Need Indian snack options

Shalini_15

I have 5-6 meals a day. Below is an over view of my diet:

8.30am - Brkfast - Idly / Upma / Brown bread toast/ Dosa/ bread omlete + 4 egg whites + 1 cup tea (milk n sugar/ jaggery)
10.30 am to 12pm - Mid morning snacks - Fruit bowl/ Apple/ Gauva + 1 carrot + 1 green tea (this is at every 30mins interval)
1pm- Lunch - Indian meals - 2-3 Chapathi + veg/ chicken curry + little rice + dal/sambhar / chicken biryani / subway chicken salad etc
3pm - 5pm - Evening snacks - 1 green tea + cucumber + junk - muffin / puffs + 1 tea (milk n sugar) - but nt enough
8.30pm - Dinner - 1-2 chapathi + veg curry

Now the problem I face is during evening snacks. Since the veggies that I eat cucumber etc is not enough I feel quite hungry and end up eating junk like muffin, cakes, puffs, pakodas etc at office. If I dont eat evening then for dinner I will be terribly hungry

I am looking for healthy Indian snack options at office (typical cafeteria). I do have options of sandwich but I don't like sandwiches much Not a great fan.. I avoid soy products n goitrogenic foods as I have hypothyroidism.

Any suggestions are welcomed

Shalini_15

Anyone???

ninerbuff

You can eat whatever you want at anytime as long as you stay at your calorie limit each day.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Justifier

Sorry, there just aren't many people from India here on MFP. I don't know what a typical Indian cafeteria has.

thavoice

I would hate the 5-6 meals a day. They would have to be so small and unfilling, let alone all the extra time planning/eating.

with that said.....my extent of Indian food is what from listening to Raj on The Big Bang Theory.

krishnanu26

(1) Add powdered flax seeds to the chapathi, it will reduce your hunger. (2) Or have a packet (10g) of roasted and salted flax seeds and drink a big cup of water. Most indian snacks are made from refined flour and oil.

freemystery

You don't need snacks.

Chances are you're not actually hungry. You just want food. And why wouldn't you, you graze on it all day. I would advise you to keep some discipline with meal times and don't let the "eating" part of the day be the whole day.

Think about whether you need to break the habit of bringing food to your face every 2-3 hours.

brigm1

I have 5-6 meals a day. Below is an over view of my diet:

8.30am - Brkfast - Idly / Upma / Brown bread toast/ Dosa/ bread omlete + 4 egg whites + 1 cup tea (milk n sugar/ jaggery)
10.30 am to 12pm - Mid morning snacks - Fruit bowl/ Apple/ Gauva + 1 carrot + 1 green tea (this is at every 30mins interval)
1pm- Lunch - Indian meals - 2-3 Chapathi + veg/ chicken curry + little rice + dal/sambhar / chicken biryani / subway chicken salad etc
3pm - 5pm - Evening snacks - 1 green tea + cucumber + junk - muffin / puffs + 1 tea (milk n sugar) - but nt enough
8.30pm - Dinner - 1-2 chapathi + veg curry

Now the problem I face is during evening snacks. Since the veggies that I eat cucumber etc is not enough I feel quite hungry and end up eating junk like muffin, cakes, puffs, pakodas etc at office. If I dont eat evening then for dinner I will be terribly hungry

I am looking for healthy Indian snack options at office (typical cafeteria). I do have options of sandwich but I don't like sandwiches much Not a great fan.. I avoid soy products n goitrogenic foods as I have hypothyroidism.

Any suggestions are welcomed

hi shals0!

i think many people say eating 5-6 small meals is a great thing. however, there are some of us (like me) that are not snackers so need their 3 square and hearty meals a day. that said, it really doesn't matter which model you choose as long as you go with what your body wants. i think most important for you right now is to calculate the total calories you are consuming that are making your weight loss successful and then maybe moving around the amount you consume at different times of day. for instance, since you sound like an evening snack is important for you then maybe cut down a little on the morning snacks so you have a bigger bank of calories to consume in the evening. just a thought.

