That 3:00 p.m. Hunger Thing

Or 4:00 p.m. Or 5:00. And you’re stuck, and want to run outside and grab some chips. My solutions?

I know this sounds incredibly kindergarten-ish, but I often have carrots with me. On my person. In my fridge. I even stopped getting the peeled baby carrot kind because I found that they get slimy when you crumple them up and keep them refrigerated for a few weeks or so. Or that one little carrot on the top will have a bit of slimy sheen on its surface, maybe a little darker-colored, and you have to throw out the whole bag. So I hack a whole carrot into thirds. And maybe if I’ve got them, same with celery stalks too.

If that doesn’t float your boat, my latest favorite snack are those no-guilt Glenny’s Soy Crisps. The barbeque flavor beats potato chips for me, and I get some protein, fiber, folic acid, and almost no fat. The cheddar cheese flavor tastes the most artificial to me out of all the flavors, but it still satisfies a craving for junk food.

Fruit stands. Grab a banana, they’re only 25 cents outside, and fruit stands have pretty good fruit year round.

Almonds, cashews, peanuts. Frito Lay added a new “Nut Harvest” line of no preservatives-added, natural and sometimes sea salt seasoned nuts. While still just about as expensive as snack packages of whole nuts go in most stores, my whole theory was that since “gourmet” or other nuts aside from peanuts weren’t being produced on such a massive level as peanuts, they were unrightfully expensive, and hence overlooked. So I’m not complaining–maybe this is a start.

Make a batch of healthy muffins at the beginning of the week, and bring one with you each day. Or slices of a loaf. If you have a microwave around, a quick pop inside one of them for 10-15 seconds will bring a false 5 minutes or so of fresh-baked life back into the bread, so eat it up quick!