Healthy Snacks To Fight Your Hunger Pangs At Night

If you have the habit of eating your dinner quite early, then you often end up getting subtle hunger pangs by the time you go to bed. A quick snack is the first thing that comes to your mind. Snacking doesn’t cause as much harm to your waistline as you think, given, you choose the right ones.

Snacks during the night should be around 200 calories, but shouldn’t make you feel very full. Having just the right kind and quantity to not keep you awake out of hunger is the key. Below are some of the options.

Healthy Snacks To Fight Your Hunger Pangs At Night

1. Yogurt Cubes

We all know how that tub of ice cream haunts us during the night, especially when hungry. Keeping up the determination to avoid unhealthy calories is surely a task! What if you could still enjoy the flavors and coolness in a healthy way? Yogurt cubes steal the show.

Ingredients

• Fat-free Greek yogurt – 200 gm
• Handful of fresh berries of your choice

Directions

1. Blend together the yogurt and berries until smooth.
2. Pour the mixture into an ice tray and let it freeze.
3. Pop those yogurt cubes out and enjoy!

Calorie Count

A 200 gram non-fat Greek yogurt has around 118 calories and a handful of mixed berries approximately has around 70 calories. Together, you consume only up to 188 calories, just enough to keep you full throughout the night. The proteins in yogurt and antioxidants in the berries have added health benefits.

2. No-bake Honey Peanut Butter Cookies

As the name suggests, this no-bake recipe is easy to make and loaded with the goodness of healthy nutrients like fiber, protein, and natural sugars.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2cups of oats, rolled
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, melted

Directions

1. Melt the chocolate chips by microwaving them for about 2 minutes.
2. In a bowl, mix oats, honey, peanut butter, and melted chocolate to get an even consistency.
3. Use muffin tin as a mold to make the cookies.
4. Place the tin in the refrigerator and allow the mixture to set for 1 hour.

Calorie Count

Together, all the ingredients make up to 250 calories. The trick to avoiding extra calories is by using smaller molds which make more number of cookies from the same amount of mix.

3. Kale Chips

Regular potato chips are the first thing that comes to our mind when we think of chips. Kale chips are a healthy alternative to them and give more than just good taste and crunchiness. They are loaded with vitamin-A, C, and K and carotenoids. These are necessary for maintaining proper hemoglobin levels and fighting cancer.

Ingredients

• 5 cups of raw kale
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper as per your taste

Directions

1. Separate kale leaves from their thick stem and wash thoroughly.
2. In a bowl add olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss kale leaves in this mixture.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 400ºC.
4. Place the kale leaves on a baking sheet for 12–17 minutes. They should be baked until crispy but not burnt.

Calorie Count

5 cups of kale have 165 calories, and 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil has around 80 calories. Together, they make up to 245 calories of healthy and crispy chips.

4.  Cheese And Whole Grain Crackers

Whole grain crackers are made up of complex carbs which keep you full for a longer time. They also contain fibers which make your bowel movements easy. Low-fat cheese is loaded with proteins and very small amount of fat. Together, they fight hunger pangs like a pro.

Ingredients

• 6 whole grain crackers
• 1 oz cheese

Directions

1. Slice the cheese and simply place the slices on whole grain crackers.
2. Munch on, guilt-free!

Calorie Count

Whole wheat crackers, about 4–6 in number have 106 calories. 1 oz low-fat Cheddar or American cheese has about 68 calories. At the end, you are having 174 calories, which is well within the recommended limits.

5. Whole Grain Toast With Nut Butter

One of the easiest snacks to make, whole grain toast is again complex carb and nut butter is loaded with proteins and just the right amount of sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 whole wheat bread
• Peanut or almond butter

Directions

1. Toast the whole wheat bread.
2. Simply spread the nut butter on it and have a wholesome snack on the go.

Calorie count

1 slice of bread has around 68 calories and a tablespoon of peanut butter has about 170 calories. Together they make up to 238 calories.

In case you are too lazy or hungry to prep up these snacks, the below options are good alternatives and are ready-to-eat.

Quick And Healthy Snack Options

• A handful of unsalted almonds
• 1 Banana
• A hardboiled egg
• 10–15 pistachios
• A glass of low-fat milk
• Plain popcorn
• Whole grain cereal with low-fat milk
• A handful of frozen blueberries
• 1 tbsp of roasted pumpkin seeds
• 1 oz of dark chocolate (70% or greater)
• 3–4 dried figs

So, the next time your hunger bells start ringing at night, try out these snack options. Remember to stick on to the portions, as overeating might again increase your calorie count, and in turn, the size of your waistline.