How to Transform Your Snacks
Snacking gets a bad rap, but snacking isn’t bad. If you’re stuck hungry between an early lunch and a later dinner, you should most definitely snack! But what to snack on?
Typical Snacking
A “time to eat” alarm sounds in the form of tummy grumbles, weakness and hanger. All the while blood sugar dips, and if it drops too low, the body enters a state of stress. It begs for something, anything, to eat. That anything might not be the best thing.
In a fit of hunger, you're likely to opt for whatever's at arm's reach. If that's chips (specifically formulated to be irresistible) over that wholesome snack you haven't yet made, you’ve walked right into the most common of snack traps. The chips are convenient, but they're not going to keep you adequately satiated.
This is not a tale about a lack of willpower, it’s about a lack of preparation.
Part 1: Transform your ideal snack into your best snack with the critical satiety factors
When you’re not in blood sugar crisis mode, think about what kind of food you might want to eat when you are hungry. Are you a salty snack person or a sweet person? Either can make for a fine snack, but the foundation of the ideal snack needs an element of protein and/or good fat and fiber (vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds). Fat, protein and fiber all serve to fill you with sustaining energy, goal #1 of eating between meals.
Crave fruit?
You’ve got fiber. Now enjoy with some raw or lightly toasted nuts for protein and fat.
Love crackers?
Pick the dense ones made of seeds for fiber and fat and add some hummus for more protein and fiber.
Once you’ve got a list of your best snacks, you’re ready for part 2.
Part 2: Find the snack that’s satisfying and enjoyable yet resistible to you
Narrow down your snack list to find the “just right” snacks, the ones you enjoy but won’t obsess over.
For example, if I'm prepared to snack on walnut butter, my favorite snack, I find myself in another snack trap: eating when I’m not hungry. I easily trick myself into “feeling” hungry just to get a hit of walnut butter. Instead of keeping ample walnut butter around, I keep more resistible (yet still tasty) snacks in supply. For me, the combo of raw walnuts and blueberries is “just right.”
Sort your options from the list of part 1’s critical element snacks along the snack spectrum to find your own “just right” best snack!
Ready to reclaim snack time!
Now that you’ve honed in on your best snacks, keep 1-2 "just right" options stocked both at home and on the go. Need ideas? Check out my Top 10 Low and No-Prep Satiating Snacks.
