Need Indian snack options

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

(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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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