Why is it that most of us follow the old traditional diet plan of three meals a day? Today, most of the nutritionist advocate eating small meals every two to three hours.
Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate both a mid-morning and a mid-afternoon snack. Sometimes just a little something—a handful of pistachios or an apple may suffice but some times when I am feeling peckish, when dinner looms late in the evening, I may indulge in a mega snack like diet chocolate, or chili cheese toast .
My wife always says that a cup of nice hot soup or half of a baked potato, will stave off the inclination to rip into a bowl of chips or empty a box of ice cream. Then, there are millions of attractively packaged snacks in the supermarket that the weight watchers must stay away from as I always say ‘so much packaging for so little nutrition’.
The trick is to eat small portions of right stuff in small intervals so that you never feel hungry. The moment we are hungry we just eat whatever comes our way easily not bothering for its nutritional content. Of course, one has a ready stock of healthy and tasty snacks, fresh fruits etc stacked in to make the trick work.
In todays column lets list a few such snacks that will make this trick work .
Here are some snacks or mini-meal ideas to satisfy the appetites of children and adults alike. As I’m always telling my kids: If you’re hungry, make sure you add protein to that snack.
Popcorn: Popcorn is the most favourite snack in our house. It’s quick, it’s satisfying, and it’s a whole grain too. Sometimes we cook in microwave or on stove in a pressure cooker.
It’s hard to beat melted butter and salt as toppers, but feel free to experiment with grated Parmesan, garlic salt, curry powder, nutritional yeast, or cinnamon and sugar.
Yam or sweet potato: A half of sweet potato or yam, reheated with a bit of butter and then sprinkled with salt, satisfies both hunger pains and sweet-tooth cravings. The best is to bake them with skin on and eat with salt and lemon once cooked. Another variation on the sweet potato: top with a spoonful of feta cheese or soft goat cheese and a bit of freshly ground pepper.
Sweetie treats: Honestly, I’d rather have a cupcake if I’m going to splurge. The muffins that my daughter makes with oat and bran with blue berry are divine. Although one can bake banana muffins, prune-walnut bread, or lemon cornmeal muffins and store them in a container for future use or should I say hunger pangs.
A cup of French onion soup: This one is my favorite and damn easy to make. Every household kitchen always has onions. So just caramelise onions, add water and seasoning with 2-3 spoons of grated cheese and the soup is ready to serve with a piece of brown bread.
Oatmeal cookies or a granola bar: All doctors recommend oat meal. It can be in the form of cookies, granola bar, museli etc. I also like oat-dense snacks. Oatmeal cookies, or a handful of granola bars hush a growling stomach, especially when taken with a glass of milk.
Yogurt. My fallback snack when I’m famished but don’t have time to make anything. I love the mishti dahi or any low fat yogurts available in the food marts . Otherwise, I’ll spoon a couple of scoops of plain yogurt into a bowl and top it with fresh berries and a drizzle of honey, homemade jam and relish it watching TV, slouched in my couch.
My kids prefer smoothies: toss one or two bananas into the blender with a splash of orange juice and a couple of cups of fresh fruit or frozen berries, then blend into a purée. Add as much yogurt as you like, then blend until well mixed.
When I am feeling tired and not upto any special endeavors, then just fresh garden salad topped with olives, gherkins and feta cheese with a dash of olive oil and seasoning ,will suffice.
monishgujral@motimahal.in