Happy Saturday sweetlings!
I hope that you’re all having a beautiful one. Mine was pretty awesome, even though nothing spectacular happened – all I really did was shop and snack. First up, the shopping…
Baked lentil chips – Puffins – Almond butter (smooth and crunchy) – Rice cakes
Cottage cheese – Hummus (classic and Mediterranean) – Eggs – Grape kombucha
Cantaloupe – Cherries – Bananas – Strawberries
I also browsed some home furniture/accessory stores, but didn’t end up buying anything because… well… right now I’m mostly shopping for ideas. I want to get a good sense of what’s out there before I commit to anything big, and I’d rather start buying smaller stuff, like coffee makers and coat hangers, when I’m already living in my new place. I don’t want to stock up on stuff now, only to have more stuff to move when the actual day comes. Although I may regret my decision when I need to open a can of beans only to find that I don’t have a can opener. But I’ll cross that bridge when (if) I come to it.
So let’s move on to the second (and more delicious) part of my day: the snacking…
Banana topped with crunchy almond butter and a chocolate muffin.
Rice cake topped with cottage cheese, almond butter, and honey.
Chocolate pudding spiked with cocoa powder and topped with almond butter. Teeccino.
Greek yogurt topped with puffed wheat, Kashi Honey Sunshine, trail mix, and cinnamon.
Melty vanilla ice cream in a sugar cone.
And while we’re on the topic of snacking, there’s something that I wanted to talk about. I’m sure that we’re all more or less familiar with “smart snacking” – the idea that we should choose snacks that are nutrient dense and won’t spike our blood sugar, so that we’ll stay fuller longer. These snacks are usually high in protein, fiber, and healthy fats, and low in sugar. The picture of perfection.
I used to really buy into that idea, and would choose snacks based on what I thought was best for my body; snacks that would ensure optimal performance. For this reason, I avoided things like ice cream, cookies, and candy for a really long time – I was afraid that I would eat them only to be hungry again 20 minutes later. But the more that I experiment with my diet, the more I come to realize how faulty those beliefs really are. Here, let’s use what happened yesterday and today as an example…
Yesterday afternoon, I snacked on one of these…
Heaven in a bowl, aka. cottage cheese mixed with protein powder and cocoa, with a banana, granola, almond butter, and chocolate pudding added in.
Delicious, and high in protein and healthy fats – a “smart” snack. And yet it barely held me over for an hour before I was feeling snacky again.
Today, I snacked on one of these…
Heaven in a cone, aka. vanilla ice cream.
Delicious, but high in sugar, with barely any protein or healthy fats to speak of – a “not-so-smart snack”, if you will. And yet it held me over for a good 2.5 hours until it was time for dinner.
Both snacks are probably pretty close calorie-wise, and one is clearly “smarter” than the other, so why is it that the smart one didn’t manage to hold me over as long as the other one did?
Answer: because sometimes you just really need an ice cream cone. Or a cookie. Or some candy. Sometimes, satisfying your mind is the smarter thing to do.
I’ve been craving ice cream for a couple of days now, but opted out of having it yesterday because I figured that, after the hard workout that I had in the morning, my body would need protein and nutrients more than it needed… err… ice cream. But I can’t live with an unsatisfied craving for very long, so today, despite having had a pretty intense workout that morning, my body got ice cream instead of a “smart” snack.
And it was fine… and delicious.
The last bite is always the best.
I refuse to believe that food is simply fuel. The body craves nutrients, sure, but the mind craves pleasure, comfort, and enjoyment – and there’s nothing wrong with getting that from food. There’s physical hunger and mental hunger, and both sets of cravings need to be met in order for us to feel satisfied.
Have you ever eaten something that wasn’t what you really wanted, but more so what you thought you should eat? Were you satisfied after? My guess is probably not, and if you’re anything like me, then you were probably prowling the kitchen a short while later, trying to satisfy that peckish feeling, despite the fact that you just ate a full meal. Believe me, I know…
There’s a time and place for smart snacks, and there’s a time and place for not-so-smart snacks – the tricky part is figuring out the right time and place for each. But it’s possible. It just takes some trial and error, and I’m still trial-ing and error-ing, but learning along the way 😀
Have a good night, loves.
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What’s your opinion on the idea of smart snacks? Do you find that they always hold you over as long as they “should”? Or do you find yourself sometimes surprised by the staying power of so-called “empty calorie” foods?
