Are you a snacker? Do you find you ‘need’ to eat every couple of hours? Do you find the gaps between meals just that bit too long? Whether dieting or not, try and avoid the fatty, processed junk food, cakes or chocolate. Some foods are ideal as quick-to-grab snacks to graze on during the day. For weight loss, aim for more frequent but smaller meals to kick start your metabolism. But ensure these are healthy snacks. Aim for a mix of fibre, protein, healthy fats and low sugar to make you feel fuller more quickly and yet for longer.
The process of chewing helps your body feel full. So look for snacks that require a good chew, rather than slurping down on a soft fudge or chocolate bar. Ideal snack foods would be crunchy fruit, raw vegetables and nuts. You can prepare these ahead of your working day. Most of us have some kinds of little plastic pots with lids stocked up in cupboards (yup where do they come from – I swear they breed!).
Slice up some fingers of vegetables such as carrots, peppers, cucumber, celery, mange tout, mini sweetcorn. Ideal on their own, you can add a healthy dip such as hummus or peanut butter if you like. For an element of sweetness, slice up a nice crunchy apple, some blueberries, raisins, Brazil nuts and sunflower seeds. Again, if you need a dip some natural yoghurt would be a nice addition.
Try and start your day with a good breakfast. This will help you having a sudden blood sugar drop mid-morning. Often, what we believe to be hunger is actually dehydration. So ensure you drink plenty of water during the day. Have a drink if you feel hungry yet you know it’s not been long since you last ate. If satiated, then you weren’t actually hungry, you were thirsty. That said, don’t drink instead of actual meals, that isn’t healthy.
A lot of our eating timescales are habitual. As a species, humans like consistency and habits form easily. Try to avoid insisting on a set time for your coffee or tea break, or at least don’t always take a slice of cake or sugary biscuit at the same time. These should be occasional treats, not a daily habit. If you can mix up your break times, you won’t find you feel hungry shortly before this time as a matter of habit.
Do you have a night-time supper shortly before bed? This is rarely necessary and more a habit. However, if you have early meals (eg 6am breakfast, 12pm lunch, 5pm dinner) but go to bed say around 11pm, then perhaps a light snack around 9pm is justified. But make it light not stodge or sugar.
So let’s look at some simple snacks or small light lunches that will help boost your blood sugar levels and keep you going until the next mealtime.
Pepper and guacamole: slice some peppers into fingers, mixed colours for a colourful snack with a mixture of taste. Add your own home-made guacamole:
- avocado,
- chopped salad tomato,
- finely chopped red onion,
- finely chopped chilli (quantity and type dependent on the heat you prefer),
- a little lime or lemon juice,
- a little chopped coriander.
Roughly mash all the ingredients together, or pulse in a food mixer or blender, to the consistency you prefer. Store in a bowl, covered with cling film, in the fridge.
Cottage cheese with fruit and walnut: With a small tub of plain cottage cheese, add one chopped walnut and fruit of your choice. Tropical fruits go best, for example pineapple, mango or papaya. For a bit of extra crunch, spread on a high fibre wholemeal cracker.
Cucumber and hummus: As cucumber is particularly plain in taste, I would recommend going for a flavourful hummus – red pepper or lemon and black pepper for example. Slice half a cucumber into 2-3 inch portions then into fingers. For a little crunch, maybe add a small handful of pretzels.
Nuts: Mixed nuts are a brilliant source of protein and healthy fats, but you may want to add sultanas or raisins for a top up of sweetness. Avoid salted nuts to avoid excess sodium in your diet.
Olives and feta cheese: Mix chopped squares of feta cheese into a container with your preferred choice of olives, and a gentle drizzle of light extra virgin olive oil – flavoured or plain.
Cheese and crackers: choose a wholegrain or rye cracker, and pair with your favourite cheese. Hard cheeses tend to be lower in fat. If you require a sweetness, add some thin slices of crunchy apple. If you like a chutney kick, go for a good strong taste and use sparingly. Ultimately, no chutney is technically a diet ingredient so a little with a good taste is best.
Apple and peanut butter: Look for a peanut butter without sugar and added oil. Pair with apple slices to dip.
Mixed berries and yoghurt: Choose a mix of your favourite berries, such as blueberries, redcurrants, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries. Sprinkle into or on a low fat natural or Greek joghurt. If you need extra sweetness, sparingly drizzle on some natural honey.
Celery and cream cheese: choose a low fat cream cheese, and dip with sliced celery sticks. Some people like to add salt with celery, but don’t if you need or want to reduce your sodium intake. This is quite a bland snack, so why not add extra flavour with your favourite herbs and spices.
Root vegetable crisps: If you’re a crisp fiend, and just can’t let them go, swap potato crisps for vegetable crisps. You can buy them, or make your own (simple recipe available in my book ‘Picnics, Parties and Drinks’).
Dark chocolate and almonds: If you ‘need’ chocolate, then go for dark. The darker the better. Milk and white chocolate have so much fat and sugar added. Dark chocolate can be bitter, however, if you’re not used to it. So you may want to add some raspberries for sweetness as well as almonds or other nuts.
Popcorn: aim for plain or salted popcorn, rather than sweet or toffee coated.
Melon and prosciutto: wrap slices of your favourite melon, honeydew for example, with thin slices of prosciutto ham.
Roasted chickpeas: drain and rinse a tin of chickpeas, then dry them as much as possible. Place in a bowl and drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with salt and any herbs you may want to add for flavour. With your hands, mix together to ensure all the chickpeas are coated then spread them out evenly onto a dry baking tray. Roast the chickpeas at 400F/200C for 20-30 minutes, stirring or shaking the chickpeas every 10 minutes to ensure even roasting. Don’t worry if any chickpeas pop or split. Once golden in colour remove from the oven and, while still warm, sprinkle spices if you want (eg chilli or paprika) and stir through. When warm these are crispy, but when cool they become more chewy.
