We have all had this experience, where we just finish a main meal and we start to feel hungry and/or fatigued a few hours afterwards. Or, we feel like taking a nap because we are zapped by 3 o'clock in the afternoon. If this is you, you may wish to look at your eating patterns. Ideally, we should be able to go from breakfast to lunch (3-4 hrs) without snacking and from lunch to dinner without snacking. Unfortunately lifestyle, eating, sleeping habits, processed food consumption and misinformation have lead to poor food choices that create an insulin yo-yo in the human body. Consuming calorie rich but nutrient deficient foods for breakfast or lunch leads to sugar imbalances and will send you on an insulin roller-coaster.
Unfortunately, past food pyramids were of no help. By highlighting breads and cereals as a major component of a healthy diet it led people to consuming simple carbohydrates in excess (cereal, bread, crackers, muffins etc). These processed grains convert readily to glucose in the body and will give you that initial boost of energy, but it is not sustainable nor healthy. Also, beware of the liquid breakfasts, like coffee (with or without) sugar may wake you up, but again, it will not sustain you very long and will exhaust your adrenals.
Here are two quick and easy steps to help curb the munchies and balance blood sugar:
Add protein, fibre and healthy fats
Focus eating less grains by adding more protein forms like eggs, lean meats, fish, legumes, vegetables to your morning; add in healthy fats like coconuts, nuts, seeds ,bone broths and avocados. Stay away from fruit juices and eat the whole fruit! Eating the whole fruit gives you full nutrient value including fibre which helps with hunger and blood sugar balance.
Stay Hydrated!
If you are not drinking enough water, you can mistake hunger signals for dehydration signals. Take the hydration test, try drinking 2 glasses of water in 15 minutes. Wait, see if the hunger subsides. If it does, you may have been dehydrated.
Become aware of your drinking habits, are you drinking mainly caffeinated teas, sodas, energy drinks and coffee? Some of these drinks are diuretic and they pull fluids out of the body and / or may be high in sugar.
Replace your body's fluids with fruit flavoured waters or vegetable juices and non-caffeinated teas. As well, fruit smoothies or juicing, may taste great, but these can be high in sugar if you don’t watch the ingredients or balance the macronutrients (fats,protein and carbs). Aim for balance by using more vegetables and less fruit; add protein, fibre and fat like pumpkin or sunflower seeds, nuts, hemp seeds, chia seed,flaxseeds and avocados.
By making adjustments to your main meals you will notice you will have less and less need for snacking. But in the event that you still need a snack here is an easy quick health giving recipe that can be used for those slump times to help rev up your energy without the crash. This is also a great trail snack or pre or post workout snack.
*If you still experience blood sugar imbalances you may wish to consult with your doctor to see if there are other underlying issues.
Easy Fruit-Nut-Chocolate Snack
Prep: 10 mins
You can make this in no time and yet have a healthy satisfying snack for on the go, pre- workout or anytime you need a little pick me up. I am using two dried fruits for this recipe since I find the pairing of walnuts with dried plums delicious as is roasted or raw almonds with dried figs. The dark chocolate addition, tops it off.
Ingredients:
6 -8 dried figs (large work best)
6-8 dried plums (aka prunes), pitted
1/8 cup of raw walnuts, chopped
1/8 cup of toasted or raw almonds, chopped
2 tbsp of dark chocolate chips (use a dark chocolate bar that is at least 70% cocoa)
Preparation:
Chop the walnuts and almonds separately into small fine pieces.
Cut the stem off the figs and then gently slice them lengthwise in half, making sure to not cut all the way around- just enough to pop them open.
For the prunes, you can use the end of a small teaspoon or, do as I do and just use your finger to open the prune up where the pit was removed. It should form like a small bowl shape once you open it wider.
Begin stuffing the figs with the almond and chocolate, about 1/2-1 tsp of each. Squeeze the fig shut and continue till all done. Now, begin stuffing the prunes with the walnuts and chocolate, same amounts, pat down.
Store in a container for snacking; place in fridge, if you are making quite a few for the week.
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