Here’s the issue. Because I sleep relatively late, and we eat mostly whole grains and veggies during dinner and not a lot of fat, I get hungry usually a couple of hours after finishing dinner. While sometimes I’d bother to fix myself something to eat, like noodles, but sometimes I just feel it takes too much time and effort (for what’s supposedly a quick snack) when I am already sleepy. Eating crackers, nuts, olives, ice cream, chocolate, candies get repetitive, and some of these I shouldn’t be eating as much as I do anyway.
So my question is, any late night snack ideas from the group? A little of cooking is ok, as long as its only taking a short period of time and not overly elaborate.
Toast and eggs
Tuna salad
Any canned seafood and toast
Edamame
Charcuterie
Cheese
Salad - pre-washed spring mix with bottled dressing or just oil/vinegar
Hummus
Cream cheese on anything
Popcorn
Bagel and cream cheese
Pimento cheese and celery
Tuna salad, chicken salad, peanut butter, sliced deli meat foldover
Beef jerky
Two olives ( you know…from the bottom of a martini glass)
ham or hard salamii rolled in swiss cheese and nuked a few seconds makes for a tasty late night snack
frozen grapes
sliced apples and almond butter
i enjoy all kinds of citrus so right now I am gobbling oranges and squeezing fresh grapefruit juice
an iced cold glass of tomato juice with a hit of lemon juice and a dash of celery salt
sometimes I heat a can of soup and sip it in my coffee mug. Kinda of comforting in cold weather.
I open a bag of potato chips, and before I can stop, half the bag is gone. Too much temptation. So partially I am trying to be healthier by using more wholesome ingredients to whip up some simple delicious snacks.
What’s a good carb or other things to pair hummus with when you don’t have pita in the fridge? I can see that I permanently stock some hummus in the fridge, but its not infrequent that I am out of the bread/ pita late at night.
I like hummus with carrot sticks, or just scooped up on an olive, or scooped up on a spoon and topped with an olive. Crackers work. Tortillas or tortilla chips also work. Pita chips can be found in a big bag and I’ve seen them in small individual bags on occasion. There’s pita crackers too. My usual hummus scooper is sliced cucumber.
That’s why I buy the sea salt and vinegar (can only eat a few), but a few in a small saucer and then seal the bag! That is often my snack while making dinner.
TJ’s cheddar sticks and radishes (dunno why I’m so in love with that combo). I take a bit of each, and it’s the perfect combination of creamy & cheesy & “spicy” & crunchy.
It sounds like you might consider switching your meal contents. We’re supposed to have protein and fats earlier in the day, according to what I often read. If you had those at dinner, you might be less hungry at bedtime, so something light might do the trick.
I make spicy oven roasted chickpeas on the weekend and they last for several days for snacks. We also buy those extruded and baked “veggie” straws at Costco , you can eat a lot of them because they’re mostly air. They hold up to hummus too.
Besides things you’ve mentioned, my late night snacks are citrus, raisins, cucumber pickles, kimchi/sauerkraut, and TJ’s inca corn. The latter, along with sweets, quickly gets eaten, so maybe not that.
Reheated corn tortillas with whatever leftovers or sauces you’ve got in the fridge.
If you’re looking for something more protein oriented, try doctoring up a can of sardines with mayo & spice mix of choice; capers & olives; or chili oil & soy sauce & sesame oil & black vinegar.
I was having that problem for a long time too, but i would wake up after only sleeping one or two hours because i was hungry. Once i realized that was why i wasn’t sleeping i make sure to have a good snack if it’s been a long time since dinner. What works for me without being too filling just before sleep:
sweet or savory greek yogurt, plain yogurt with some almond butter and berries, or chopped cucumber and sesame seeds with smoked salt and olive oil, any number of combos here (probably most common, i always have yogurt around)
sliced apple or carrots or banana with nut butter
steamed salted edamame in the pods for something fiddley
sturdy seedy crackers with a bean dip or sliced avocado
quick mix of crunchy dry cereal, raisins, nuts, pretzel sticks
Or make a batch of homemade granola bars and cut them in snack size squares, wrap well individually and keep in the freezer- they defrost in just a few hours.
+1 for frozen grapes but they won’t fill you up for long, the semi frozen texture is like a self contained sorbet
Cheese and crackers
Slice of toast with peanut butter or mashed avocado
Popcorn
Chex Mix (we buy it from Costco so we always have some on hand)
Fiber One bar
Baby carrots with hummus
Ham slices wrapped around a piece of cheese and a pickle spear
Dinner leftovers
Banana
stone fruit if in season
satsumas off my tree if in season
juice - most commonly tomato, kicked up some with herbs/spices, but not hot sauce
broth, with vermicelli if you want to take time
good bread w/butter
toast w/butter
peanut butter
sandwich meats or cheese if in stock
wine
cold cereal and milk (soy, in my case) - I always have a box of cereal on hand but eat it very seldom and may have to use half and half or evap milk
ummmm, eat more at dinner?
leftovers from home meals, take-out or doggie bags
an egg, fried; hard boiled if available but I wouldn’t take the time to make one
egg beaters scramble
I always have whole wheat tortillas on hand for late night snacks. Grill it right on a gas flame and put fill with anything you want. I’ve done cream cheese and kimchi, leftover greens and rice, salads, even this:
