Snacking? Do you? What do you? Good or Bad?
By ShardAerliss
@ShardAerliss (1488)
January 14, 2008 9:32am CST
I'm a grazer by nature. I'll eat little but often. This means I don't eat big meals, usually soups, stews, veg rice bowls, sandwiches. I'll snack a lot through the day on all sorts of things (and I can't function without breakfast). I just had a small tub of garlic stuffed olives, I might have some pickled onions, a banana, a handful of raisins, a yoghurt, a piece of cheese or just a chunk of pumpernickle... in the space of about 4 hours I'll probably consume the equivalent of a balanced 'meal'.
What I want to know is; do you guys snack a lot and what do you snack on? Do you consider your own snacking as a bad habit or something to keep you going? Are there any good healthy snacks you can recommend for people beyond fruit?
Personally, if I didn't snack I'd keel over. As I say, I'm a grazer. I can't cope with a full meal on a work dinner break (and still be able to move after dinner anyway) so will always have a bowl of soup. But soon (two hours maybe) I'll be hungry again and have a smoothie or munch on some salad (I work in a veggie cafe), or just a big juice.
At home I'll have smaller 'meals' but more often.
As for my own recommendation; smoothies are awesome. Just a small qtr pint will make a good snack. The fruit sugars will surpress cravings and the yoghurt's filling enough to shut up a grumbly tummy. Make a pint or so and just keep it in the fridge. It should keep for a couple of days at least.
2 people like this
6 responses
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
20 Jan 08
I'm not sure I snack quite enough actually. It depends on what I'm doing. If I'm really caught up in something, I forget to eat, no matter how many snacks or meals I would normally have during that time. This is why I don't write for a living. When I was doing a lot more writing than I do now, my husband had to pry me away from the computer and force me to eat.
When I'm at work at the bank, I don't snack when it's busy but I do snack when it's slow. It seems to be more about boredom than actual hunger for me. If I do snack, it's sometimes whatever junk is available, but I also often eat fruit, yogurt, or vegetables. I would be a fairly healthy eater overall if I could just remember to do it regularly!
1 person likes this
@ShardAerliss (1488)
•
20 Jan 08
lol, yes writing can really keep your mind off food. It's horrible when you suddenly realise that, though you have written 8k words, you've lost 6 hours and haven't eaten for 9... eep.
Boredom eating is something I used to do a lot. Watching TV or reading... I'd just have to have something to do with my hands.
1 person likes this
@Browisn (782)
• United States
6 Apr 08
Thanks for posting this as it is very relative to my current situation. I recently retired and find myself sitting at home especially here, for long periods of time and I seem to be snacking all the time and not in a good way. I appreciate some of the suggestions you've made about snacking healthy. Between meals, and my wife is a great cook, I have been grabbing almost anything in the fridge or on the shelves that I can eat. I think I am doing it out of boredom more than actual hunger and I know that I can't keep on like this, or I will be obese in no time. So I am going to go out and start buying more fruit bars and yoghurt and smoothy ingredients. Any other suggestions you have will be greatly appreciated.
@ShardAerliss (1488)
•
6 Apr 08
I used to snack out of boredom a lot. It's a terrible habit. Glad I got rid of it!
Other suggestions? Well I was hoping other people would come up with some 
Hmmm, I like to keep a bag of raisins (or sultanas) nearby. Fruit sugars hold off cravings and full of fibre. Though I can eat them in massive handfuls!
Salted and plain popcorn has almost no calories... and freshly made smells gorgeous!
Hmmm, I like to keep a bag of raisins (or sultanas) nearby. Fruit sugars hold off cravings and full of fibre. Though I can eat them in massive handfuls!
Salted and plain popcorn has almost no calories... and freshly made smells gorgeous!
@ShardAerliss (1488)
•
14 Jan 08
Hey, thanks for posting.
Stir fries are great, but I always try to use too many different vegetables and don't consider that I need to use less of each. I make bucket loads...
Apparently nut butters are a good way to snack, if you don't have too much. Full of good fats, keep the digestive system busy enough to prevent hunger pangs and cut cravings for sugary foods if you eat them on carb-y foods like wholemeal bread and oat-cakes.
@zenmachado (1617)
• United States
20 Jan 08
The only type of snaks I ear are mixed nutz, fruits, or yogurts..
@nancyrowina (3850)
•
6 Apr 08
I've recently given up smoking and don't want to put on weight so I've been eating a lot of low fat snacks. I find it hard not to eat carbohydrates like bread as a snack though as it's just always what I fancy. I've been buying those things called snack-a-jacks made by quaker oats as they are low fat and quite filling, and I've also been snacking on celery a lot but at the moment I've run out of both so tonight I'll be eating cheese on a muffin tonight again which is not good for my weight. 
@ShardAerliss (1488)
•
6 Apr 08
Cheesey muffins? I assume you mean the little, light and airy savoury muffins and not the chocolatey/fruity gooey muffins?
Snack-a-jacks... mmmm.
I too get cravings for carbs, usually sated with pasta or potatoes. A nice bowl of wholemeal pasta with roast veg makes a wholesome snack :)
@ShardAerliss (1488)
•
6 Apr 08
Pah, doctors, what do they know? lol
Thanks for the response naseefu!
