Night time snack alternatives

caiteh86
caiteh86 Posts: 243 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I have this problem where I crave sweet junk food at night when I'm sitting and binging Vikings episodes. I kind of put an end to it for a while but this week it's been bad ... icing straight out of the jar by the spoon, popcorn with butter and cinnamon sugar on it, a few mini chocolate bars... it's so weird. I'm not even hungry! Anyone have any tips or slightly healthier alternatives? I make sure to leave a couple hundred cals for a snack at night, but obviously this week I've been going over them...argh.
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Replies

  • brtgl
    brtgl Posts: 130 Member
    Maybe hummus and mini carrots? Years ago, I used to frequently have a bowl of ice cream around 9 PM, but nowadays, I never eat after 8 PM.
  • caiteh86
    caiteh86 Posts: 243 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    Can you take up a hobby which leaves eyes free to watch but hands busy? Knitting, crochet, stitching...

    Hmmm...that's a good idea. I'm just worried that I'll still want sugar :'(
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I second the hobby idea.
    Hand knitting makes it impossible to reach for the snacks.

    http://www.handimania.com/knit/30-minute-infinity-scarf.html
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Hot cocoa sweetened with Stevia. Sprinkle cinnamon on top.

    Replace the sugar with artificial sweetener.

    http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/chocolate-chai-tea-465576
  • thiswillhappen
    thiswillhappen Posts: 634 Member
    edited February 2018
    Lately I've been cleaning and organizing things while watching TV...sounds crazy but it helps when I feel a snack binge coming on....makes me feel productive and in control!

    Organize your sock drawer, refold your tshirts, clean the kitchen, organize your costume jewelry, etc...
  • h1udd
    h1udd Posts: 623 Member
    edited February 2018
    diet sodas for me as well ..... everything else involves calories !

    Although I keep promising myself to try making diet coke/pepsi based Jellies by adding gelatine ... that way I could eat the coke !
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
    hot chocolate is my go to.

    I often crave something sweet, but am not really hungry. So it's either hot chocolate or occasionally a cognac or similar.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    If you're not hungry, you don't need food (healthy alternatives) either, overeating is just a bad habit.
  • caiteh86
    caiteh86 Posts: 243 Member
    h1udd wrote: »
    diet sodas for me as well ..... everything else involves calories !

    Although I keep promising myself to try making diet coke/pepsi based Jellies by adding gelatine ... that way I could eat the coke !

    I love that idea!!
  • caiteh86
    caiteh86 Posts: 243 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    If you're not hungry, you don't need food (healthy alternatives) either, overeating is just a bad habit.

    I wouldn't be overeating, as I said, I save a couple hundred calories for a snack at night. I just need something that will hit the spot but not go over in cals.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    caiteh86 wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    If you're not hungry, you don't need food (healthy alternatives) either, overeating is just a bad habit.

    I wouldn't be overeating, as I said, I save a couple hundred calories for a snack at night. I just need something that will hit the spot but not go over in cals.
    Then eat a couple of hundred calories worth of anything you want.
  • jillDob
    jillDob Posts: 24 Member
    I like hummus and cucumber, also I fined ice cold diet lemonade & lime does the trick ;-)
  • tryin4ahealthybaby
    tryin4ahealthybaby Posts: 5 Member
    Often times we crave sugar when we're not taking in the right number of carbs. I'd take a look at your carb levels and see if you could make some healthy carb increases :smile:
  • sendtoharvey
    sendtoharvey Posts: 135 Member
    I switched to sunflower and pumpkin seeds instead of chips...
    then added baby carrots to the mix for crunch.
    I miss my salty snacks, but helped a ton for getting me in the right direction
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    edited February 2018
    caiteh86 wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    If you're not hungry, you don't need food (healthy alternatives) either, overeating is just a bad habit.

    I wouldn't be overeating, as I said, I save a couple hundred calories for a snack at night. I just need something that will hit the spot but not go over in cals.

    If you're not going over your calories and have no medical reasons to restrict sugar, you're probably overthinking it, nothing wrong with eating a few snacks in the evening. I like sweet & salty popcorn or a couple of the cadbury dairy milk little bars.

