Healthy Snacks for When You Feel Hangry
You wouldn't like me when I'm hangry.
Lunch has come and gone. Dinner is a few hours away. But you're hungry now. And you're a little uptight about it.
You are likely hangry, which is a catchy little combo of "hungry" and "angry." Instead of sitting there stewing or falling victim to vending machine temptations, try a healthy snack that fills you up and boosts your energy. There's a snack out there for everyone, and these are nutritionist-approved:
For the bar flies
Snack bar, that is. Keri Gans, a dietitian, Eat + Run blogger and author of "The Small Change Diet," suggests KIND Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt bar. Want to make your own snack bar? Throw your favorite combination of nuts, seeds and dried fruit in a food processor, suggests Julieanna Hever, a plant-based dietitian and author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition." Press that mixture evenly into a baking pan, and then cut it into bars, or use cookie cutters to create fun shapes. You can also simply roll the mixture into balls, she says.
If you're craving something sweet and salty
You can't go wrong with fruit and nuts. Hever suggests a simple snack of an apple or banana with a bit of nut butter. Similarly, Gans says, you can munch on a piece of fruit with a handful of almonds. Or make trail mix, suggests Keri Glassman, dietitian and president of Nutritious Life, a New York-based nutrition and wellness practice. Mix raw or roasted almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, cacao nibs and goji berries. Glassman says the protein and healthy fats in the nuts will help keep you full, and the sweet cacao and berries will give you some much-needed energy for that afternoon lull.
If you need to satisfy a cheese fix
Toby Amidor, a dietitian and Eat + Run blogger, suggests enjoying an ounce of Monterey Jack cheese with 2 tablespoons of dry roasted peanuts and a sliced pear. Tend to go a little overboard with the cheese? Take advantage of single-serving portions. Gans suggests snacking on a wedge of Laughing Cow Creamy Swiss cheese spread with a serving of baked black bean chips or a Mini Babybel cheese with a serving of popcorn.
If you're a fan of Greek yogurt
If you want a snack that's high in fiber, protein and healthy fat, mix Greek yogurt with berries and crushed nuts, Glassman suggests. Or try Amidor's lemon meringue recipe from her book, "The Greek Yogurt Kitchen." First, layer three crushed vanilla wafers in the bottom a small bowl. Then top with three-fourths cup lemon Greek yogurt, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of dry-roasted chopped pecans.
For the legume lovers
Hever suggests a snack of hummus with whole-grain crackers, veggies or in nori paper (edible seaweed). If you have an oven handy, bake chickpeas that have been tossed in olive oil, lemon juice, tamari, rosemary, sea salt and pure maple syrup, suggests Dreena Burton, author of five plant-based cookbooks, including "Let Them Eat Vegan!" Get the full recipe here.
And finally, for the omnivores
So far, we've been fighting hangry-ness with meat-free options. For the omnivores, Glassman suggests a combo of celery and turkey. The high water content in celery will curb your appetite, she says, and the protein in the turkey will keep your belly satisfied, too.
Laura McMullen is a Health + Wellness reporter at U.S. News. You can follow her on Twitter, connect with her on LinkedIn, circle her on Google+ or email her at lmcmullen@usnews.com.
