Healthy Late night snack ideas

GoPerfectHealth wrote: »

I have greek yogurt with strawberries and walnuts. It's not super low-carb, but better than a lot of things. I'm watching my sugars, and they've been okay with this snack. I'm also trying to lower my carbs!

I do this too, but throw in a tbsp of maple syrup and a tsp of vanilla extract. So good.

A few slices of cheese, banana/apple with pb, cottage cheese with salt and pepper, half avocado with cayenne pepper, carrots /celery and hummus, etc..

Late night munching is my a hells heel.... well that and wine

Greek yogurt
Quest bar
Luna bar
Protein shake
apple and peanut butter
unsalted pretzels/baked and red grapes
cereal with almond milk

i measure everything and sometimes save extra cals and/or plan for my snacking

I'm definitely a big night time snacker, so I often eat less earlier in the day because I know I tend to get hungrier at night. I used to be concerned because I always heard people say you shouldn't eat after 7 or right before bed or all that crap, but after talking with a registered dietitian about it, she eased my fears. She told me that as long as you are within your calorie budget for the day, it really doesn't matter when you eat them. She said that eating late at night won't cause your body to use/store the food any differently, and that all of those things about late night eating just aren't true. She also said that it can actually be GOOD to eat a snack before bed because it helps your body repair overnight from exercise you did during the day while you sleep, and that you won't wake up overly hungry in the morning then. So good news there Here are some ideas for healthy snacks:
- A string cheese and 1 serving whole grain crackers
- 1/4 cup of raw, unsalted nuts of your choice
- Greek yogurt (or regular if you don't like greek...greek just has a lot of good protein in it!)
- An apple or banana with 1 Tbsp. peanut or almond butter (I go for the natural kind usually so it doesn't have added sugar)
- 1 serving of hummus or guacamole with carrot and celery sticks dipped in it
- 2 Tbsp. peanut butter with celery sticks dipped in it
- A cup of cereal with almond or 2% milk (go for a cereal high in fiber and low in sugar!)
- A protein bar (Go for ones high in protein and low in sugar. Quest Bars are my all time favorite! They are super low in carbs and sugar!)
- A green smoothie (google recipes...there are so many good ones out there!)
- Kale chips or sugar snap peas in 2 Tbsp. Hummus
- A couple slices of lunch meat wrapped around low-fat cheese
- A slice of whole grain bread with 1 Tbsp. natural almond or peanut butter
- Watermelon
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese with strawberries or pineapple
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I hope you like at least a couple of those ideas! Just try to stick with options that contain some protein or fiber to help fill you up and watch your portion sizes and you'll be fine. Happy snacking!