Shalini_15

Thank you all for suggestions.. Any more suggestions are also welcome

SLLRunner

You don't need snacks.

Chances are you're not actually hungry. You just want food. And why wouldn't you, you graze on it all day. I would advise you to keep some discipline with meal times and don't let the "eating" part of the day be the whole day.

Think about whether you need to break the habit of bringing food to your face every 2-3 hours.

This is silly. You don't know what she needs and whether she's feels hungry or not. She's acting for Indian food snacks.

The bold statement sounds like you are trying to shame the OP.

missiontofitness

You don't need snacks.

Chances are you're not actually hungry. You just want food. And why wouldn't you, you graze on it all day. I would advise you to keep some discipline with meal times and don't let the "eating" part of the day be the whole day.

Think about whether you need to break the habit of bringing food to your face every 2-3 hours.

But seriously...horrible advice.
There's no issue with "grazing" throughout the day. I space my meals and snacks out because there's no way I could physically consume enough food in three meals to meet my calorie goals with the way I eat now.

Please stop with the shaming on here. That kind of attitude is detrimental to people trying to figure out a plan that works for them.

missiontofitness

Personally, I'm a HUGE fan of this Youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/RajshriFood

I've been wanting to try out a lot of their recipes for a while. They may not all be "snack foods", per se, but they are options for you to cook ahead and eat for a snack break!

chrisdavey

do you have ice cream in India?

freemystery

I want to clarify, I'm not shaming anybody or any way of eating that works for people.

I'm putting forward something that the OP may not have thought about to consider and it's based on my own experience.

If you have a certain number of calories, dividing them into three meals will always give you more per sitting than dividing those same calories into three meals and two snacks. The issue appears to be feeling satiated, it's worth trying to eat full meals and not eating every few hours in a way that never fully satisfies you.

It was actually a poster on MFP that suggested to me that sometimes when the content of what you eat is not the issue, it's the behaviour that's the problem. It's completely reasonable to ask if you eat because you're hungry or because you're used to eating. That's not shaming. That's a legitimate angle to consider, especially since the meals given by the OP are pretty well balanced.

I agree that for some people eating little and often is the magic bullet.
However for others it really isn't and it even hinders progress for some.

Support can also come in challenging forms. Such as somebody asking you whether you're hungry when you say you want to eat. Because sometimes you need to ask yourself and answer honestly.

This is coming from somebody (me, to be absolutely clear) who actually needed to be challengeed. Or shamed if that's what we're calling it. I needed to cut it out, just because I was watching a movie didn't mean I needed to seek the lowest calorie thing to fill a bowl with. This kind of mindless eating meant I wasn't enjoying the food I was just stuffing into my face, at the end of it there was no benefit other than maintaining the comfortable habit of being in front of a movie with a big bowl of food. That advice helped me break the connection between boredom/ TV and food, I eat mindfully at mealtimes and actually get enough calories for things I enjoy. I don't feel like I'm missing out because I'm eating when I'm hungry, not out of habit.

So OP sorry if it sounded like shaming, it truly isn't. The impression I get from this and previous threads you have posted is that you enjoy traditional Indian foods but you are not satiated. If I can rephrase the suggestion I made in a more sensitive way, have you considered using your calorie allowance within your meals, would you still be hungry at the end of the day if you did that? Are you truly hungry at the end of the day or do you miss the taste of your pakora or bhel or sev mamra or shakar para or whatever it is you're eating?
You don't have to miss out on the things you like because you're trying to shoehorn in things you don't really need.

And the horrible truth that it's not an emergency if you're hungry. Just because you're a bit tired at work, you don't sleep at your desk. If you're eating a few times a day, a little hunger is not going to be the end of you.

butlersoft

there's lots of starchy carbs in those chapathis.

