Without a doubt I have been a habitual snacker. Not a once or twice a day snacker, but a if-I-see-it-I’m-going-to-eat-it snacker.
One challenge is the stretch between lunch (which I typically eat earlier since I’m an early riser) and dinner. There have been a couple of things I’ve incorporated by research and personal trial and error.
First I had to determine why I was having these uncontrollable cravings right around 4 or so. I created my usual ‘list’ of reasons:
- Am I truly hungry or is this a product of my surroundings (an atmosphere of homemade, loving goodies from friends…every flat top surface has some sort of plated or bowled goodies on/in it).
- Am I truly hungry or is the fact that I reach for something to shove into my face right around this time habitual?
- Did I fulfill myself with lunch (rationally)?
- In reality, when will I be eating dinner?
- Was I excessively active where I’ve burned through what I’ve already consumed (the answer was typically no but it was one of those feel good questions).
I realized after a month or so that there is never a consistent answer. One day I could have only had time for fruit for breakfast, tuna for lunch and found myself famished at 4. Or, it happened to be someone’s birthday and there was cake, cupcakes, sodas, candies, etc. and I could not escape it.
So after I carefully analyzed my insanity, I came up with some ways to beat it (or at least make rational choices):
- Avocado: this is a perfect little fruit (it is botanically considered a fruit). I just cut it, pit it and sprinkle a dash of salt and pepper.
- A few slices of bell peppers (we don’t discriminate against color) – whether you like the sweetness of red/orange (my personal fave) or more subtle tones of a green bell pepper…use a vegan, dairy-free chive cream cheese instead of ranch.
- Greek yogurt and flax seed – this really curbs my sweet cravings. Sometimes I’ll add some of my friends homemade honey from her honey bee farm.
- Almonds, macadamias, cashews…oh my. Watch your sodium intake with this little guys (I like to go bulk versus pre-packaged).
- Crackers & Hummus – this is probably one of my most favorite and go-to choices for an afternoon snack. I make sure to get a healthy cracker option like Sea Salt Good Thins!
So there you have it. A little sweet, filling, healthy and quick snack options. I’ve found these 5 to be my most reliable (in terms of satisfaction, fulfillment and taste). Good luck in finding your snack joys in life!
