Best snacks before bedtime – If you have the habit of eating your dinner early, you may often feel the need to snack just before bedtime. Snacking is important to prevent from waking up in the middle of the night due to hunger cravings and disrupted sleep. However, it is essential to take care of unwanted weight gain. Hence it is important to choose light and healthy snacks to ease yours before bedtime hunger.
Healthy bedtime snack options for a good night’s sleep
Before bedtime snacks should be nutritious, healthy, low-fat and low in calories. If you have had your dinner early, and all you need is a pre-sleep snack, then there are several healthy options that will satisfy your hunger and are good for your health too.
1) Whole grain cereal
Whole grain cereal like bran flakes, oatmeal and corn are easy to digest and contain just about 200 calories or less per one large bowl. It is a light and healthy snack that you can opt for just before bedtime. Pour in a little milk for the extra protein and calcium.
2) Low-fat Greek yogurt
Yogurt
A cup of low-fat Greek yogurt containing about 100 calories is rich in protein and tryptophan. Yogurt has cooling properties that calm the stomach and relieve you from indigestion and heartburn. A cup of Greek yogurt before your bedtime nap will help you score a good night’s sleep.
3) Non-fat chocolate pudding
All of us love chocolate, don’t we?? But we shy away from chocolates fearing weight gain. However, non-fat low-calorie chocolate pudding goes down easy on your stomach. A single small serving of 1 cup contains just about 90 calories. So satisfy your hunger as well as taste buds.
4) Ham and Cheese roll up
Although the snack sounds heavy, ham and cheese rollup does not add up to more than 100 calories per serving. Cheese is rich in casein and ham is packed with tryptophan. This little bedtime snack may benefit your waistline too.
5) Whole grain crackers topped with kiwis and cottage cheese
This protein-carb combo lulls you to deep sleep. Cottage cheese is rich in protein which creates the snooze promoting amino acid tryptophan. Crackers contain carbs that make the tryptophan available to the brain.
6) Whole grain toast with almond butter
The latest research indicates that deficiency in minerals is linked to insomnia and disrupted sleep. Whole grain bread and almond butter contain magnesium and all those snoozes- promoting minerals that are required for a good night’s sleep.
Be careful of snacks that may seem tempting to eat but aren’t healthy for you. Make sure you choose low-fat low calories and unsweetened snacks to avoid weight gain. Always choose unsalted, unsweetened, and raw varieties and limit the serving size. Do not overeat as too much of anything is not too good. Ensure that you drink a full glass of water after every snack to ease digestion. If your dinner wasn’t enough for you or if you have had your meal too early, these bedtime snacks will keep your hunger at bay and promote good sleep.
