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May 14, 2008
Quick and Easy Hunger Busters
I've noticed that certain foods, very low calorie foods, seem to make hunger vanish. It's quite amazing really... I can be very hungry at about 10 am, have a wedge of Laughing Cow Light cheese, and like magic, my hunger vanishes. Here are my favorite quick hunger busters:
Laughing Cow Light cheese wedge, 35 calories
Slice of fat-free cheddar singles, 30 calories
Grape tomatoes, 27 calories per hundred grams
Cucumber, with peel, 15 calories per hundred grams (usually with a little No-Salt)
Pepperoncini, hot peppers in vinegar, 10 calories per 31 grams
Fat free cream cheese, two tablespoons, 30 calories
Fat free sour cream, two tablespoons, 20 calories
Salsa, most varieties, 15 - 25 calories for two tablespoons
Combinations of these also work brilliantly to combat unwanted hunger. For instance, I find a handful of grape tomatoes plus a Laughing Cow Light or a slice of fat-free cheddar really knocks out hunger, for a couple of hours.
What do all these things have in common? For me, I think it's the salty taste. I am a reformed/ing salt addict, and just a tiny bit of salt makes me feel like I'm satisfied. Something about lowfat and nonfat dairy is incredibly satisfying too... have others found that? Among the biggest innovations in my diet when I started CR was the inclusion of a whole lot of nonfat and lowfat dairy products. Makes all the difference!
Posted by april at May 14, 2008 9:24 AM
Comments
What great suggestions! We rarely have dinner before 8:00 and I'm sometimes really hungry when I first get home from work. On days like that, I want something virtually "instant". I find a Light Mini Babybel cheese (42 calories) and 2 Reduced Fat Wheat Thins (about 15 calories) with 1/4 apple or a couple of grape tomatoes does the job. Another hunger buster that works for me is 1/4 apple and 1 teaspoon (measured!) of low fat peanut butter. For me, it's not so much the salty taste as the mix of textures that convinces me I'm eating something "substantial". JD
Posted by: Judith at May 14, 2008 2:46 PM
I can completely relate to the salt = satisfying thing.
On those occasions when I start eyeing the fridge in between mealtimes, I open it up and take a little sip of the seriously low fat chicken broth I keep in there. Something about the cold saltiness just saps my craving (and perhaps it's the chickeny taste that fools my mind into thinking it's getting protein).
For me, grape tomatoes are a gift from the heavens. :)
...as are one or two strong olives, nibbled slowly. Hmm. I'm also noticing a cold food pattern.
The only nonfat dairy I have in my diet as of yet is nonfat Greek yogurt, mixed with extra protein from sugar-free whey isolate, every morning. I have noticed it completely tides me over until lunch, especially when I compare it to my old lower protein/way high fiber breakfasts. I smirk a bit at all this hype fiber gets nowadays for being THE weight-loss tool...
(sorry if this is difficult to read.. can't get the formatting to work)
Posted by: Victoria at May 14, 2008 5:25 PM
Sometimes I prepare squash and put it in the fridge so I can take a few bites when I am starved.
Posted by: mar at July 14, 2009 3:16 PM