Snack Ideas?

Hello there!

I have a dilemma.  My husband usually eats a huge lunch and isn't ready for dinner until at least 8pm.  I, on the other hand, am usually starving and ready to destroy the kitchen well before 6.  I enjoy eating with him but am not enjoying the added pounds from the x-tra food I've been eating before dinner is ready.  I'd love some low calorie, SATISFYING (key word here), snack ideas that I can have to hold me over until later, but still keep me on track.  Any suggestions?  Thank you!

Under 150 calories:

mix lowfat sourcream with the ranch dressing mix/dip mix, dip veggies in. Only 20cals per TBSP.

banana

1/2 container plain yogurt + 1 TBSP flax seed + 1/4 cup canned raspberries (130) (I use about 3 tbsp raspberries, the precanned for pies kind)

1/2 plain yogurt + cereal (depends on the cereal, but I use 1/4 kashi go lean and 1/4 fiber one for a 115 cal snack)

melba toast with laughing cow cheese (35cals/wedge + 50 cals for 4 crackers)

string cheese 80cals

steamed veggies (sometimes if it is scouts night and i'm waiting for hubby & boy to get home, I'll just take a serving of that nights veggies while I'm waiting. They get home about 9pm!!)

Hi Toch.  I am in the same situation! My bf isn't home till 7:30 and I am usually ready to eat at 5:00!

I think your choices should depend on what you lack most in your diet.  I don't usually eat enough fruit, healthy fats, or yogurt, so I usually choose those things. Also, I think overall the most satisfying snacks have some complex carbs and a little healthy fat.  Skip the simple carbs to help you avoid overdoing it. A little fat will help you feel more satisfied, too.

An apple and some cheese OR a handful of almonds or cashews

Plain Yogurt with walnuts and cinnamon

Cut veggies with hummus or yogurt dip (tsatziki)

Baked whole grain tortilla chips with salsa or a little guacamole

Sometimes I drink a cup of green tea, too (I don't get enough of that, either), but be sure to drink at least a glass of water with the food if you are concerned you will not feel full enough and keep snacking.

Hope this helps!

light yogurt (flavored) with 3 oz of baby carrots

dip the carrots in the yogurt...it is soo  good

My bf is also a late eater, so when I get home from work at 6 I usualy heat up a bowl of soup. CC has some great very filling low cal soup ideas (starting at 50 calories a serving), such as a chicken and veg, or  a v-8 based cabbage/veg. soup. it's really convienient to make in bulk and just heat up a little at a time.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for all the ideas, I hadn't thought of very many on my own so this really helps.  Tonight I had a small bowl of cheerios when I got home from work at 6, it's now 8:30, we're just cooking dinner and I'm not feeling guilty about too many calories, and I'm not starving and ready to polish off a stick of butter or something.  LOL!

A slice of whole wheat toast with peanut butter. Fills me up for at least a few hours.

If you're hungry then I agree with a slice of toast and PB and also consider a glass of milk? It's probably about 2-300 cals and satisfying, and you'll probably compensate by eating slightly smaller portions at dinner time - which has the advantage of not being too full before bed! Everyone's a winner :-)

Cheerios, branflakes, any wholegrain cereal is good. And also if you combine fruit with some protein it fills you up and is healthy. Such as an apple with some lowfat cheese, cottage cheese with pineapple, pb and a banana, yoghurt, ect.

Also loads to drink will help, like tea, bouillon, low sugar squash and of course water!

A cup of hot tea (or coffee/ decaf coffe) - I prefer it to be milky & sweet, though you may not. Sip it slowly, while sitting down, and with your snack.  Hot liquids will satisfy your hunger for a little bit, until your body realizes that they actually didn't fill you up at all.

High fiber cereal might do the trick, or nuts (just a few, eat them slowly!), vegetables dipped in hummus (measure out a portion), or lowfat/nonfat greek yogurt with the ranch dip mix or spices mixed in. A small apple, maybe with a little peanut butter. Really, almost anything that's not just simple carbohydrates that you portion out should be okay - just be sure to take the time to sit down, and eat it slowly, and have a drink with it (tea, or even just a glass of water), so that you physically & mentally register that you're eating, and you don't just grab a bite of this and that and this and that for two hours while you're waiting.

A salad (just bunch of diced greens) with hard boiled egg shredded on top, and soy sauce/dijon mustard or Maggi seasoning for dressing.

Couple pieces of dark chocolate. I love the 72% dark or bitter sweet sold in Trader Joe in pound bars.

Frozen banana also hits the spot.

Oh man, I feel your pain!! At school I live alone so it's not a problem and I pounce on food come 6pm (on the dot! ha hh a)... but when I go home for breaks (like in a week) my father always takes FOREVER to cook dinner and it ALWAYS has to be a family sit down meal WHEN HE WANTS IT... so 8pm is the norm for him! It drives me crazy - I have to basically wake up later in the day (oh yes, 8am as oppose to 7am ha ha)... and eat a later lunch, but most of the time that doesn't even help... Some good snack options that I like:

- Bell Peppers, Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, Yam Noodles, Pureed Pumpkin, Raw Cabbage & Olive Tapenade, Canned Green Beans, Hard Boiled Eggs, Small cans of chicken or tuna or salmon or mackerel or sardines, spaghetti squash with some tomato sauce, steamed spinach or a yam with cinnamon sprinkled on top! (You could do that with apples or pears too!)

Well, yesterday I was craving something warm and sweet so I invented this apple pie like thing.  I took 1 cup apple (chopped) and put it in the microwaved until softened, but not melted.  Then I took 3/4 cup of Kashi's Heart to Heart Warm Cinnamon cereal and crushed it a bit and mixed it in with the apple, and put it again in the microwave for about 40 sec.  It tasted really good, like your healthy apple pie.  And only 175 calories - very filling!  Good in the cold weather!

Other ideas - Organic yogurt, frozen fruit w/ plain yogurt (really good), sauteed carrots in a bit of extra olive oil (grill until a bit crispy), 1 hard boiled egg w/ a little mustard, omelet (1 egg) with sauteed (olive oil) onions and green peppers, bowl of Kashi cereal, crackers w/ peanut butter, or apple w/ peanut butter.  Cup of salad w/ salmon fillet w/ one boiled egg (175 cal).  There are so many possibilities out there!