Last weeks blog talked about the weight loss tips of “eating our biggest meal earlier” and eliminating carbohydrates by late afternoon or early evening. This brought up the question of “what can we eat if we get hungry in the evening?”   I’m always looking for a better choice. A better choice than eating any snack at night is to have eaten sufficiently during the day so we aren’t hungry in the evening. This includes enough carbs too. When choosing a snack late in the day or at night, eat what you need so you won’t be distracted by hunger but try to limit the amount.

Here’s a list of food choices I came up with for myself that I now share with my clients.

Low or No Carbohydrate Snacks   One “serving” or less is the suggested amount in the evening.

Cheese– string, cottage, one slice or one ounce
Nuts– any kind, plain (1serving is 1/4 cup, usually 10-20 nuts depending on type. Best to check the label
Peanut butter– (1 or 2 Tablespoons) on celery
Hard boiled egg– 1 whole egg or 3 egg whites
Greek Yogurt– 1 cup, or 1/2 cup with a Tablespoon chopped nuts sprinkled on top
*You can also try a sprinkle of cinnamon
Pumpkin seeds– 1/4th cup, preferably non-salted
Sunflower seeds– 1/4th cup, preferably non- salted
Most Vegetables– for evening snacking this excludes corn, peas, potatoes of any kind, and winter squashes like acorn butternut and spaghetti
Meat– any meat, including lunch meat (preferably with no nitrates), fish, including tuna and shrimp
Jerky– preferably with less than 5-8 grams of carb per serving
Avocado-1/4th of a whole one
Possibly sugar-free treats-check label for carbs. Sugar-free doesn’t mean carb free
* if you aren’t sure if something is low or no carb you can read the label, or look it up online

With Love, Jackie
P.S. Don’t worry about the “perfect” choice, there isn’t one. It’s better to focus on making a slightly better choice than you might have in the past.