you get in cinemas, right? ;-)

I should really try hummus... My mum likes it, as do lots of my friends, so I really ought to give it a go.

[afufle]

Haha, I guess best would be an air popper with no oil necessary for popping, but I can't afford an air popper, so have to use old fashioned stove top method, & have to have a bit of canola with it. But I try to consider that in total daily intake of fat.