Ladies and gentlemen! It’s 2;00 am. and you’re watching “The Walking Dead” and enjoying a thrilling series with your friends while getting late-night munchies. You open a pack of chips or cookies to satisfy Late Night Cravings. At the end of your favorite suspense series, you have eaten the full pack of chips with a packet of cookies. Oops! You have done damage to your weight management strategies. With the help of this article, Online Health Point, provides you the clues to satisfy your Midnight Cravings without feeling guilty about it because Late-Night Snacks cause great damage to your weight management strategies.
The Importance of Healthy Late-Night Snacks
So, what’s your plan for Healthy Late-night Snacks? We have some options for you to satisfy your late-night cravings without damaging your stomach health. Let’s start with fruits because fruits are easily digestible and remain in your stomach only for 40-50 minutes but only low-glycemic fruits are allowed. It means you can’t eat bananas or pineapples which are full of sweetness but you can take a green apple to optimize your blood sugar level at night.
Understanding Late-Night Cravings
It is a general observation that you don’t have any issue with eating wholesome or lavish food in the daytime but often after supper, you feel a craving for something salty and crunchy or something sweet like ice cream. Understanding the reasons for such feelings or cravings will help us to manage this.
The Science Behind Late-Night Hunger: Science says that at night some nutrients may get down in proportion in your body. This concept will be more clear with this example that if you eat less protein during the day then at night time, your body craves some protein foods like cheese and if you can’t consume enough carbohydrates during day time, your body feels cravings for pasta or chips.
Emotional Eating and Late-Night Cravings: According to scientific research, your emotional ups and downs also affect late-night cravings. It means changes in moods like depression or stress enhance the cravings for chocolate as a comfort. Similarly, when you’re tired, your body lacks energy and you crave fatty or sugary foods to maintain your energy level by getting quick energy from this food. Late-night cravings are also linked with your habits. If you have a habit of taking snacks while watching a movie or reading a book, then you will be habitual to this craving.
How Sleep Affects Appetite: Sleep also affects your appetite or cravings. A peaceful or quality sleep may reduce hunger and you don’t crave salt or sweet but with disturbed or less sleep habits, you will feel more cravings.
Top 8 Healthy Late-Night Snacks
When it gets dark and you feel low energy levels late at night, your stomach rumbles and you think about eating a snack as a quick source of energy, may be sweet or salty but the main thing is to figure out the healthy snacks not only suitable to your weight loss strategies but also satisfy your late night cravings. 8 Healthy Late-Night Snacks and their nutritional benefits are jotted below to help you figure out the best one according to your taste and body needs.
Greek Yogurt with Berries
It is the most tasty late-night snack that is beneficial for your weight management and also can satisfy your late-night cravings. A combination of the natural creaminess of Greek Yogurt and the sweetness of berries is a fully nutritious and satisfying flavoring treat for your taste buds. Additionally, its preparation is very easy and quick, making it a perfect option for late-night snacks. Moreover, fiber and proteins present in these recipes are the best choice to satisfy your craving for a creamy and sweet snack.
Why Greek Yogurt?: Greek Yogurt has many nutritional advantages which makes it suitable and useful for your health. It contains calcium for the better growth and strength of teeth and bones while protein present in it is a quick source of keeping you feeling full and satisfied. It also contains probiotics to enhance your immunity and improve your digestive health.
The Benefits of Berries: Berries of all kinds like raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries are rich in fiber and have lower content of calories, making them the best option as late-night snacks. These have antioxidants to protect your cells from the attacks of free radicals.
Whole Grain Toast with Avocado
This combination of whole-grain toast with avocado is a nutritious late-night snack to satisfy your late-night cravings without causing a burden on your stomach. The creaminess of avocado and the heartiness of whole-grain bread are combined to make a flavorful and healthy treat with essential nutrients.
The Power of Whole Grains: Whole grain bread is composed of carbohydrates that are enough to feel full and satisfy your hunger. Your blood sugar level and digestive health are supported by eating this fiber-rich bread toast. It also contains essential nutrients such as vitamin B, and minerals like iron, zinc, and magnesium.
Nutritional Benefits of Avocado: Avocado is a good source of vitamins including vitamins E and K, and minerals like folate and potassium with high fiber content. Moreover, this fruit is nutrient-dense and rich in monounsaturated fats along with omega-3 fatty acids.
Cottage Cheese with Pineapple
This a simple but flavored combination of the sweetness of pineapples with the creaminess of cottage cheese. It is full of nutrition and has many beneficial effects on health. This late-night snack not only cherishes your taste buds but also helps you to stay on track with weight loss. It is low in calories and rich in fiber therefore a perfect choice to satisfy your late-night cravings.
High-Protein Cottage Cheese: Cotton cheese is a dairy product that is rich in protein and helps you to feel full and satisfied throughout the night. It contains probiotics to grow the beneficial bacteria for supporting your digestive health and improving your immunity as well. Calcium present in it gives strength to your bones and teeth.
Pineapple’s Nutritional Value: This tropical fruit has a significant nutritional value because it has a large amount of vitamin A and vitamin C with a lot of minerals but is still low in calories. This feature makes it the best choice as a late-night snack to satisfy your hunger.
