oh snack ...

SNACKING. I love snacking. My best friends have a running joke that isn't actually a joke but whenever I am missing in my house or anyone's really, you best believe you can find me in the pantry, just standing in there, snacking. I used to really beat myself up for having a snack. I mean I really used to beat myself up over any food that I ate but EATING in BETWEEN MEALS? Totally greedy and disgustingly uncalled for. Little did I know, I was just setting myself up for an epic binge, especially around dinner time. Ever been out to dinner and been so hungry you literally ATTACK the bread basket? Yeah, not pretty.

Brooke, my dietician, calls snacks "Binge Buffers". So clever. They really are. Snacks keep your blood sugar stable, keep you focused, keep you from over eating at meal time, and keep you happy. Really, it's so nostalgic to snack. Why do we think only children have snacks? Let's change that. (While we're at it I'd also LOVE to bring back 'Nap Time' but one thing at a time).

A couple questions I get a lot from people who read my blog are, "How often should I be having a snack?" and "How big/how many calories should my snacks be?".

Let's talk about how much you should be snacking first. My biggest issue that I still struggle with a little bit time to time is mindless snacking. We've all done it. You plop yourself in front of a television/computer/friend who won't stop talking, with a bag of pita chips and next thing you know, they're gone. The first problem with that is that you took the entire baggy. Snacks, like meals, should be properly portioned out. My meal plan, which is pretty universal, says 3 snacks a day. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. I usually stick to this except for on the weekends when I wake up later, then usually my morning snack is skipped. So to everyone, I recommend at LEAST two snacks per day. Ideally three :)

Calorie wise, (sorry to anyone at the clinic on my team reading this, I know I'm not supposed to care about calories), I find my snacks to be around 200-300 calories. (Meals around 400-500). Also, ideally, they'll contain at least two of the following-- Protein, Carb, Fat. So some perfect snacks would be:

• A string cheese (protein and/or fat) and a serving of Wheat Thins (carb) (I think that's 16 crackers)
• A greek yogurt (protein) with 1/4 cup nuts (fat)
• A protein bar (make sure it's AT LEAST 200 calories, and contains healthy fats!)
• An apple (carb) with 2 TBS peanut butter (fat and protein)
• Celery with 2 TBS peanut butter (fat) and 3 TBS raisins (carb)
• A serving of hummus (protein) with pretzels (carb)
• 2 TBS peanut butter (fat/protein) with a serving of graham crackers (carb)
• Banana with 2 TBS peanut butter (MMM FAVORITE!)
• A piece of fruit (carb) with 2 slices of cheese (fat)

SO many more. Obviously I like to put peanut butter on everything. Also, for my night time snack, I like to have dessert! I have the BIGGEST sweet tooth. So at night, I'll have a serving of ice cream (2/3 cup), or a Kit Kat bar, one cupcake, a serving of Nutella (2 TBS) with a serving of pretzels, or a serving of M&Ms, whatever I feel like really as long as it has chocolate in it! ALSO, it doesn't matter what time at night you eat!!! I swear, doesn't make the slightest difference is your weight. But I will talk about that in an upcoming post :0)

The best, most rewarding part about adding snacks to your day (for me at least), is that is virtually ELIMINATES the night time overeating, which I'm sure most of us have an issue with. Your blood sugar stays steady all day, you are feeding your body, and after your night time snack/dessert, you feel satiated and happy. Not still starved/wanting to overeat/self loathing. It's quite rewarding. So go make yourself some snacks today, and if you can, have a nap, you deserve both :) x