During the winter my snacking progressively got more and more unhealthy and although the thrice daily meals I was eating were balanced, I'd always get a sugar crash mid morning and afternoon.
As soon as the weather got colder, all my brain seemed to want was sugar - empty calories - sugar!
Over the past few months, I've managed to find a few things that keep me away from the Dairy Milk bars and Oreos...
For that sweet tooth
Low fat yoghurts
You know my feelings on peaches by now, so it goes without saying that I adored the peach flavour Activia yoghurts. They're still pretty high in sugar, and nowadays I prefer plain yoghurt, but I thought I'd include them as they're what kickstarted my healthy snacking shindig.
I also loved (and still very much like) the greek style Liberte ones. I'd thoroughly recommend the blueberry flavour, but steer clear of the honey (far too runny and not half as tasty as the real thing.) They're made up of a generous layer of fruit compote underneath a helping of thick Greek yoghurt. Yum yum.
Actimels
I remember picking these up on a whim, thinking they'd be just about bearable when I didn't have time to eat an entire yoghurt. How wrong I was! The coconut ones are delicious, and satisfy that little niggle an hour or so before lunch/dinner time. Also great to chuck in your handbag when you're running late for the bus (just remember to pack a plastic bag to pop the empty pot in if you aren't going to have access to a bin any time soon!)To satisfy that urge to eat a family pack of Doritos
Special K cracker crisps
These little rounds of salty, vinegary goodness are supposedly lower in fat than baked crisps due to the way they're prepared. You definitely taste the balsamic vinegar, so they're a little bit more special than your regular salt 'n' vinegar crisps. They're also on special offer most of the time. (Only issue is that you can easily munch on through most of the packet as they're so moreish!)
Tesco chilli rice crackers
These are my guilty pleasure. Not particularly healthy, but as they're so spicy you can't get through the entire packet in one sitting! Sweet, salty, spicy and crunchy - delish. I originally popped these in the basket thinking they might be like the sweet goan curry crackers that used to come in Graze boxes. They've a little more of a kick, but flavour-wise are pretty similar. You used to get them at the deli counters, but they discontinued them a few weeks ago (no jokes, I nearly wept) but the other evening I was browsing the dried fruit selection and lo and behold - they'd repackaged them! Slightly larger but the same taste, crisis averted.
Fruitaholic
On lazy days where breakfast will have happened so late that I don't particularly fancy a regular lunch, I'll chop up a mango and have that instead. So fresh and sweet, and you don't get a sugar crash afterwards.
Same goes for watermelon. Also surprisingly filling, although I'm such a pansy when it comes to chopping it up...
And for the naughty days
85% cocoa chocolate bars from Aldi. These are pretty bitter, but if you've not had anything high in sugar for ages they're just right and hit the spot. I honestly think that after a while I have started to prefer things less sweet - I had a moment of weakness and attempted to eat some Waitrose rocky road bites a few days ago and couldn't eat more than a couple as they were too saccharine!
In conclusion, I haven't really lost any weight - but that wasn't the original plan! I've found though that I get fewer headaches from sugar crashes, my skin is looking a lot better and I feel a lot more alert in general. Fingers crossed I'll be able to keep this up when I leave for uni later on this year...
I hope this has helped anyone else that's looking for snacking alternatives - do comment if you'd like to hear about anything else food oriented!
xxx
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