Ama”zing”nda!!!!! Girl, I know that I can come to you and be uplifted by the most wonderful posts! Girl, I love your BLOG! 😀
Love your food loot and love your blog– recently found it 🙂
I snack like crazy all the time:just depends on my hunger and activity levels!
Smart snacks should be the snacks you crave, not the snacks somebody says you have to eat. If I crave something, my brain thinks I am hungry until I get it regardless of the amounts of other foods I eat meanwhile. So a tiny piece of whatever I crave at that time can be much more satisfying than a boatload of the healthiest snack in the world. Food is for the brain, too 🙂 .
I LOVE what you said about eating food for both fuel and for pleasure/enjoyment. While I often do tend to think of food purely as fuel, I’ve gotten a lot better at snacking for pleasure too. Like this weekend on my camping trip I ate my body weight in s’mores and while they may not be the most healthy snack, they definitely made me happy! 😀
Staying power is pretty much a must for me with snacks because I’m usually at work and need something that will actually hold me over till my lunch break. I leave the sweet snacks for times when I’m not particularly starving and/or just need something desserty.
STILL need to try grape kombuch and I CANNOT believe I forgot to buy rice cakes at the grocery yesterday. Fail!
We seriously buy like the same exact things at the store. HOLLA 😉
I seriously have MISSED you this past couple days!
Ok, you look beautiful! Love the hoodie! PINK vic secret!!!
A good snack is a combo of a healthy fat and protein! That is what I think anyways ; )
Loving the grocery goods! Ok are the days til you move in the teen numbers yet?!!!!!!
xoxo <3
The banana snack looks amazing! I am trying real hard to limit my snacking to “smart foods.” I’ve found I’m never really hungry, just craving something junky when I want to cave. Skipping over the “bad” snacks at the grocery has been tough but ultimately, I feel better and I’m spending less. Win-win!
I would love to write a nice long comment about how much I agree with everything you said. Only that would be redundant ;). So, basically, ditto.
Oh, and why WHY must you torture me with pictures of grape kombucha?!?! I still haven’t seen it in stores yet! :-/
“Sometimes, satisfying your mind is the smarter thing to do.” <– I couldn't agree with you more, Amanda! I've been in the same predicament before…do I listen to what my mind is telling me I "should" eat or should I go with that nagging craving in the back of my mind for a cube of Baker's chocolate dipped in peanut butter (latest sweet tooth craving combo). More often than not, if I go with the "smart" choice, I'll find myself in the kitchen again withi an hour looking for something…
Good plan to shop for ideas now and save the big stuff for later! It's so much easier to move a piece of furniture once! I still can't believe I've been in my place for over 5 months now…and I'm STILL shopping for "ideas"! Haha! I just have a hard time committing…I'm always afraid I'm going to shell out the money for "this bookcase" and then months later see "that bookcase" and kick myself for not waiting! Oh, such is the life of indecisiveness!
Yayy for the puffins! I seriously love those things. I’ve just ordered some as I’m out and miss them so. I’m a big believer in smart snackes based on whole foods that have some staying power to maintain my sugar levels. 🙂
The last time I had an ice cream cone was back in Maine after a day at the beach and it.was.magical. Just a simple McD’s ice cream cone but ohhh my gosh was it good!
I agree with you on smart snacking!!! Every now and then I would much rather had an ice cream than a luna bar or almonds or any of my other usual snacks. 🙂 Yes, the last bite is totally the best!!! I love how ice cream is when it gets totally melty. Sometimes if I need a little something chocolately with my snack, I’ll add some chocolate chips to whatever I was planning on, like for example a banana with PB or AB and chocolate chips stuck on top!! or nuts and dried fruit made into a trail mix with chocolate chips!! those things are a miracle food.
I have the hardest time picking snacks. No problems with my other meals, but these snacks are killing me. It’s because I usually crave fruit when it comes to snack time, but the thing is fruit doesn’t keep me full for along time. An apple would go for an hour at most. It’s frustrating because I’m listening to my cravings, but I get hungry so fast. Maybe I’ll try mixing the fruit with something else so it holds my hunger over for a longer time. I did find one snack which keeps me full and satisfied. Soy yogurt with trail mix! Oh by the way I love the photo of you! You look absolutely glowing :] Your hoodie is so cute too!
