We all get them. Those little attacks of “the munchies” that sneak up on us during the day. Sometimes they’re genuine hunger, while at other times, they stem from stress or boredom, or are a response to experiencing a negative emotion.
The good news is, you don’t have to curb those cravings! Snacking every three to four hours can help keep your hunger in check, and stop you overeating at regular mealtimes. The key is to keep your snacks nutrient dense, healthy and tasty – they don’t have to be high in fat and calories to be delicious!
Try keeping some of these in your fridge or cupboard at work – this means you don’t have to spend time preparing food every morning to be ready when that snack attack strikes!
- Fat free cottage cheese
- Individual serving pots of fat free yoghurt
- Low fat cheese, e.g. Mozzarella
- Baby carrots, sticks of cucumber, cherry tomatoes
- Any chicken, meat or fish leftover from the night before, or tinned fish (in brine)
- Hummus, babaganoush (brinjal dip)
- Raw almonds
- Provitas, Ryvita, snackbread, rice cakes
- Brown or wholewheat bread (keep it in the freezer, ready-sliced, then toast from frozen)
- Instant cup soup
- Fresh fruit (apples, citrus fruit and pears keep well in the fridge)
- Peanut butter
With these ingredients handy, you’ve got a great base for some quick and easy, healthy snacks – and enough variety so you don’t get bored of having the same thing every day.
Try these tasty combinations:
- 4 Provitas and two teaspoons of peanut butter
- ½ cup of carrots to dip into fat free cottage cheese
- 1 apple and a small tub of plain yoghurt
- 2 rice cakes with hummus
- 8-16 raw almonds and a piece of fruit
It’s also a good idea to do some advance food preparation on Sunday evenings. Chop up enough salad vegetables to last a few days, and keep them in separate containers. Try making our Mexican Bean Salad Recipe (hyperlink) – this keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days.
Very important – Make sure if you’re having a carbohydrate, you include a protein with it. This lowers the glycaemic load of your snack.