When you’re hungry, you might reach for a bag of chips or a box of cookies. Before you know it, you’ve eaten every snack in the package. Or maybe you’re a bit more careful with snacking, but you still consume more ice cream and fries than you would like to. Instead of forgoing the snack altogether, turn East for some treats that can help to keep your stomach both full and lean.
Soup
In Asian countries, many people eat soup with all of their meals, but you could try soup between meals instead. That doesn’t mean you should go to the store and stock up on the soup that has tons of sodium, hamburger meat and macaroni and cheese in it. You can learn recipes for making your own soups at home. Doing so allows you to control the amount of salt, and you can also dice up vegetables and lean meats, such as chicken.
Salads with Ginger Dressing
When you go out for sushi or Asian cuisine, you probably enjoy the little salad with ginger dressing that comes with your meal. Instead of just waiting until you dine out, start to make this salad at home. You don’t need to snack on a cupcake while you watch your favorite show. Make your own ginger dressing, or buy it from the store. Toss it with some greens, and you’ll have a crunchy snack that will fill you up.
Sushi
When you want to pick up a snack on your way home from work, think about getting a sushi roll. The raw fish is quite lean, and many sushi restaurants are looking for ways to make their products even healthier. For example, you can select brown rice instead of white rice. Also, you could choose to have sashimi, which does not have any rice at all. A little bit of rice is not bad though, especially if you are coming from eating potato chips for a snack every day.
Vegetables
Chopping up some vegetables is a great way to get nutrients in and to fill you up. Crunching on vegetables also generally takes longer than shoveling cookies into your mouth, so you are likely to fill up that way too. You can also purchase some low-fat vegetable dip from the grocery store, or you can make your own with low-fat sour cream or cream cheese and dill or other spices.
Seeds
Just like vegetables, these little guys take longer to eat than some of the more unhealthy foods that you are used to eating for snacks. Whether you like to munch on sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds, you are sure to find plenty of flavor. Also, you can find some creative purposes for the seeds, like blending them into shakes or smoothies.Green
Tea
As you may already know, thirst can sometimes masquerade as hunger. When you are actually thirsty, you end up eating and eating. Instead, you can fill your cravings with green tea. When you drink green tea, you may just begin to feel your body growing more purified. Also, you could cool down green tea and blend it with some ice and low fat dairy to have a tasty treat for a hot day.
Shrimp
Having an entire fish filet is probably not want you want to do for a snack, but you could purchase some shrimp at the store. When you feel a craving coming out, take some out of the bag and cook them up with a little bit of seasoning. They are healthy for you, and since they remind you of a meal, they may help to keep you full for a longer period of time.
Nuts
When you go to the grocery store, perhaps you passed over the nut aisle because you thought they were all the same. However, nuts actually come in a great array of varieties. You can enjoy a spicy mix of nuts, or you can purchase pistachios for a smoother and richer flavor. Try mixing them with seeds and dried fruit for an explosion of flavor that satisfies your snacking tooth.
Fruit
Fruit is also an important part of the Asian diet. You can try dried fruit mixed in with nuts or on its own, but you can also just eat some good old fashioned fruit. Cut up a few pieces and have them with yogurt if the fruit itself isn’t enough to satisfy you. If you’ve tried some of the other blender recipes, you can give fresh fruit a try the next time you make a smoothie.
Lettuce Wraps
While lettuce wraps are not uniquely Asian, they do spring from the eastern desire to eat more vegetables and to avoid wrapping sushi in rice all of the time. If you love to snack on meats and cheeses, you can make them a little bit healthier by avoiding the bread. Roll them up in lettuce, and top with your favorite low-fat dressing.
Dried Fish
Perhaps you cannot imagine consuming a dried fish, but you won’t know if it works for you unless you try it. You can find dried fish or dried squid at some stores, and you will probably have better luck if you go to an Asian food store. These snacks are great because they are crunchy and have that salty flavor, but they are not the same as potato chips. You may even find that you want to use these foods in your major recipes.
Mochi Ice Cream
While ice cream does not qualify as a health food, you can look into mochi ice cream because it usually comes in smaller serving sizes. Instead of getting a tremendous ice cream sundae from your local ice cream shop, you can get a small piece of mochi. Indulging in this snack after dinner can help to satisfy your sweet tooth.Not only should you look to Asian inspired foods, but you should also look to their eating habits. They tend to consume significantly smaller portions than Americans do, and they also tend to favor vegetables over meat on their plates. Following this habit can help you to consume the correct number of calories. Also, consider eating with chopsticks once in awhile. Doing so will help you to take in less food at once, which can slim down your waist line.