Afternoon hungries?

[Irulan]

What's your solution?

I'm eating 4-5 small meals a day but the one i have the hardest time with mid to late afternoon. I don't like to call it a snack because I don't think about my eating that way. The usual fall back is an apple or orange with with some turkey slices and maybe a slice of cheese but I need some new ideas.
thanks!!

[redrhodie]

I usually have Greek yogurt with nuts and wheat germ.

[Crankin]

Nuts and dried fruit. If that isn't enough, then usually a slice of Ezeki sprouted wheat bread with soy nut butter.

[OakLeaf]

+1 on nuts, or a spoon of PB right out of the jar.

[Catrin]

+1 on nuts, or a spoon of PB right out of the jar.

This is my solution, along with a few raisins

[Chile Pepper]

--Apple, quartered and cored, with just a smear of peanut butter or sun butter
--Carrot and celery sticks with hummus
--Marinated eggplant (escabeche) on toasted black bread
--Seasonal fruit
--Rice cakes with avocado and salsa
--My kids like a quick quesadilla with cheese, avocado, tomato, and corn, toasted in a dry skillet, but that's higher calorie

[Irulan]

I save PB for the days when I've burned a whole lot of calories. At approx. 100 calls per tablespoon and the fat.... No way I save it for special days. I'd rather get my protein from a leaner source.

[OakLeaf]

I save PB for the days when I've burned a whole lot of calories. At approx. 100 calls per tablespoon and the fat.... I'd rather get my protein from a leaner source.

That's like saying you don't like getting your carbs from meat... Most of the nutrition in nuts is in the fats. That's why they're a good healthy snack. Peanuts don't necessarily have as "good" a fat profile as tree nuts, but variety is always good...

[Irulan]

If one is watching fat and calories consumption PB is not on the list of things to eat every day. But what do I know - I dropped 9% body fat by paying attention to things like whether I'm getting protein from peanut butter or lean meats and being really mindful of fats. Not not eating them , just really paying attention.

[Chile Pepper]

I agree, Irulan. Peanut butter (et al.) is very high calorie and not very satisfying (for me). I find the same thing with nuts in general. If I just want 50-75 calories in my snack, the amount of nuts or nut butter that goes into that is tiny, and I wind up eating more than I intended. I do like just a smear on an apple: the apple has a satisfying crunch and bulk, while the PB adds flavor and richness. I used to find a simple slice of lunch meat very satisfying (at just 30 calories), but I have had to cut way back on salty foods because of blood pressure. (Yes, I have read about the studies finding that salt does not raise blood pressure, but they still do not recommend a high salt diet for someone with high BP in her mid-40s.)

[Catrin]

I agree that just being aware of what we are eating goes far in helping us to eat properly.

Interestingly enough I've found my old deep long-standing craving for a spoon of PB in my steel cut oats, or even by itself has disappeared for the most part since they finally convinced me that I needed to raise my calorie targets across the board and to consume a higher percentage of fat - though of course I am sticking with good fats. So I was either craving more calories without realizing it, or fat, or both

Not that I don't still eat PB, but a jar is lasting a LOT longer...

My go-to PM snack right now is either non-fat Greek yogurt and fruit, or almonds and raisins.

[OakLeaf]

Geez, sorry I wasn't clear, I certainly didn't mean to be insulting. If you'd rather get your fats from sources other than peanut butter then by all means do that! I just misunderstood your comment, I thought you meant you were eating it as a source of protein.

[Irulan]

Oakleaf, I wasn't insulted at all. I apparently wasn't clear that I was interested in lower fat options..... I'm not cutting fat, just mindful is of where it's coming from. For the way I want to eat, peanut butter is a whole lot of extra calories and not much else.

Just for grins I compared a snack of 2T peanut butter straight out of the jar, with my "usual" of a medium apple, 2 oz or so of turkey slices, and an oz or so of 2% fat cheddar cheese.

2 T peanut butter
Fat 16g
Protein 8 g
200 calories.

Apple, lo fat cheese and turkey
Fat 7 g
Protein 18 g
Cals 220
Lots more protein, much less fat. Especially if one is active or eating for recovery, getting the quality protein is is really important.

I also find that putting those three things on a plate gives me a lot to eat, and it's really satisfying in staving off hunger until dinner time. I'm just bored with it.

[Irulan]

Oh, I save my fats up for dessert. :-)

[shootingstar]

I'm not logical about this for mid-day hungries:

Coffee or tea with milk. Yea, I know. But it's my addiction. No sugar.
Yogurt
half a cup of cornflakes with 1/2 c. or less skim milk. (I know, makes no sense. But easy.)

I'm aiming for abit more fruit when we get more local stuff. Right I'm not overly thrilled about eating strawberries from California, but I'll eat them. Some nutrition is better than none.