Savoury snacks to go
October 7, 2021 7:14 AM   Subscribe

My food routine has a weird gap that feels easy to fix but isn't. Various small snowflakes inside.

My current diet is high protein/low carb (to the extent possible), and it goes like this:
Breakfast at 8 am: eggs, fruit, black coffee
Go to work
Mid-morning black coffee around 11:30/noon-ish
Lunch at 1:30 pm: Big serving of grilled chicken and veggies, small portion of greek yogurt
Mid-evening black coffee around 4:30, which is the last time I have caffeine for the day (except on bad days or days I need to stay up)
Leave work around 7 pm, and then get home by 8:30 at the earliest (commute is very long)
I tend to walk over 10k steps a day, and try get another half an hour of exercise in. I'd describe my work as sedentary but I do get up and move around every half an hour or so as well.
The trouble is, I am ravenous around 7-ish, just when I am leaving work. I typically carry fruits but I am really very very much Team Savoury Snacks so it is very unsatisfying. This means I give in to having a coffeeshop snack every other day instead of an occasional indulgence (and now that office is back on-site, this indulgence is causing me to put on weight that I'd worked very hard to lose, last year). What would you carry with you to tide over the hunger pangs, that is not a repeat of lunch/not sweet/not super easy to spoil/at least reasonably healthy? I have no dietary restrictions. There is no microwave at work to heat anything up, unfortunately.
Thanks in advance!
posted by Nieshka to Food & Drink (28 answers total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
Almonds?
posted by A Blue Moon at 7:18 AM on October 7, 2021 [8 favorites]


Nuts and carrot sticks taken together are fairly filling. Carrot sticks keep well enough in a bag if you're not working in the sun. Celery and peanut butter would also work - can you keep food in a shared fridge? It's a lot easier to bring celery for the week and keep a jar of peanut butter on-site than to bring both every day. Carrot sticks are very portable, by contrast.
posted by Frowner at 7:25 AM on October 7, 2021 [6 favorites]


You need fat. Cheese, cream in your coffee instead of black, full fat greek yog if you're currently choosing a low fat option, walnuts, avocados, nice fatty fish instead of chicken sometimes...

High protein low carb is great but your body needs fat to run on if you're not filling it with sugars.
posted by phunniemee at 7:29 AM on October 7, 2021 [23 favorites]


I'm a savory snacker too and I usually go with smoked nuts, cheesestick/bar (I like Colby Jack), cold cuts, pepperoni sticks, and boiled eggs.
posted by jraz at 7:30 AM on October 7, 2021 [4 favorites]


Hummus with dipping veggies? Hummus can live at normal room temperature without spoiling for up to 6 hours, (and at normal office temperatures I'm sure it will last all day). But maybe hummus isn't low carb enough for your needs, judging from the rest of your menu.

Celery with ranch is wonderfully savory (unlike celery with peanut butter which tastes sweet to me even when I use unsweetened nut butters).

If money is no object then those baggies of Moon Cheese snacks are an excellent way to satisfy the savory tooth. You can make your own parmesan crisps if you want to control the ingredients.

Less healthy but still low carb option: Quest protein chips, which taste so like Doritos that you might not even notice the mild deficiency in texture.

Oh and maybe you're interested in keeping a pre-cooked snack box of crispy bacon in your bag? That can last all workday without going off.
posted by MiraK at 7:33 AM on October 7, 2021 [1 favorite]


I would start having a bit of a snack when you take your coffee break. Going from 1:30 to 7 (8:30?) with just black coffee in between would make me ravenous too! Apple and peanut butter would be my go to, but really anything would work
posted by raccoon409 at 7:33 AM on October 7, 2021 [6 favorites]


A small portion of nuts could be the answer - I personally enjoy cashews.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:41 AM on October 7, 2021 [1 favorite]


If I was eating that little, and drinking that much coffee, I would literally faint. If it was me, I would add whole grains, ie: whole wheat bread with peanut butter, granola, or whole grain crackers.
If you're avoiding all carbs, then a hard boiled egg with hot sauce or soy sauce might be a good after-work snack. A couple more ideas:
- small cottage cheese salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumber and olives.
- roasted almonds (you can get many different flavours)
- small can of flavoured tuna
- half an avocado
posted by winterportage at 7:44 AM on October 7, 2021 [8 favorites]


Not cheap if store-bought but I like kale chips and roasted chickpeas.
posted by whitelotus at 7:45 AM on October 7, 2021 [1 favorite]


Nuts, hard cheeses, crackers, and jerky would be my suggestions. Veggies and dip are great but if you don't end up eating them during the day you may not be able to eat them the following day.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 7:50 AM on October 7, 2021 [1 favorite]


Roasted spicy or plain salted chickpeas are cheap at south asian grocery shops, that's a great idea.

(Also: if you're gaining weight from just one small unhealthy snack while eating pretty rigidly the rest of the day, I wonder if a visit to the doctor might be helpful? I have loved ones who got diagnosed with hypothyroidism when they had similar experiences as yours.)
posted by MiraK at 7:50 AM on October 7, 2021 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: I live in India, all grocery shops are south asian grocery shops haha.
Thank you so much for all the excellent suggestions so far. I do eat carbs- I tend to have them for dinner (I know dinner is supposed to be light but it's my most relaxed meal of the day, so...)
Wanted to quickly also note that I'm good with either packaged food (would find a similar item here) or something that can be cooked/prepped and carried. Alas, no fridge at work to store items. Thanks again!
ETA: Family history of hypothyroidism, but my blood tests are normal thus far.
posted by Nieshka at 7:58 AM on October 7, 2021 [4 favorites]


A handful of almonds and a piece of cheese eaten together are good for a savory snack. I like dry roasted almonds and a Monterey Jack cheese stick.
posted by corey flood at 7:58 AM on October 7, 2021 [3 favorites]