Whilst the egg whites for breakfast are great, perhaps you could look to add more protein / fats into the other meals for greater satiety ?

opticoax

shals0,

I do see you have lost 17kg so far, but I dont know in what timeframe, but something is working for you.

You should get your hypothyroidism under control first, but I know a lot of the thyroid supplements can chew up your muscle.

You should aim for a higher protein intake and some weight training to spare your muscle...or consider taking a protein drink daily to get a bigger boost.

As for diet, I have lost quite a bit just by nearly cutting out bread and rice and just rely on the carbs in things like vegetables and milk. I do a carb re-feed each week just to refill my glycogen levels and keep my insulin response healthy..but my weight jumps for the next 2 days as I am holding a lot of water.

On days I am lifting weights, I will have a couple pieces of pita bread just so I have some carbs for that night's lift....I suggest you try intermittent fasting where you only eat between say 10am to 6pm and fit all your meals in that window.

if you are eating throughout the day, your insulin levels are probably riding up there fairly high.

For a snack, I would stick solely between meats or vegetables....even fruits can be carby.

Tandoori Chicken, Keema Mutter, boiled eggs with cumin and tumeric and salt. Cucumbers and a low-carb chutney. I dont snack much during the day...just a big coffee in the morning and lunch at 1pm. At night, I go to the gym and eat afterwards.

Channa Dal is supposed to be a low glycemic index carb so that is a good option.

http://lowcarbediem.com/low-carbohydrate-indian-food-atkins-recipe/ has some recipes too.

vick441

Good protein snack would do, won't it? A good protein bar?

aimeemusic

I eat alot of different types of foods.

But I am married to an english man and good curry is must.

I dont know if this will help but when I make indian (home made), I always have 3/4 of a cup of curry (replace heavy cream with light), 1/2 cup of rice (white or brown-no salt or oil) and 1-2 slices of fiber honey wheat 100 calorie bread (toasted no butter). It fills me up and it is about 550 to 700 cals depending on how I make the curry.

The bread is because I love naan and the honey wheat fiber one 100 cal bread replaces and bulks the meal AND adds fiber which I need to feel full. (2 slices are 100 cals and 8 grams of fiber)

I try to eat between 300-700 per meal and have snacks that add up to about 500 through the day (can be anything)

Feel free to add me

Shalini_15

So OP sorry if it sounded like shaming, it truly isn't. The impression I get from this and previous threads you have posted is that you enjoy traditional Indian foods but you are not satiated. If I can rephrase the suggestion I made in a more sensitive way, have you considered using your calorie allowance within your meals, would you still be hungry at the end of the day if you did that? Are you truly hungry at the end of the day or do you miss the taste of your pakora or bhel or sev mamra or shakar para or whatever it is you're eating?
You don't have to miss out on the things you like because you're trying to shoehorn in things you don't really need.

And the horrible truth that it's not an emergency if you're hungry. Just because you're a bit tired at work, you don't sleep at your desk. If you're eating a few times a day, a little hunger is not going to be the end of you.

Thanks for clarifying.. :flowerforyou:

Well the main reason I was asking this was I feel quite hungry at 4 to 6 pm and I just can't survive on carrot or cucumber. It is not that I am used to eating or so, there are days I know I am not hungry and I eat a bite or so from my colleagues snacks. But when I say I am hungry, I get a sharp burning sensation in my stomach (after 30min or so of realising that I am hungry), get slight headache n start feeling irritated n restless. And at this moment I am like ready to eat anything n everything. Hence, I end up on muffins n junk. For a change today I tried brown bread paneer cheese sandwich.

Shalini_15

Thanks all for replying.

I lost 17kgs last year in a span of 8months from Dec'12 to Aug'13. After that I haven't lost a gram also And thats why I am struggling to understand, what is going wrong and where

Coming to snacks, Chana I feel leads to gastric problems, hence generally don't prefer that. Also thought of protein bars but they are loaded with sugar

bayagurudas

Hi what about juicing instead of eating snacks...