Managing the Covid-19 All Day SNACKATHON

I’m hearing this a lot lately: “I can’t stop eating!!”
And eating. And eating. And eating.

I know! We’re now home all day long, wandering in and out of the kitchen, looking for things to do, staring inside the fridge, digging around in the pantry, inevitably filling empty space with mindless activities like snacking. Sometimes it feels like all that’s happened with the day is food prep, cooking, eating, clean up, repeat.

Firstly: Don’t worry about it too much.
We are all under an enormous amount of stress right now. No matter how you are feeling it, dealing with it, and processing it, the world is in crisis and we live here, so we are, undeniably, affected. Every single one of us.
Naturally, we are going to start developing new habits and behaviours by way of simply doing our best to cope. Since eating is one of the most innate human behaviours, the sway towards food is completely normal and may even serve a positive purpose at this time: to nurture. Humans are meant to nurture with food, we are designed this way; food is a way to take care of ourselves & our loved ones. Certain foods can help us feel better, feel warm and loved and comfortable, and remind us of better, happier times. It’s ok, at appropriate times, to utilize the comforts of food to help us feel better.

Second: Tune inward & be more present.
The whole concept of: slow down & stay home is an amazing opportunity to tune inward; to think about things you didn’t have time to think about before; to reflect on your life, where you are at and where you would like to be; to assess your emotional & mental health, the affect of your work, the beauty & struggle of your relationships. It is also a wonderful time to tune inwards with your food relationship. If you are someone who has spent time in your life suffering through a disordered or dysfunctional relationship with food, this is the perfect time to relax into those thoughts & feelings and evaluate how you would like this relationship to look moving forward. For many, even a past struggle with food dysfunction will still rear its head every once in a while. Those are the greatest moments to learn from.

Snacking Tools For The Stay At Home Marathon

Slow Down: Always #1. Slowing down with your food, breathing, tuning in to your body, being present with your food, chewing, taking small breaks between bites, are all ways to calm & slow the eating process. Remove distractions like screens or work, sit down and give your food your full attention. Not only does this practice encourage proper digestion and relaxation of the nervous system, but it increases awareness & communication between your gut and your brain so that you will not miss your satiation signals - a good way to reduce tendencies towards over eating.

Always Put Your Snacks in a Bowl/on a Plate: Mindless eating is what’s at play once you start dipping your hand straight into that chip bag - you know what I’m talking about! Make it a priority to ALWAYS pour a small amount of your snack into a bowl or onto a plate so that you can clearly assess portion size and do not fall into the trap of over snacking. Take your bowl or plate to a different location, sit down, tune in, and be sure to put the chip bag/Oreo bag/cracker box away.

Focus on the Clock: Think about this for a minute: it is not actually beneficial for your body to be digesting food on the continuum, it needs rest and regular breaks. Ideally, there is 2-3 hours between eating times to give your hard working GI tract a chance to recover. We don’t all need to go so far as to put up an eating schedule, but just pay attention to the clock and assess whether it’s time for more food (are you actually hungry?), or could you wait until the next meal time. Also, the body digests food best during the hours of 10am and 2pm, when the sun is at its highest in the sky, a concept that works with the body’s natural Bio-circadian rhythm. Think about consuming the highest intake of your day’s calories during these hours, easing the load in the evenings and first thing in the morning, to maximize your metabolic function.

Make Good Food Choices: If you don’t buy the crappy chips, you won’t eat the crappy chips, and since you can’t just go running out to the store whenever you feel like it, this is a great time to NOT BUY THE CRAPPY CHIPS! Go for whole food choices, reduce as much processed options as you can, make your own hummous & dips, try making your own crackers, or just go simple with cut up fruit or veggies and a handful of nuts.

Choose Quality over Quantity: A good rule of thumb when it comes to food in general, assess the food quality of your choices when you are making your list, deciding on meals, and shopping. What kind of nutrients will you received from processed crackers or packaged granola, and can you do better? This is not about choosing more expensive products with all the health claim packaging, but rather, choosing real food options. Remember, the body knows how to break down & digest real food, it is designed for this. When we start putting processed food, chemical additives & preservatives, GMO foods, dyes, and hydrogenated oils in there, the body doesn’t quite know what to do with those, so it stores them as fat or packs them away in the liver or in other organs, creating the potential for a whole list of problematic issues.

Drink Herbal Tea: The next time you find yourself rummaging around in your kitchen, ask yourself this: am I actually hungry right now? If the answer is no, try an herbal tea instead. Herbal tea has a magical way of satisfying the yearning for something to taste and put in your mouth and in to your belly, without the unnecessary calories. Most herbal teas also have a beautiful nurturing quality for the mind and calming qualities for the nervous system. Try: chamomile, lemon balm, licorice, rose hips, ginger, or peppermint.

