Eating between meals is a good idea. It keeps your metabolism pumping, your energy level up, and prevents you splurging on your next meal because you’re so hungry. But are you choosing the right snacks? And are you snacking for the right reasons? If you nibble chocolate-covered candy while watching a movie, comfort eat for a sugar lift, or scoff a packet of chips to keep you going until dinner, you may need to reassess your snacking style.
The super-size snacker
Do you always pile plenty onto your plate? Do you love feeling full? If you answered yes, you may be a super-size snacker.
You can snack smarter by choosing foods that are low in calories and contain lots of water and fibre. That way, you can eat as much as you want – and become full eating less.
“We know from research that you consume fewer calories and feel full on a bigger volume if you choose foods that are also low in calories. These foods are referred to as having a low energy density,” says Dr Clare Collins, Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Newcastle in Australia.
Snack ideas
- Homemade soup (minus potatoes, meat and cream) such as Minted Pea Soup
- Tomato or vegetable juice
- Air-popped popcorn without added oil or butter
- Crudités, such as carrot, celery, capsicum, tomato and cauliflower with low-fat hummus
- Low-sugar cordial frozen into ice-block moulds or set as jelly
"Other ways to trick yourself into thinking that you have had more to eat than you have is by serving your snacks on a tiny plate and using smaller cutlery, for example, using a teaspoon to eat yoghurt,” Dr Collins says.
The sugar craver
Do you choose snacks as a pick-me-up? Do you favour quick fixes that are high in sugar or caffeine? If you answered yes, you could be a sugar craver.
If you often find yourself ravenous for an energy fix, you may have noticed that sugar eradicates this feeling, quickly. The trouble is, the quick lift that comes with sugar is rapidly followed by a low as your body overcompensates in trying to normalise blood sugar. The resulting low blood sugar sends you in search of another fix, and so the cycle continues.
According to Dr Collins, fruit is the solution. “Fruit is low in calories, sweet and refreshing. Plus, it requires lots of chewing and fills you up.”
Another good way to avoid sugar highs and lows is to choose high-fibre foods whenever you can. Go for wholegrains because they take time for your body to digest and the sustained energy they release helps to keep you going.
Snack ideas
- Seasonal fruit
- Wholegrain cereal, such as porridge, with banana or sultanas, or Bircher Muesli
- Wholewheat pasta or brown rice with vegies
- Wholegrain toast with low-fat spread and Vegemite or nut butter
- Dried fruit such as peaches, apricots, prunes or cherries – but don’t overdo it
- Low-fat, low-sugar hot chocolate
- A low-fat digestive biscuit with a little low-fat cream cheese and berries
The erratic eater
Are your meals unplanned? Do you feel ravenous and then gorge on whatever you can grab? If you answered yes, you may be an erratic eater.
Hunger can make you reach for unhealthy snacks and easily unravel your best-made plans. Eating regular meals and high-fibre snacks that contain some protein staves off hunger and prevents binges.
Planning ahead may be the answer.
Ways to avoid unplanned snacking
- Always have breakfast. Keep wholegrain bread in the fridge or freezer at work
- Pour a smoothie into a portable cup on your way out the door
- Carry something healthy in your bag for snacking on the go, such as an apple or a homemade muffin
- Keep wholewheat crackers or a bag of raw almonds in your desk drawer
The distracted dieter
Do you find yourself wanting to munch when you’re watching TV or at the movies? Do you like to keep your fingers busy? If you answered yes, you could be a distracted dieter.
If you enjoy eating while you're doing something else, such as watching television, choose snacks that don’t pile on the calories to avoid mindless overeating. Low-calorie, high-fibre snacks, such as vegetables sticks, are ideal.
Go for foods that take some time to prepare, such as a small handful of nuts in the shell, or fruits that require cutting up such as melon or mango that you can use your hands to eat.
Snack ideas
- Air-popped popcorn
- Walnuts or pistachios in the shell
- Frozen grapes
- A whole, fresh pomegranate
- Edamame in pods
- Celery sticks smeared with 1 tsp nut butter