Avocado with salsa: make your own salsa: blend together chopped tomatoes, finely chopped red onion, garlic clove pressed or chopped, dash of lime juice, sprinkle of coriander. I personally like to add some chopped cucumber for coolness. If you like heat, add some finely chopped chilli. Either eat with slices of avocado, or fill the hole in half an avocado. If not dieting, add some low salt tortilla chips for added crunch.
These are just a few ideas, more small meals and mini eats can be found in my second book ‘Picnics, Parties and Drinks’ on Amazon for kindle download: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0773TG4JY?ref_=k4w_oembed_rIVl4ULIfziBcT&tag=kpembed-20&linkCode=kpd
Happy snacking, and take care,
Love
Maggie x
The rising cost of living isn’t a new concept, but this year many people are really going to feel the pinch with the massive uplift in oil costs, stagnant wages, loss of income thanks to Covid, rising National Insurance Contributions in April, and disproportionate rises in food costs. It may feel dire, especially if you’re pretty frugal already. Maybe it’s time to take a page out of Granny’s book and see what we can do to tighten the purse strings and mitigate some of our expenditure.
Firstly, cook something! The heat from the oven increases the ambient warmth in the surrounding rooms. But also, your body temperature rises when you’ve had something to eat or a hot drink. Now, I don’t expect you to be cooking and yamming food down all through the day but a warming lunch, rather than a sandwich or salad, really helps. Consider a soup perhaps, or a pasta bake. When you’ve been cooking, leave the oven door open when you’ve turned it off, rather than waste that lovely heat.
They’re really popular in soft furnishing design these days. I have a wicker log basket with various rolled up throws in, as well as those slung all designer-ish on the chairs and sofas, and even on the foot of beds. When feeling a bit chilly, snuggling into a nice warm throw is yummy. As the evening draws in, close the curtains. This keeps so much warmth indoors, as the glass windows just seep in the cold air. If your radiator is in front of the window, tuck the curtain behind it rather than let out what heating you do have on. 
Revert to the old methods at bedtime – pre-warming the bed with an electric blanket (always turn them off when you actually get into bed!) or a hot water bottle. Once actually snug in bed, you have a better night’s sleep with the room being a bit cold than you do by leaving the heating on. If need be, add another layer of bedding too.
Saving water. Now, as well as saving the planet we can save money on our water bills. Unfortunately, for those who still have water rates rather than a water meter, whilst you could still do your bit for the environment you won’t be saving on your bills as they’re based solely on the property size. So recommendation #1 would be to ask your water provider if your home can be converted – the general rule of thumb is if you have the same number or more bedrooms than people in your property, a water meter is highly likely to save you money. Fitting is still free in England and Wales. This way, you pay for what you use and can be more in control of your expenditure.
We all know the ‘shower not bath’ comparison, but some of us actually enjoy a relaxing soak in the bath. But, you can still save by just putting less water in. You don’t need a bath filled to the top. Just put an inch or two less in than usual. You’ll barely notice but be saving gallons of water. Which of course, you’ll be draining into your water butt when finished!
Transport. OK this is an emotive issue. We like our cars. They give us the freedom to go out whenever we want, not be restricted by a timetable, we get there more quickly than public transport stopping every few yards or meandering around the town. But, they’re a money-pit. Tot up just how much the vehicle costs you – not just literally the one-off purchase expense, but also yearly vehicle tax (unless exempt), MOT and servicing costs, insurance, petrol/diesel costs and ongoing maintenance. Also remember any recovery service costs if you’ve signed up to one. The ever-rising cost of parking, let alone any ‘low emission zone’ charges (eg if you drive into London). It adds up. Then compare that to the cost of public transport. Even the odd taxi could be cheaper than the ongoing running cost of your own car.
Shopping. Put those apps away! It’s so easy to scroll through Amazon, Ebay, Boots, etc etc and be slipping unnecessary wants into your electronic basket. One swipe and it’s paid for and on its way. It’s a shopaholic’s dream. If you wait until you actually head out of the house to buy stuff, the chances are that many of your spontaneous purchases just wouldn’t happen.
Look at the food you’re giving them. Does it have to be the super-expensive, prettily packaged, doggy terrine? Surely Poochy could eat just as well with a different brand? Look at online pet supermarkets, you can bulk buy and often save quite a bit on your regular brands, but also some online firms do cheap tester packs of brands you may never have tried before. Do you have to buy expensive toys? Believe me, a cat will play just as long with a ball of rolled up cooking foil or a walnut (in its shell!) as they will with a purchased ball.
But, there are other tricks you can try. Downsizing your brands is a very simple one. Whatever level you shop at, whether you buy all proprietary brands or are a supermarket own-brand shopper, there’s generally one step lower. I don’t expect everyone to go from top brand names straight to value ranges, but some key items could really save you money. Unless you’re a professional baker, downgrading your flour to own brand, or even the value range, really won’t be noticed and may save you over £1 per bag. Similar with other basics such as sugar, butter, milk or dried fruit. But also look at your bread – if just making sandwiches then a simple cut loaf is far cheaper than the bakery artisan loaf. Keep those for treats. Do the same with other products and you could save quite a hefty amount.
Your salary income, taxes and many outgoings may be out of your direct control. But, let’s do what we can to mitigate the impact on us and maximise where your money goes. Be wary of scams – if it looks too good to be true, it generally is! Don’t let some spotty teenage oik half way around the world deplete you of your hard-earned money.