Nut Butter with Apple Slices
Nut butter with Apple Slice is a good option as a healthy late-night snack. This is an amazing and delicious combo of natural sugars, proteins, and healthy fats to nourish you and help you curb cravings throughout the night. This is a fantastic snack to keep you feeling full and satisfy your late-night cravings.
Benefits of Nut Butter: It may be of different types such as cashew, peanut, or almond but in all types, nut butter is a good source of proteins and healthy fats which maintains your energy levels and improves your muscle growth. Moreover, the healthy fats of butternuts reduce your late-night cravings and keep you feeling satiated. It induces an urge to stop overeating.
Nutritional Value of Apples: Apples are a good source of sweetness without sugar and are rich in fiber with low calories. It has a natural sweetness and helps to feel full for longer. They play an important role in digestion and improve the overall health of antioxidants.
Hard-Boiled Eggs
Hard-boiled eggs are packed with protein along with healthy fats, minerals, and vitamins. Hard-boiled eggs are nutrient-dense late-night snacks to satisfy your cravings. These are continuous sources of energy throughout the night and are very easy to prepare.
Protein-Packed Snack: Protein is the main component of this snack and this protein is the essential nutrient for the growth and repair of body muscles. This snack is a great source of amino acids that your body can’t make on its own. If you want to build your muscles, you need to eat hard-boiled eggs as late-night snacks because they prevent the breaking of muscles in your body.
Nutritional Benefits of Eggs: Hard-boiled eggs are rich in fats like omega-3 which is beneficial for your heart health and supports the functioning of the brain while the great amount of vitamins and minerals found in hard-boiled eggs are useful for nerve function and energy production. They also contain an antioxidant Selenium” that gives protection to your cells against damage. Another antioxidant in hard-boiled eggs, is responsible for your cognitive function and brain health.
Hummus with Veggies
Next time when you feel craving for snacks late at night, consider this delicious and healthy Hummus with Veggies snack. It is an excellent choice being a healthy combination of protein, minerals, fibers, and vitamins. These nutrients make the snack suitable for your late-night cravings without disturbing your weight.
The Versatility of Hummus: Hummus is a mixture of chickpeas, which are a great source of fiber and proteins. Complex Carbohydrates found in hummus work to make you feel full during the night and provide a constant source of energy.
Nutritional Value of Vegetables: Vegetables that are eaten with Hummus such as bell peppers, cucumber, and carrots are rich in fiber. These fibers support your immune system and digestive system but you can customize it with different types of vegetables and seasonings that suit your taste preferences.
Air-popped Popcorn
Corn is a versatile snack and is used in different types of snack recipes. Air-popped popcorn is a perfect choice as a healthy late-night snack. These are light and crunchy, rich in fiber, and low in calories. All these qualities make it nutritious and satisfying to curb your late-night cravings.
The Healthier Popcorn Option: Air-popped popcorn are made of corn kernels, containing complex carbohydrates to provide a steady energy source. Popcorn helps to improve your digestion and overall health.
Nutritional Benefits of Popcorn: It’s one serving contains 25 calories and is perfectly suitable as a guilt-free late-night snack. It doesn’t derail your diet plan which you are following to lose weight. You can easily make this snack by packing a handful of corn kernels in a bag and microwaving the bag for 3-4 minutes. Take them out after the popping slows down.
Dark Chocolate
When your midnight cravings compel you to have some sweets as late-night snacks, don’t go to the shelf to find sweet chocolate. Choose dark chocolate because it has antioxidants and is lower in sugar than white chocolate. If your chocolate cravings don’t satisfy with cocoa powder then mix hot melted dark chocolate to a maple syrup and sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon in it. This will satisfy your cravings for sweets but to enjoy dark chocolate, you will have to keep check on the quantity and time of eating dark chocolate.
The Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate: Dark chocolate has mesmerizing health benefits;
- It lowers the blood cholesterol level.
- It reduces inflammation.
- It regulates blood pressure.
- It reduces the insulin resistance.
- It reduces free radicals.
- It improves blood flow.
- It helps to lose weight.
- It supports cognitive ability.
- It limits the risk factors of diabetes and heart disease.
Moderation is Key: If you want to enjoy all the health benefits of dark chocolate along with its delicious taste, keep in mind that moderation is key. Studies show that you should consume less than 25 grams of sugar per day to live a healthy and active life. So excessive use of dark chocolate will make it hazardous for your health.
Conclusion
It can be concluded for your convenience that some late-night snacks are beneficial for your health and help to improve sleep quality. If you have a desire to lose weight you must acknowledge the calorie details of late-night snacks that may disturb your weight management diet. Keep a check on the calories and timing so that you may feel safe and even don’t have any regrets after enjoying a late-night snack to satisfy your late-night cravings.
You can choose whole or minimally processed food to satisfy your cravings at night but it must be below 220 calories. So, never compromise your health and stop yourself from driving to fast food shops at night to satisfy your night hunger. It will disturb your health and you may gain weight. Try to use the above-discussed 8 healthy late-night snacks to feel full and satisfied without having guilt feelings.
