This winter, every morning at work, at about 9:30am, I'll get a serious case of The Munchies, and I mean serious. If a mug of tea won't quell them, I have a few options. I usually choose to ignore it and hold out till lunch sometime after 11, typically closer to 12. Another option is to break into my lunch early and munch on half of whatever side I packed. The last option is The Snack Closet at work, where, for just a few nickels, I can get crackers or chips to tide me over. If I eat lunch early or eat part of my lunch early, so have a smaller lunch, the Munchies hit in full force again in the afternoon. In the afternoon, I almost always turned to the Snack Closet, and this is not-so-great because the snacks are not-so-healthy. I can do better.
Lately I've found a solution! In my lunch, I'll pack healthy munchable stuff- baby carrots, celery, apples, etc. What I'm really craving is something to crunch, and the crunchy fruits and veggies fit the bill just as well as the chips and crackers. The fruits & veggies, I've noticed, fill me up better, so I stay full and am actually getting nutrients, instead of just the junk in the prepackaged snacks. I'm also not spending
An even better solution would be to eat a good breakfast. I used to bring oatmeal to fix at work, but I found I still wanted to munch (on something crunchy and munchable) mid-morning, so it didn't solve my problem.
Do you get the munchies? What satisfies you?
5 comments:
Knowing that my lunch was full of carrots and celery would probably dissuade me from trying to eat it early. :-p
Regarding eating a good breakfast, I've found that the days I eat breakfast are the days that I get hungry earlier. It's not very healthy, but I typically avoid breakfast in order to not get hungry for lunch too soon. So, I don't get munchies, but I also don't generally eat "the most important meal of the day."
I'm the same way about breakfast- I've heard it kick-starts the metabolism earlier in the day, resulting in being hungry for lunch earlier, because your body starts burning calories earlier.
Munchies... yes, I do get them- often. ;)
Right now I'm craving snack mix. Which is a problem, seeing as I can't get it here, or make it. Lately I've been eating a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!
Try throwing a handfull of granola ontop of your oatmeal after it's cooked and fixed to your taste. It will give it the extra crunch but also hold you better. You can make the granola yourself too. It is supposed to be much better tasting than store bought stuff.
You should add in some protein for your mid morning snack. I recommend a hard boiled egg or some peanut butter with your celery. Or a handful of almonds. I always find that I am still hungry after snacks unless I eat something with protein :)
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