Low calorie snacks?

June 14, 2008 8:03 PM

Low calorie snacks?

I need some low calorie foods you can eat the hell out of at 2/3 AM. So far I've come up with shredded lettuce packages where you have like 15 calories for every 2 cups of lettuce and even if you ate the whole package, it's like 150 calories tops.

I can't seem to stop late night eating . I can control myself during the day, but this 4-5 year late night eating habit is killing me. The only thing I won't eat is anything spinach, cabbage, celery stick related. I need something half-edible.

-Travis

posted by isoman2kx to food & drink (27 comments total)

Tomatoes.
Rice cakes.
Radishes.
Chicken broth.
posted by Dizzy at 8:13 PM on June 14

Popcorn. (But not microwave popcorn; it's got lots of oil.)
posted by Class Goat at 8:20 PM on June 14

Apple

If you are truly hungry at this hour, eat something that will satisfy and leave your mind to think of something other than food. An apple with a little smear of peanut butter might do the trick.

a cup of skim milk
a few bites of chicken breast
low-fat yogurt
a sliver of cheese
fresh fruit
posted by LoriFLA at 8:20 PM on June 14

Have you tried replacing the snacking with water? Drinking a couple glasses of water can give you the same feeling of fullness that a snack will. Obviously, it can induce the need to urinate, but I see from your age in your profile that you should have a strong, young prostate.
posted by netbros at 8:21 PM on June 14

Carrots
Broccoli
Cherries
Strawberries
Apricots (17 kcal per apricot)
Sugar snap peas
posted by hammerthyme at 8:22 PM on June 14

What is your diet and activity level like? What is your sleep scheduale like? Those are important pieces of information to know to get to the heart of your problem.

But in AskiMetafilter fashion, here is my answer to your question. Before going to bed trying having as little carbs as possible with a protein/fat. I like a little cottage cheese or cashew butter on pumpernickel bread. In addition to drinking water as Netbros suggested, something high fiber could keep you feeling full longer.
posted by munchingzombie at 8:29 PM on June 14

cereal, milk & banana
posted by maloon at 8:32 PM on June 14

Oatmeal, oatmeal, oatmeal. Very low calorie and its quite filling.
posted by neilkod at 8:35 PM on June 14

Really no celery? Because celery actually has negative calories - you expend more calories chewing it than you take in consuming it. My mother stands it in a glass of salt water to give it a bit more taste. You can also fill the slot with cottage cheese, which I like a lot.

V8 juice, too, is very filling.
posted by DarlingBri at 8:35 PM on June 14

Filling stuff for around 150 calories:

Instant:
Fat free cottage cheese
SUPER OLD PEOPLE BRAN CEREAL w/skim milk and blueberries (the kind that has like, 12 grams of fiber per serving)

Less than 5 minutes:
2 fried eggs (use cooking spray)
Microwaved broccoli with some parmesan cheese
Sauteed green beans with garlic, lemon juice, sea salt
Stir fried bean sprouts

More than 5 minutes:
If you've got any grilled chicken breast, you can cut it up into half inch cubes, toss it with some fresh tomatoes, basil, and roasted red pepper, and eat it on a salad.


Filling stuff around 200 calories:

Smoked turkey on whole wheat (I personally use fat free cream cheese blended with canned chipotle peppers, and I make it like a grilled cheese with a little cooking spray.

What I've found is that if you eat smaller portions throughout the day, you'll be less hungry after dinner. If you go to a buffet and eat 3 plates, you're not going to feel full unless you keep stuffing yourself. Even if you eat 7 times a day, if you eat 250 calories at a time you'll be fine. Not that most people could do that. I try to stick to 400 4 times a day. Or so. Depends on if I've gone to the gym.
posted by mhuckaba at 8:38 PM on June 14 [2 favorites]

If you're really hungry at 2 in the morning, you should listen to your body and adjust your meal schedule accordingly.

There's little evidence to support the idea that food eaten after a certain hour will turn straight into fat. Certain foods, eaten late, can disrupt your sleep, but that's a different issue entirely.

Figure out how many calories you should eat per diem, and make sure that you have a good three or four hundred calories left over for your late-night snack. Make it a meal. Eat something delicious - a plate of spaghetti, or a smoothie, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or scrambled eggs and a piece of toast.

People who wake up with a bit of food in their stomachs are more likely to eat a sensible breakfast instead of devouring the first thing they see. Late night food is good, not bad.
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 8:42 PM on June 14

What ^mhuckaba said immediately above. If you are on a weight loss plan then you should be eating smaller meals spaced out throughout the day more.

~200kcal snacks that work for me are:

Sliced apple & cheddar cheese
1oz of smokehouse almonds
sliced ham, cheese, wheat thins.

And as mentioned above, make sure you're drinking a lot of water. I've read that the mind can confuse thirsty for hungry.
posted by tachikaze at 8:44 PM on June 14

Note that I try to shy away from anything fatty, with the exception of the parmesan. If you're going to have cheese, use it as a flavor component and not the item itself. Also, I don't like eating yogurt because it never fills me up. If the perception of being satiated is what you seek, stick with high protein, low fat, low carb foods.
posted by mhuckaba at 8:47 PM on June 14

Occasionally I'll nuke up some frozen corn or peas. Quick and easy. Add a pinch of salt and you won't want butter.