Real Food Snack Ideas:

Fresh Fruit
Frozen Berries + Coconut Yogourt/Kefir
Apple Pieces + Almond Butter (2Tbsp)
Hummous + Carrot Sticks + Homemade Crackers
Steamed Green Beans or Edamame Beans + Salt
Homemade Guacamole + Homemade Crackers or Tortilla Chips
Hippie Trail Cookies
Energy Balls
Popcorn
Smoothie (A great afternoon pick-me-up!)
Banana Ice Cream (Frozen bananas, pureed)
Real Food Muffins
Homemade Nut, Seed, & Dried Fruit Mix (1/3 cup)
Chia Pudding + Frozen Berries + Granola
Seed Dip + Homemade Crackers

For the Late Night Munchers, here are a few good food choices for you 😊

Remember: choose real, whole foods as much as possible.
Go slow. Tune inwards. Enjoy. Relax. Breathe.

Late Night Snacks That You (& Your Body) Can Feel Good About

We hear it all the time: don’t eat after dinner!

For the most health supportive eating practices, we often recommend that your dinner be the last food you eat for the day. Particularly for those looking to lose weight or rebalance hormones, for optimal digestion and to reduce stress on the body and prioritize sleep, eating late in to the night is certainly not ideal, huge truth there.

But one person’s schedule does not match the schedule of the next and real life can get in the way of an ideal eating schedule, let’s face it! Some folks have to work until 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10pm and maybe there’s a decent dinner in there somewhere or maybe there isn’t, regardless their bodies are hungry and searching for nutrient input in the later hours and hey, that’s life and that’s also totally ok!

One thing I know for sure is that late night food HAS to be easy! As an athlete and a dancer with occasional late night rehearsals, I’m no stranger to the evening stumble home, tummy grumbling, blank faced fridge stare! Planning is everything (as you’ve heard me say so many times already 😉), likely you know you’re schedule ahead of time and likely you can take 10 minutes to do a little prep, (you know you can!) and having a little something on hand, ready for your tired self, will help your late-night super-bagged self out BIG time!

As with everything food related, there are better and worst choices that can be made in the hours past dinner and what you put in your body at that time can greatly affect your sleep, your digestion, your immune function, and how good you feel when you awake the next morning!

Here are a few things to consider…

 Choosing the Right Foods Past 6pm

• Easy to Digest: This is not a great time for complex proteins or difficult to break down grains, your digestive system is getting ready for rest, just as you are, so consider gentle, soothing foods: simple carbs, plant-based proteins, oats, fruit, avocado, bananas, soup, etc.

• Foods High in Potassium & Magnesium: Both these minerals can help to promote relaxation, sleep, and ease the body into the parasympathetic nervous system for a restful overnight.

  • Great Sources of Magnesium: Greens, Kale, Avocado, Banana, Legumes, Nuts, Seeds, Figs, Chia Seeds, Raspberries, & Fish

  • Great Sources of Potassium: Bananas, Oranges, Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Apricots, Grapefruits, Spinach, Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes, Mushrooms, Peas, & Cucumbers

• Foods That Help Produce Melatonin: Melatonin is a hormone that is responsible for regulating your circadian rhythm (sleep/wake patterns).  As we approach the end of the day, melatonin production naturally increases to help you sleep. Certain nutrients can aid in the production of melatonin: tryptophan, magnesium, calcium, & B6.

  • Best Foods for Melatonin Production: Oats, Nuts, Seeds, Legumes, Leafy Greens, Banana, Avocado, Flaxseeds & Sunflower seeds, Cherries, Chia Seeds

• Foods to Steer Clear From: Caffeine, Spicy Foods, Alcohol, Animal Protein, Animal Fat, Heavy Meals: Pasta/Brown Rice/Raw Vegetables, & Large Portions

Late Night, Restful Sleep & Happy Belly,
Snack Ideas

• Chia Pudding + Fruit/Berries

• Overnight Oats/Almond Butter Oatmeal

• Small Bowl Lentil Soup/Mushroom Soup

• Guacamole + Rice Cakes/Rice Crackers

• Lentil Hummus + Rice Cakes/Rice Crackers

• Warm Almond Milk

• Banana + Almond/Sunflower Seed Butter

• Banana Ice Cream

• Steamed Greens + Avocado + Lemon + Salt

MY FAVOURITE VANILLA CHIA PUDDING

1/3 cup chia seeds
1 ½ plant based milk (I use 1 can coconut milk - full fat - this will make it really thick 😋)
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp maple syrup
Note: for Chocolate Chia Pudding, add 2 Tbsp cacao powder
• Combine all ingredients in a pint sized glass jar. Cover the jar with a lid and shake vigorously or stir well with a spatula.
• Chill for about an hour, then return to the jar and shake or stir again. Chill for at least 4 hours, overnight is better.
• Serve cold sprinkled with fruit, your favourite granola, or nuts and seeds.
NOTE: I really like adding lemon juice to this recipe also - 2-3 Tbsp fresh, it ends up tasting like lemon meringue pie!! Sooooo good!!

If you have to have a late night snack, prepare ahead of time and embrace it with intention & mindful choices!