The Snack Effect

One of my new years' resolutions is to snack better. Typically, my meals consist of a good balance between carbs, protein, and fat, but my snacks tell a different story. I love chocolate. And sweets. And baked goods. I always have, and I always will. In actuality, I do not buy any of these things, yet somehow they always end up in my house. I have no idea how this happens, but I do know it's to tempt me beyond measure. And most of the time, I cave. I totally cave. Which is a good thing! I know I have discussed how we need to be more willing to eat those foods we love, even if they aren't the healthiest foods out there.

However, herein lies the problem: I cave a LOT. All the time. Not an embarrassing amount of times, but definitely more than I should. Sometimes I straddle the line between "occasional dessert" and "daily habit".

Because of this, I have been thinking and reflecting on snacking the past couple of weeks. I have analyzed my own snacking patterns and have realized something: I always eat what is visible. What is the easiest thing to put in my mouth? What is the fastest thing to put together? Often I run into my house after hours of classes, meetings, or work, and have no desire to put a snack together. So what do I do? Grab the closest thing to me, which is often chips, candy, cookies or brownies, and occasionally ice cream. Yes, I typically grab a piece of fruit to make it 'better', but don't think about the rest of what I'm eating.

I also realized something else in this reflection: I don't buy snack foods. I always focus on my meals and never on my snacks, and I have concluded that that is the opposite of what it should be. I know that I will eat a healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Those I never struggle with, and I always make sure to have a good balance between carbs, protein, and fat. Snacks become an afterthought while I try to make the healthiest meals I can. Which I always viewed as a good thing. But lately, I decided that more attention should be paid to snacks.

We all know that feelings that occurs around 3:00 in the afternoon: you might be hungry, but you're not sure. You might be full, but you're also not sure. But one thing you are sure of: you want to EAT. And often it isn't salad, hummus, or trail-mix that you want; you want chocolate, and you want it now. Or you want sweets, or chips, or whatever your 'weak-spot' is. 

Which is why I have decided two things:

1. Snacks need to be easy, made ahead, and/or accessible.
2. There needs to be a happy medium somewhere.

Using these two rules as a guide, paired with a lot of 'Pinteresting' and 'Googling', snack ideas kept popping into my head. Easy snacks that keep you full and satisfy the 3:00 cravings. And not only are these snacks satisfying, but they are so simple and easy to make-ahead as you are going to bed the night before, or as you are eating breakfast the day of, or even the moment the cravings starts.

Hopefully, these snack ideas don't disappoint since I have talked them up so much...but here is the running list I have!

1. Power balls: these are simple snacks that combine oatmeal, honey, flaxseed, and your choice of flavor-filler. I typically use dark chocolate chips, but nuts or dried fruit can also be used. Each power ball recipe is different, but a quick Google search will bring up hundreds to choose from and play around with. I often use this mix as my granola for yogurt as well. What's nice about power balls is that you can make them in advance; they will keep for about a week in your fridge. 

2. Caramel rice cakes: plain, I find rice cakes about as appetizing as air, but when you put things on top of them, they are quite delightful. My favorite way to eat caramel rice cakes is spreading peanut butter and banana slices on top of them. I like to finish it with a sprinkle of cinnamon for a little bit more flavor.

3. Yogurt and granola: I'm pretty sure this snack has been around since the beginning of time, but it continues to be one of my favorites. I personally love Greek yogurt for its creaminess and buy the individual 6 ounce cups for a quick grab-and-go snack. And since I always have a spoon on me (spoons, in my opinion, are the epitome of utensils), yogurt is a simple snack to make. 

4. Meat and string cheese: this is a snack I often ate as a child, but stopped eating for some crazy and unknown reason. So now I an reinstating it into my diet! I take either lunch meat or a slice of ham from the deli and wrap it around the string cheese. You definitely don't have to do this, but it's kind of like an inverse of pigs-in-a-blanket, which is kind of fun. Add a piece of fruit or some carrot sticks to it, and you have yourself a healthy balanced snack!

5. Sweet potato and power granola: this is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I have this little pouch that cooks a sweet potato in the microwave in about 5 minutes, so this snack is super easy for me. It requires a bit more preparation for those without this cooking tool, but it is well worth it. After the potato is cooked, I top it with a little bit of brown sugar and the granola-version of whatever power ball mix I made that week. Most often, I eat this for dessert right before I go to bed. It is very filling and warms my body from top to bottom!

6. Hummus: I know I mentioned earlier that hummus is something that isn't craved at 3:00...but do you know what is? Chips. And do you know what is close to chips? Crackers. I love crackers. And I especially love them when they are dipped in hummus. If you are feeling extra adventurous, vegetables also taste quite delightful with hummus. 

7. Fruit 'Nachos': This one might take a little bit of extra time unless you have sliced fruit already prepared. You spread whatever fruit you want out on a plate and drizzle melted peanut butter over them. Then, you can top the fruit with whatever kinds of toppings you want: dark chocolate chips, shredded coconut, nuts, seeds, etc. If you are feeling a bit messy, go ahead and use your fingers! If not (or if you love spoons, like I do), this snack is a perfect time to use one.

8. Fruit and caramel: I have a jar of store-bought ice cream caramel in my fridge, and let me tell you, it is delicious on fruit.

9. Homemade trail-mix: the hardest thing about trail-mix is all of those foods you DON'T want that are inside of it. Or sometimes you just eat the trail-mix for the M&M's hidden amongst all the almonds and raisins. I used to be this way until I realized something: I can make my own trail-mix with the foods that I want! So I stuff my trail-mixes with banana chips, craisins, cashews, pistachios, and a small handful of Reeses' pieces. All things I like; I will not avoid any of these. 

I hope these ideas are ones you feel you could use. I tried to incorporate sweet and/or salty into all of them to show that there are healthy options for the 3:00 munchies. Often I feel that there is no other option besides the candy bar or the bag of chips I really want, but there are a number of different foods that will tame my cravings. 

I hope all of you will analyze your snacking routines and see what is best for you. It might be having a bowl of trail-mix on your counter instead of a bowl of candy; it might be having snacks that you can make days in advance so they are quick to grab; it might be putting a list of snacks on your fridge or cabinet that is easy to see (I will be trying this last idea first). 

The 3:00 munchies don't have to be hurtful to our diet the rest of the day; it can help keep us on track and guilt-free if we just know and understand our habits!