Not sure how it works with the low carb but, but I like to snack on a plain corn or flour tortilla.
posted by acantha at 8:01 AM on October 7, 2021


I eat a piece of string cheese with a piece of lunch meat wrapped around it. You can buy these premade at 7-11/in the grocery store, or you can buy a pack of string cheese and a pack of salami/prosciutto/pepperoni. I find this snack soo satisfying.
posted by foxonisland at 8:01 AM on October 7, 2021 [3 favorites]


One piece of string cheese (we have them individually packaged, about 2 oz), followed by something like celery (fiber, crunchy), and maybe some gum to avert cheese breath.
posted by amtho at 8:02 AM on October 7, 2021


My go-tos for this are tzatziki (homemade if I can't find a storebought kind that's low-carb enough) with celery sticks, cucumber slices topped with cream cheese and sprinkled with a spice blend (za'atar or TJ's 21 Seasoning Salute), or a shelf-stable meat (canned, or charcuterie style) with a hard cheese that can sit out for the whole day. These stuffed mushrooms are also really satisfying.
posted by notquitemaryann at 8:02 AM on October 7, 2021


If I was spending $$ on coffee shop snacks, I'd splurge for individual packets of olives and get some prepackaged cheese (string or otherwise). Cheese and olives feels really indulgent and will give you enough of a flavour bomb to make you feel like you've eaten something substantial.
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 8:19 AM on October 7, 2021 [7 favorites]


Nthing "nuts and cheese".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:57 AM on October 7, 2021


For savory snacks that fit your non-carb diet, you're pretty much looking at jerky, nuts, and high-protein beans.

The cheapest to make yourself, IMHO, is garbanzo beans (i.e. chickpeas) in an air fryer. It's very high in protein and no additives. You can buy cans of the stuff for well under a buck. Open a can and drain the liquid (which is called "aqua fava", btw, misc knowledge I picked up from cooking shows) and just put the beans in an air fryer set to 400 (pre-heat optional) and do at least 15 minutes (no oil needed), or until at desired crispiness. Add 5 minutes at a time if you need it drier / crispier. Slightly charred is fine. You probably don't even need to salt them.
posted by kschang at 9:19 AM on October 7, 2021 [1 favorite]


I don't know anything about Indian convenience foods and what's available. Is jerky — beef or otherwise — a thing where you are? Pork rinds? Hard sausage? Some other kind of dried meat? A lot of the low-carb folks I know use small portions of those as snacks.

Also, are you getting enough water? Dehydration can contribute to feeling ravenous, especially post-workout. You probably do need food — don't just try to hydrate the problem away — but drink something too.
posted by nebulawindphone at 9:33 AM on October 7, 2021


Oh, lord, low carbing in India is HARD, my heart goes out to you. Even just being ethnically desi means I find it impossible, lol.
posted by MiraK at 9:43 AM on October 7, 2021


Low carb desi savory snacks you might be able to buy from vendors near you:

- Masala cucumber/guava/green mango/jackfruit
- Fruit chaat
- Salt lassi / chhaas
- Jal jeera
- Salted boiled peanuts
- Roasted masala peanuts or chana
- Packaged "diet" crunchy snacks like popped lotus seeds and barley puffs and whatnot (but I've always thought those taste like cardboard)
- Select restaurant take-out appetizers like kebabs, chicken lollipop, masala eggs, etc. You get a lot of sodium but this will all be high in protein, and quite filling even if you portion it out over 2 or 3 evening snacks.

I also agree with other commenters that your diet seems lacking in fat. Fat isn't the culprit you want to be avoiding, since it's carbs that are more correlated with adverse health results much more than fat. A moderate amount of fat will really help you feel better about your meals IMO! Good luck.
posted by MiraK at 10:00 AM on October 7, 2021 [2 favorites]


Soy-roasted sunflower seeds.
Water or decaf tea; thirst can exacerbate hunger.
Sliced apple with peanut butter.
I love roasted vegetables and they can easily be made even more savory with the addition of hot sauce, soy sauce, curries. Take a lunch bag with a bottle of frozen water, By the time you go home, you'll have water to drink and delicious roasted veg. to snack on.
They're not low-carb, but a banana is a great tide-you-over snack.
Preserved meat or fish - jerky, dried sausages like salami, dried fish, fluffy pork.
Recent ask.me with lots more.
posted by theora55 at 11:20 AM on October 7, 2021


Would hard-boiled eggs (with a sprinkle of salt/pepper/other spices) be too much like repeating breakfast?
And would a saltier than usual lassi be filling enough to tide you over from end of work to arriving at home?
posted by spamandkimchi at 1:18 PM on October 7, 2021


Olives. I'm very about light-snacking a few olives, maybe with a bit of hummus & pita.
Most olives come in brine which can be verrry salty, sorry if that's an issue. (I actually try not to overdo salts too much in general, but I make exceptions for some things).
posted by ovvl at 3:51 PM on October 7, 2021


Oh god!... low carbing in South Asia is tough.

I second (third?) the suggestion of hard boiled eggs. You're good with stuff that can be prepped - how about an egg sandwich or a wrap? I realise bread = carbs but you did say you do eat some carbs and these seem like carbs in a good cause. I make mine with chopped up hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, diced spring onions, salt, pepper and smoked paprika, they're so good. As you know eggs are very filling, but this gives you some fat as well which will keep you full.
posted by unicorn chaser at 2:48 AM on October 8, 2021


Beef jerky! Or dill pickles if you can keep them in a fridge at work.
posted by amaire at 5:30 AM on October 8, 2021


« Older Is it ok to do group therapy and individual at the...   |   What we owe our parents - Taiwanese-American... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.