Tell me if this sounds familiar… you have a decent lunch then rush to get back to work where you have back-to-back meetings all afternoon. Before you know it, it’s 5pm and you are grouchy, irritable, and hangry. You drive home and realize you’re STARVING. So you race to the kitchen and crush a full row of cookies or ½ a bag of crackers before even getting your shoes off. This is a classic situation I see time and time again and it’s why I am a huge fan of planning balanced snacks at regular times to help stabilize your blood sugars and help you eat more mindfully at your next meal.
You know that 3pm slump you feel sometimes? When you reach for an extra coffee? For most people, that’s a blood sugar crash and what you actually need is a SNACK!
So what do I suggest? For most people, I usually encourage eating around every 3 hours. So if lunch is at 12pm then definitely planning an afternoon snack around 3-3:30pm might be just what you need to stay energized, focused, and patient. Remember, the longer you go between meals & snacks the hungrier you get and the harder it is to eat “just enough” to be pleasantly full (instead of stuffed full).
So let me share with you some of my favorite snacks to add to your shopping list or to make on the weekends when you have a little extra time
Fruit + cheese string
Greek yogurt + berries + nuts
Whole Grain Toast + nut butter + hemp hearts
Dried mango + walnuts
Protein balls (made with oats/nut butter)
Popcorn + almonds
Cottage cheese + canned peaches
Apple + peanut butter
Homemade granola + Greek yogurt
Whole grain crackers + cheese stick
Graham crackers with peanut butter and raspberries
Whole Wheat Pita + hummus + snap peas
Beef or Salmon jerky + fruit
Chocolate chia pudding + raspberries
Edamame or soy nuts
Corn/Rice cake + avocado + egg
Roasted Chickpeas
Bottom line: Balancing your blood sugars in the afternoon with a planned balanced snack will help you to eat more mindfully when you get home from work and onto dinner and beyond. They also help decrease those pesky cravings in the evenings!