To Snack Or Not To Snack

Snacking has been the ‘enfant terrible’ of many nutritionists and everyone trying to know what’s ‘good’ or ‘unhealthy’ for them… Some say it seems it’s ‘allowed’ while others swear “you ‘mustn’t’ snack between meals!”

First of all, and I’ll repeat this again – there is no such thing as ‘bad’ food. Perhaps with 1 or 2 exceptions and of course, ultra-processed so-called foods.

The same goes for snacking.  Snacking can 100% be part of a healthy eating strategy.  Two conditions: when you snack, and what you snack on. Of course.

When to snack:

I always say to my clients that ignoring your hunger and trying to delay the moment you eat by doing nothing will always lead to eating the ‘wrong’ foods, or bingeing on far too much food when you do eat.  You’re also far more likely to overeat, eat too quickly, all habits that will lead to many digestive problems.  And I’m not even mentioning weight gain, discomfort, imbalanced blood sugar etc.

So snacking – on the right foods (see below), can be used strategically to help you bridge the gaps between meals, when you don’t have time to relax to a full meal, or when you’re just a little hungry and not ready to eat a full meal, or even when you’re eating out and just want to slow down the hunger so that you don’t raid the bread basket as soon as you arrive at the restaurant.  So snacking can definitely help you to follow a healthy way of eating (note that I don’t use the ‘diet’ word!), when done at the right time.

When not so snack:

Snacking goes wrong for you when it’s just used to replace a full meal too often, when your hunger is ready for a full meal. This will put your mind and metabolism in ‘diet’ or famine mode and will slow down the rate at which you use the energy you get from your food. This can lead to disorders in metabolism, weight-gain, low blood sugar >> sugar cravings, and continuing with the yoyo dieting restrictive miserable mindset.

What to snack on:

The focus needs to be on eating something that will count towards your daily intake of rainbow-coloured fresh produce (aka fresh fruit & veg), fibre, good fats and proteins.

Some examples:

• a boiled egg with a cut up carrot/cucumber
• a bowl of edamame beans (steamed) with a little seasalt and cut up peppers and seeds mixed in
• cut up vegetables with houmous or protein rich dip
• half a green apple with almond/cashew butter
• a slice of homemade GF high protein bread (recipe)
• a sweet potato wrap with houmous or beans and salad
• Leftover Vietnamese-style salad (recipe)
• a couple of tablespoons of sheep yogurt (full fat) topped with crunchy homemade healthy granola
• Or simply: a handful of raw nuts, seeds, with a piece of fruit or vegetable.

There are so many foods to choose from – make your own list and include these in your weekly meal plans, to avoid being drawn to the junk, when your hunger won’t be ignored.

Enjoy!