Definitely try pairing fruit with something else if that’s what you’re craving. An apple is great with nut butter, or thrown into yogurt with some cereal or trail mix. I love apples but I definitely can’t have them alone as a snack – they only make my hunger worse!
Yum! Awesome snack selections! But I agree, if I don’t eat what I’m truly craving and go for the healthy stuff ALL the time, I end up craving it more and eating more after. P.S. You are gorgeous! I love it when bloggers post random pictures of themselves..so much more fun! 🙂
I usually just snack on whatever I’m craving and if it doesn’t hold me it’s all the more reason to have something more 🙂
I love that ice cream cone picture with the ice cream dripping down your fingers!!
I think smart snaking should come at a 50:50 approach.. you need to keep what your body needs in mind, but the other half of the time you have to satisfy your mind. Honestly, if I had a snickers bar every time I craved one (… every day).. my body wouldn’t be healthy. I love your thoughts on listening to your mind– it’s really not worth fighting.
I used to refuse to eat a snack unless it packed at least “x” amount of protein… as if protein is the mecca of health and wellness. In retrospect, I realize how much food that eliminated. Cookies, ice cream, cake, muffins.. aka.. all of the things I LOVE! It’s just another one of those silly food rules that really don’t make any sense. EDs are so irrational and I love how you’re constantly reminding us all of that! YOU ARE MY FAVORITE PERSON EVERRRRRRR 🙂
I always try to balance what I crave with a mix of something healthy. When I crave cookies I eat an oatmeal cookie instead of chocolate chip and when I want pizza I go with a whole grain crust with veggies. But if you want a ice cream cone for a snack I say you need to listen to your body cause if you don’t your other “healthy, best choice for body” snack isn’t going to cut it. Basically, I agree with everything you just wrote! Give the body what it wants!
First, you are gorgeous Amanda, wanted to mention that first 🙂
And per usual, loved this post! (btw I almost just wrote “snack” instead of “post” as that is what I was clearly thinking about after reading this 🙂 )
For far too long I have though of food as good and bad…therefore I could never ever enjoy the “bad.” I still have this sort of thought process but it is slowly ebbing away. Readings things like this helps me along this journey. Thank you lady.
i really liked what you said about physical and mental hunger–i never thought of that before and it makes total sense! since i have been programmed to think, “healthy snack = apple” and “bad snack = cookies,” i never reach for a cookie. but the apple leaves me unfulfilled–i probably will eat more calories than the cookie originally was, because i need to eat more after the apple…what’s the darn point! thanks for the insight!
I can’t snack on apples anymore because not only do they leave me unfulfilled, they actually make me hungrier than I was before!
Ahh yet again another beautiful post girly! But a more beautiful picture of you!! You look stunning!! 🙂
When it comes to snacking I always go with what I crave – sometimes it’s a ‘smart’ snack and sometimes I just want something unhealthy and that’s fine because I spent WAY too many years depriving myself and analysing food, thinking that I have to ‘justify’ eating something whether it be because it has protein in, or lots of vitamins etc. Food shouldn’t have to be justified to eat it. If you crave something then have it…because I find that I’ll only be thinking about it all day and probably end up binging and eating a million muffins at once eventually because I didn’t listen to my body. Bodies are amazing things..they know what they want, so listen to it, I say! 🙂
I totally find that if I eat something I don’t crave but that is “smart” it doesn’t hold me over nearly as well as when I actually listen to my cravings. It’s like you have a mental hunger as well as a physical one, and it’s pretty much impossible to try to satify one without feeding the other.
Great post – all your snacks look gooooood 🙂
Hey Beautiful<3
So sorry I missed your last post, my weekend has been crazy busy so i try to catch up on all now! Im so happy Kaiah is back to herself! She is so sweet!
Love this post! While I absolutely think that we should listen to addvices about how to keep our blood sugar stable etc.. it is much more important to listen to our bodies! It is the only one who knows whats best! And I really do believe that if we TRULY listen, it will tell us to eat what it needs!
Since I started eating dairy (mostly greek yoghurt and goat cheese) a few days ago, my body has felt SO good! My tummy is much more happy, and my energy levle higher! I suddenly understand that maybe I was striving for the wrong diet for MY body for all these years! I hope Ill find the way that works best for me soon! Ita seems like you have, and that makes me beyond happy!!
Love you