7 Hacks To Stop Yourself From Eating All Your Quarantine Snacks In One Sitting
by Jenny Jiles
Between keeping the copious piles of laundry out of sight in our Zoom meetings, to pretending we “know things” in front of our kids as we pretend to homeschool them, now we’ve got to deal with being surrounded with salty, crunchy non-perishables during the single most stressful time in most of our lives.
We’re all in somewhat different versions of quarantine, depending on where we’re located, and who we’re quarantined with for hours, days, weeks, gulp, months. For some of us, figuring out how to not eat all the snacks is a priority because:
We literally are being told not to enter a grocery store.
Our budgets are tight and in flux.
We can’t fit into our newly-purchased Instagram impulse loungewear.
Here are a few new ideas to help you limit your snack habit, if you want help with that. If you’re golden on that topic, can you call me and tell me your secret?
1. Plan your snacks.
Just like you plan meals during the day, plan your snacks. Maybe you’ve got a mid-morning veggie and dip snack around 11am, and maybe a chocolate mocha smoothie around slump hour at 4pm. And definitely make sure to have a healthy snack ready for the witching hour of all snacking, 9pm. Here’s a tip for that one: tea. Ya, not sexy. But warming, soothing, and once you’re drinking it, it usually hits the spots.
And a few snack treats you can buy on Amazon right now:
Rice Cakes with granola butter and banana
Mary’s Gone Crackers or sliced cucumbers with some zhoozhed-up hummus
Crunchy Chickpeas and apple slices
2. Put things on a board.
It seems dumb, but it helps. It does. Load up a board with a few handfuls of the potato chips AND some healthier items you maybe don’t crave as much, like celery, carrots, and sunflower seeds. Then, throw some dip on there like hummus or guac— whatever you can get your hands on right now. If we eat things straight from the bag, we eat so much more. If we dole out a few treats, with something more crunchy and salty alongside it, we can limit our gluttony.
3. Limit sugar in the AM.
Sugary products are usually filled with empty calories that cause us to feel hungrier and store excess fat. So, if you’ve started your day with sugary cereal or the ubiquitous quarantine banana bread, you’ve missed the opportunity to have a nutrient dense meal (meaning, loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein) to begin your day.
Instead, try to plan breakfasts that are simple and filling. Scrambled eggs are always surprisingly satiating, but if you need a break from the constant routine of cooking every single meal and cleaning 80 dishes, you can prep some incredibly satisfying Chocolate Chia Pudding at night for breakfast the next day. And if you’ve fully run out of fun, filling breakfast ideas? This 5-minute avocado toast with a poached egg always does the trick.
4. Fill up.
Protein, fiber and fat help fill you up and keep you satisfied. When your meals are lacking those components, you’ll feel emptier and in need of a pantry raid. Try snacking on filling whole foods like beans, brown rice, nuts and seeds, eggs, avocados, and olive oil. You can serve these as snacks alongside a handful of potato chips, or you can add them to your snacks to make them more filling, like slathering some almond butter on that boxed cookie.
And cook with these filling ingredients as much as possible. If you can find avocados, put them on everything. Throw some steamed baby potatoes in a salad— potatoes last forever in your pantry, and they will make your salads about 47% more filling. Meals featuring nutrient-dense whole foods and not just empty carbs and sugars will help fill you up and keep you from snacking throughout the day.
5. Move.
Usually, if you’re craving a snack, it’s probably not because you’re hungry. It’s because you’re bored and you want an excuse to walk into another room and do something. If you just audibly laughed at me suggesting you do squats instead of eating chips, try this simple 1-minute exercise at the top of every hour for one day only. It’s shocking to realize how much we eat from boredom.
6. Bored? Make tea.
Yes, tea again. Sometimes we’re not actually hungry, we’re just thirsty. When I’m bored and feeling snacky, I’ll make a tea or another homemade elixir. Maybe it’s just a simple chamomile, ginger or mint tea. Or a reishi hot chocolate drink with a little bit of honey, which is like a chocolate bar (not really), but lasts longer, is calming, hydrating and has good nutrients. Or maybe I want an earthy golden mylk with some turmeric and ginger.
At the very least, putting some freshly sliced fruit (lemon, lime, strawberries, oranges— whatever you happen to have in the fridge right now) in a glass of sparkling water can feel a bit like a treat, which can curb my cravings long enough to get me to my next meal.
7. Want it? Make it.
When all else fails, implement this tactic. If you want French fries/potato chips or a chocolate cake, you need to make it. This does three things:
You’ll actually learn how to make something from scratch
Your sugary, salty cravings will probably be made with better, simple ingredients.
You know the trouble you went through to make it and clean it up, so you’ll think twice before wanting that cake again. We have a little more time at home now, and if you make a homemade layer cake, and eat it all, this wellness coach thinks that is absolutely wonderful.
Also, it’s okay to not feel totally yourself right now. It’s okay if you’re super productive and that’s how you’re coping. It’s okay if you’re just starring at the wall and binging on Netflix all day, along with your kids. There is no need to add expectations or judgements onto yourself or others right now. Take care of you.
Jenny is a writer, cooking coach, and host of Cliffs Notes Kitchen, where she shows how simple, bite-sized shifts with minimal effort, can create lasting changes in your health. You can find more of her articles here.
