The dreaded evening urge to nibble. What are your ideas for low cal. snacks?

[Laiste]

You know when you just want to EAT SOMETHING in the evening, but are trying to cut back on calories? If i just ignore the urge I often end up pigging on a pile of buttered toast at about 9pm 😣🙄

Better to be prepared! My ideas are:

Frozen grapes
Ice pops
Bowl of rice crispies

but i'm getting bored with them and too many frozen grapes give me the sh*ts. What do you have on standby?

Go to bed at 9pm, or do a workout. The only way I don't snack! Otherwise I'm like the hungry caterpillar 😂🙈

@Chasingsquirrels 30 cals is good! I love a twister. Got a drawer full of ice pops to plough through first 😂

Pickled onion, ham and cheese / meringue nest with frozen yogurt and mini marshmallows/ satsumas / pizza wrap / cereal bars / tinned pots tossed in rosemary and garlic then airfried

I love grated carrot with salt and olive oil.
Roasted couliflower, in only a bit of oil and chilli
Roasted butternut squash in a little and curry powder
Tomato slices with a little salt and pepper

Kallo lentil cakes with a bit of butter. The beetroot ones are nice too.

Is it!? God i love rice pudding. <googles>

Ah. it's 400+ calories for a whole tin. I'm not sure my will power is high enough yet to settle for a half a tin or less.

Thank you though :)

Yes. I'm so on board with this.

Sometimes i do just fancy random things like a tin of plum tomatoes just eaten hot out of a bowl like soup. Or a handful of mini sausages. It's not really breakfast fodder and it's certainly not a dinner. But Faux Breakfast in the evening ... yes!

I've just done 12 days on a medication that has to be taken at bedtime but two hours after food. This is going to be every month (it's HRT)
The first four days were HELL and made me realise just how much crap I eat after 7pm. But actually then it seemed to have broken the spell and now I am not on the medication for the next couple of weeks but have found I am not interested in eating past about 7.30pm.

If you actually want to knock those evening calories on the head then try just not eating past 7.30pm for a few days.

And one huge benefit is that my previously uncontrollable night time acid reflux has buggered off.

Yum. I've just literally had this instead of bread with my lasagne!

Opps - 39kcals (not 30, but still pretty good)

Weighed out portion of Granola with Greek yogurt( I recommend Dorset cereals Nutty Granola)
Delicious and filling
Or just Greek yogurt and banana

@BitterAndTwistedChoreDodger yes, sometimes the urge is definitely for savoury.

Really? <tells Alexa>

Savoury could be tomatoes sliced and some mozzarella?

If you're up at 5am, then you must be practically on your way to bed at 9pm.

How about a mug of Horlicks about 8pm? (don't laugh!) it works for me, and I make it with 3/4 hot water and 1/4 semi skimmed milk. Don't bother with the 'light' version of Horlicks though, it's horrid.

I agree about thirst. Try having a big glass of iced water and a hot fruit tea for sipping while you watch TV.

If I really need to snack, I like the almost calorie free stuff like seaweed things (you have to love seaweed which I do, otherwise they are disgusting) or 10-calorie jellies.

If I have an overwhelming chocolate urge, a Fibre 1 brownie is good.

If I watch something crucnhy, celery sticks or a bag of radishes but I genuinely love both of these. Wouldn't work if they just remind you of the diet.

@lurkingfromhome No no you don't sound harsh I've asked for suggestions as to how people cope with the urge to nibble just as much as i've asked for actual recipe ideas.

Every MNer reading this thread will take something from it. What works for you will work for someone out there reading.

If I need a sugar fix, I have a large glass of high juice squash or some jelly.

If it's a chocolate craving then a low cal hot chocolate. A low cal Cadbury mousse with some raisins and nuts mixed in give that fruit and nut vibe.

The salty crave, I have some toasted sandwich thins or bagel thins topped with a thin slice of cheese and some onion or tomato.

Me too.

@Orangesandlemons77 - FROZEN YOGURT !!!!

Oh.my.good.lord i'd forgotten all about frozen yogurt. I LOVE it.

I used to buy the Tesco Value blue and white stripe packaging (that's how long ago) yogurts and freeze them and they used to take AGES to chip away at and eat which is perfect.
<tells Alexa>

When i was a kid my mum used to tell me eating frozen yogurt was really bad for your stomach ...... 🤔😳I never understood it.

The memories food triggers!

I could have written @Salutina's post - this is exactly what I do.

I only eat in an 8-hour window and have lunch at 1pm, dinner around 7pm and then a snack in front of the telly just before 9pm. This works for me - I am not hungry in the mornings at all and never want breakfast but would find it utterly depressing to know I couldn't have a snack in the evening. Usually I have a few rice cakes with some kind of spread - cheese spread, hummus or similar.

Yep. He ate his way through ...... 😂

@Sub1required all of that sounds damn delicious. Meringue nests you say .....

@Kione all of that sounds lovely as a light meal in this heat. With some salad.

Part of my prob. is DHs need for massive amounts of calories as he has a very physical job. Often i could have a very light meal or skip it completely but i have to get out there and produce BIG FOOD! When it's hot like this i do often make separate meals for me and the DCs as we really can't face a typical full dinner. But it's a faff.