Enjoy Your Evening Snack

Don’t we all crave for a scrumptious mid-afternoon snack and then end up eating a lot of junk? But, with some preparation and thought we can eat the tastiest of snacks and remain healthy too, says celebrated nutritionist and fitness consultant, Suman Agarwal of Selfcare

Today, life is so hectic and we are so engrossed with our work that we tend to compromise on our health and diet. We want to eat right but have no idea about what constitutes a healthy diet. While we may get our breakfast and lunch right, we compromise when it comes to one of the most important mid-meals. We hardly ever plan our mid-evening snack. If you have not realised it yet, it’s time to do something about it, as this is the meal that holds up most of us till we have our dinner.

The importance of the evening snack

• To maintain sugar levels: The last thing that we want during a hectic day is low sugar. Long meal gaps and erratic eating habits lead to a sudden drop in sugar which will eventually cause dizziness and fatigue.
• To maintain a good calorie break-up: Your daily calorie intake should be well distributed throughout the day.
• To avoid overeating: A small, light mid-evening snack will ensure that you do not overeat during your next meal. It will ensure that you maintain your portions in every meal.
• To make your dinner light: The best way to keep your dinners lighter is by introducing a mid-evening meal which will ensure that you do not increase the calories on your dinner plate.
• Avoid gastric issues: Large meal gaps will lead to gastric issues like acidity and gas. Mid-meals ensure optimum gastric health.

So, what would be the ideal snack time options, which would take care of the hunger pangs, as well as be healthy? Remember, an ideal snack, giving less than 100 kcals, is the most optimum. It will ensure that you fill your stomach while taking care of your sugar levels
as well.

lip-smacking, nutritious, mid-evening snack options:

• Open sandwich: Apply some green chutney on a slice of toast, top it up with veggies and you are done with a fibre-rich snack.
• Snacky-bhel: Add veggies to a bowl of kurmura (avoid the fried sev and puri); squeeze in some lime juice and chutney, and your sweet and sour bhel is ready.
• Wholewheat biscuits: These are an all-time favourite and easy-to-carry snack item. Eating four of these would give you 94 kcals.
• Brainy almonds: Pop 12-15 of these into your mouth. Being rich in proteins, fibre and good quality fats, they provide you with optimum nutrition—just what you require at that time.
• Khakras: Enjoy your evening with a wheat/dal khakra to keep you full all through the evening.
• Chana: It’s easy to obtain and consume. Take a fistful or two. The chana can be more filling if you combine it with a cup of veggies or a small cup of kurmura.
• Cream crackers: Enjoy two of these to give you a calorie intake of 70 kcals. You will get the satiety you require at that time.
• Wholegrain bar: Wholegrain bars are a mix of healthy cereals and dried fruits. Being a rich source of fibre, they satisfy the evening hunger pangs. Be cautious of choosing only one out of the two bars that most wholegrain bar packs have. It will give you 90 kcals.
• Nutty peanuts: Munch on 20-25 peanuts in the evening. The fats and proteins in peanuts will ensure complete satiety.
• Glucose biscuits: The oldest and the most common energy biscuits available, five of these would be sufficient to give you 100 kcals.
• Talmakhana (Gorgon Nuts): Enjoy a cup of roasted talmakhana as a mid-evening snack. These will give you the necessary carbs for your energy.
• Fruit: Grab your favourite fruit and enjoy your evening. The fibre-rich fruit will ensure satiety and will fulfil your sweet craving too.
• Yoghurt: A yummy tub of yoghurt is the best snack for those with a sweet tooth. Grab a 150-200ml tub of low-fat yoghurt. There is healthy low-fat yoghurt available in the market, 100gms of which will give you 60 kcals.
• Pistachios: Another good option would be to enjoy 20-22 crackling pistachios. They are easy to carry and yummy to munch. They contain a good amount of L-arginine which helps lower cholesterol levels. They are also good sources of vitamins A and E, which are excellent anti-inflammatory agents, which prevent the occurrence of heart diseases.
• Dark chocolate-flavoured cream biscuits: An all-time favourite snack, chocolates are great to munch in the evening. Eating two of these will give you 94 kcals, enough to fill your stomach as well as satiate your taste buds.
• Coffee: That’s the most interesting option for a mid-evening snack. Sip on a cup of coffee with friends and enjoy your evening, or, sit and work in office with your favourite skimmed milk coffee at your side. Remember, it has to be low fat milk, without any cream or caramel topping it. Several coffee shops have come up with their low-fat coffee options to meet these requirements.
• Wasabi nuts: Wasabi nuts taste like hot mustard. Enjoy a fistful of these nuts to ensure an intake of 98 kcals.
• Protein biscuits: Protein-rich biscuits are easy to munch. Have eight of these, which will give you a calorie intake of 88 kcals. Some of these biscuits are rich in bioactive casein peptides, and help in fulfilling the protein requirement of the day.
• Soya milk: Sip on 200ml of this nutritious and delicious milk to get a calorie intake of 70 kcals. As it is devoid of any unsaturated fats, it helps in improving the lipid profile. Phytoestrogens present in soya milk improve calcium absorption and, thus, can prevent the loss of bone mass.
• Cocoa cream biscuits: Chocolate biscuits come with a filling of vanilla, pineapple and orange cream. They are pure magic for relishing your sweet taste buds. Two of these will give you 96 kcals.
• Rawa dhokla: This is a much-favoured evening snack. It is easy to make and easy to digest. You can always have 3-5 pieces of dhokla for a less than 100 kcal evening snack.
• Spiced buttermilk: Readily available, these ready-to-drink packs are one of the most convenient and cooling mid-evening options. Sip on a 200ml tetra pack to gain 62 kcals.
• Moulded chocolate chip biscuits: Five such biscuits will satiate your evening hunger, as they give you 95 kcals along with the sweet and strong flavour of choco chips.
• Chocolate-covered wafer biscuit bar: Such chocolates can enliven your evening. Enjoy two thin slabs of this sweet-crackling chocolate, to ensure a calorie intake of 73 kcals.
• Vanilla ice cream: All ice-cream lovers will enjoy this delicious evening snack, as a serving pack of 40gm (that’s what you grab) will give you 67 kcals.

Though it is a small, low kcal meal, it is an important meal of the day. So, go ahead and enjoy your evening snack with any of the above low-calorie snack options.

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