Or, for a few more calories, some berries and milk.
posted by sunshinesky at 9:07 PM on June 14

You could also drink a lot of water, it will "fill" you up.
posted by Upal at 10:16 PM on June 14

Pickles are great for this.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 11:40 PM on June 14

Spicy stuff that's just cellulose and water - pickles, kimchee
Popcorn (air popped, no butter)
posted by zippy at 12:55 AM on June 15

Have you thought about drinking non-caffinated stuff? Like some hot tea, instant soup or skim milk? I would try to get out of the habit of midnight snacks (even if low calorie) because then the stupid body seems to want more of it, know what I mean?

I'd also consider adding some fat (a small amount in the form of butter or olive oil or cheese) to my last meal, which would also have protein, which would hopefully convince me (by 2am) that I was full.

Eat slowly, savour every mouthful (at dinner or 2am), don't be doing something else, so that you turn around and go, uh, I don't actually remember eating, must be why I feel hungry.

Maybe you could clean your teeth again as a signal to your body that you're done eating.

However, vegetables and fruit, for the most part, are pretty low in calories.
posted by b33j at 4:56 AM on June 15

Thirding popcorn, and adding that you can make oil-free popcorn in the microwave.

Storebought microwave popcorn packets are full of fat and that nasty fake butter stuff--definitely not healthy--and running an air popper in the middle of the night can be problematic.

I put 1/3 of a cup of popcorn kernels in a largeish paper lunch sack, fold over the top a few times and crease to keep it closed, and pop 'em directly. In my 1300 watt microwave, it takes just shy of 2 minutes to pop. Your microwave may vary.
posted by Sublimity at 8:17 AM on June 15

Is this waking up in the middle of the night eating, or end of your day eating? Because if you are following a "normal" eating schedule of breakfast at 9, lunch at noon and dinner at 6 and then staying up until 2am, you are not "eating for (your) life".

There may be no "evidence" of how late night eating turns into fat, but it does make sense. Your body does three things with food-

1- digests it and turns it into usable energy.
2- digests it and turns it into fat.
3- doesn't digest it and just lets it move on as poop. (Both fiber and excess calories)

When you're sleeping, you don't need much energy, so it stands to reason that 2 and 3 are happening. And 3 only tends to happen when you've eaten so much food that digestion can't keep up. (That's why when people quit overeating and only eat 3000 calories a day they don't lose weight- they are still consuming more than enough calories to feed the body, they are simply no longer spilling calories out the chute.) (And that's why you can go out and eat a 10,000 calorie meal and not instantly gain 4 pounds.)
posted by gjc at 8:26 AM on June 15

The wide world of pickles. A piece of something like giardiniera is perfect for when you're craving sharp flavors and mouthfeel, but don't actually need to eat a meal. It's very satisfying. But even if you mess up and eat the whole jar, it's still only like 30 calories.
posted by peachfuzz at 9:22 AM on June 15 [1 favorite]

There may be no "evidence" of how late night eating turns into fat, but it does make sense.

Lots of things make sense; that doesn't make them true. One of the key advancements of the modern scientific era was to ground theories in empirical evidence rather than just reason things out like the ancient Greeks did.

It also makes sense that stretching after exercise prevents injury, that keeping your heart rate in the aerobic "fat zone" is best for fat loss, that heavy weights/low reps get you big while low weights/high reps get you toned, and that eating fatty foods makes you fat. None of these are true, either.*

To answer the question:

• Almost all fruits and vegetables are low calorie. A jar of pickles or (my favorite) hearts of palm makes a tasty snack, if you are okay with the salt.


• Volume-wise, I often binge on plain non-fat yogurt with Splenda. One pound of yogurt is only 250 calories. It's also got lots of gut-friendly bacteria.


• Echoing the above recommendation for oatmeal. It's hot and extremely filling. For a little variety you don't have to make it sweet, either. Oatmeal is pretty tasty plain with just a little bit of salt.

* Eating before bedtime does not make you fat. Recent studies of stretching found no evidence that it helps prevent injury, contrary to popular wisdom. Anaerobic exercise above 85% of your max heart rate increases excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), meaning you continue to burn calories after you stop exercising. Aerobic exercise has no appreciable effect on EPOC. Low weights/high reps weightlifting does not "tone" muscles. Once you go past 12-15 reps for an exercise you are basically just doing cardio. Might as well just go for a jog. Healthy fats from foods like olive oil, peanut butter, and fatty fish are essential components of a well-rounded diet. Low-fat diets are bad news.
posted by Khalad at 10:53 AM on June 15 [8 favorites]

Pickles. Late night dessert tea with a splash of milk.
posted by ifjuly at 11:22 AM on June 15

I am a big fan of the Fage greek yogurt. If it's too tart for your tastebuds, it's also excellent with a bit of honey or fruit mixed in. It is remarkably filling and reasonably healthy.

Also, any vegetable dipped in hummus.
posted by saturn25 at 4:00 PM on June 15

Hummus is relatively not good for you...
posted by mhuckaba at 5:19 PM on June 15

Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puffs cereal. 70 calories in a cup, so not very calorie-dense. Other puffed-grain-with-nothing-added cereals are great too; Kamut Puffs only have 50 calories per cup, and each 'puff' is relatively large so it's easier to eat plain. (Which is good since adding milk adds calories.)
posted by sentient at 10:16 PM on June 15

Also, sugar-free jello. It has the low calorie nature of diet soda or water, and the solidity of food. You can make your own from the box, or if you're going for convenience, the pre-made cups have something like 10 calories each.

If you're into artificial sweeteners, that is. FWIW, I prefer saccharin to sucralose or aspartame, but saccharin-based sf jello isn't so easy to find.
posted by sentient at 10:40 PM on June 15