    I do find it easier to avoid boredom eating (which for me leads to overeating) whilst watching TV by doing something that keeps me off the sofa and out of the kitchen like ironing or exercising.
  • dulinh
    dulinh Posts: 99 Member
    Banana ice cream with mini chocolate chips, smoothie with chocolate protein powder topped with crushed up snack size candy bar like heath, greek yogurt with chocolate protein powder and mini chocolate chips... Add a spritz of redid whip and any of these things seem like dessert while upping your fruit and protein intake
  • rockymir
    rockymir Posts: 497 Member
    edited February 2018
    Go to sleep earlier, it's a healthier option than binge watching tv or snacking on things you don't need to eat. Or if you don't want/can't, invest the time in something more productive, do a set of crunches every time you get a craving. Just an idea.
  • willsanchez8406
    willsanchez8406 Posts: 21 Member
    Trying brushing your teeth. Sounds weird but it works sometimes. If for whatever reason it doesn’t. Oats with your choice of whatever flavored rice cake. Throw some cinnamon and Splenda in that bad boy and you’re golden
  • angel7472
    angel7472 Posts: 317 Member
    I buy the 8oz yogurt cups that are low cal. Oikos, yoplait, Chobani. Pumpkin spice with a graham cracker crushed in it. strawberry with mini chocolate chips. You get the idea. It's under 200 calories (yogurt 100 and add in under 100) and satisfies my sweet tooth when I'm having a craving. This is when I'm hard core dieting. Other ideas would be single serves of ice cream and chocolate bars. But as you said you ate 3 of these so you might just need to clear out your sweets or find something else to do.
  • selenadm
    selenadm Posts: 3 Member
    I have always found if I wanted something sweet, I would go for a no sugar added pudding (35 calories), or if I’m really wanting chocolate I have a fibre 1 brownie bar (90 calories)...I never resist the temptation because it causes me to binge :( try low calorie snacks that still have that sweetness to cure the craving!
  • ThatHealthyCaper
    ThatHealthyCaper Posts: 22 Member
    thiswillhappen wrote: »
    Lately I've been cleaning and organizing things while watching TV...sounds crazy but it helps when I feel a snack binge coming on....makes me feel productive and in control!

    Organize your sock drawer, refold your tshirts, clean the kitchen, organize your costume jewelry, etc...

    Please come to my house
  • brittyn3
    brittyn3 Posts: 481 Member
    skinny cow desserts maybe? They average around 150 cal depending what you get. It seems pretty decadent when it's really not so bad.
  • susann4041
    susann4041 Posts: 6 Member
    Sugar is very addicting and only makes it worse when you eat more of it.You need to take sugar out of your diet and the cravings will slowly go away.I suggest the Halo icecream it has Stevia in it I have a half a night as a treat and I eat it slowly..It is very low fat my son eats the whole pint a night 360 cal 9 g fat it is not bad it helps me to not bing I have the same problem.Also chewing gum I found helps control it.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    susann4041 wrote: »
    Sugar is very addicting and only makes it worse when you eat more of it.You need to take sugar out of your diet and the cravings will slowly go away.I suggest the Halo icecream it has Stevia in it I have a half a night as a treat and I eat it slowly..It is very low fat my son eats the whole pint a night 360 cal 9 g fat it is not bad it helps me to not bing I have the same problem.Also chewing gum I found helps control it.

    You do realise Halo Top does also contains cane sugar.
  • tar2323
    tar2323 Posts: 141 Member
    edited February 2018
    Ha, just binge watched Vikings, so I feel ya. For me, saving my calories for the evening works best. I eat my first meal of the day at 6pm (a biggie with lots of veg for nutrients and satiety) and work my way through variants of 2/3 bags of French Fries crisps (70 cals each) and a cornetto (209 cals), with sugar-free sweets from Aldi (9 cals each) in the gaps. I space each item out and make myself walk to go and get it, Also interspersed with cups of tea etc, and all within 1200 calories.
  • Tesha231
    Tesha231 Posts: 381 Member
    Sugar free jello topped with Fat free Oikos Greek Yogurt, (with a small amount of topping of your choice if you still have calories left!)
  • caiteh86
    caiteh86 Posts: 243 Member
    sklaw31 wrote: »
    Sugar free jello topped with Fat free Oikos Greek Yogurt, (with a small amount of topping of your choice if you still have calories left!)

    Yum! Such a good idea!
  • Falklang
    Falklang Posts: 220 Member
    I eat either of the following when winding down for the night:
    • Banana with dairy-free yoghurt on top and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
    • Snack-a-Jacks Rice Cakes with one of them having peanut butter on top.
    • Sugar-free Jello (a BIG bowl of it)

    These have been my staple nightly snacks since beginning of Janurary. :)

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