Given it’s that notorious April 20th today, I’m going to go out on a limb here and share some tips I have for healthy snacking when you have the munchies.
Note: I am in no way advocating illegal use of marijuana, though here in Florida, it’s medical use is legal and totally therapeutic for its long list of benefits.
One not always appreciated side-effect of marijuana use is that it sends your appetite through the roof! This can certainly derail your weight loss and weight maintenance efforts, and certainly cause other health issues if you are not careful with your choice of snacks. First, I will give you some smart snack ideas and then I will go into tips I have learned to curb your appetite when you have the munchies!
Snacks I Like to Eat When I Have the Munchies
Recipes in text below!
- Carrots, celery, cucumber, peppers, broccoli with one of the following dips
- Oil-free hummus (save on lots of calories by removing the oil)
- Ranch or onion dip made with plain nonfat Greek yogurt and a packet of Ranch seasoning or onion dip seasoning
- Rick’s black bean dip – light for a bean dip and full of fiber!
- Plain non-fat Greek yogurt with vanilla protein powder mixed in and berries
- Fermented vegetables like pickles and kimchi
- Tomato, basil, mozzarella salad with balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper
- Quality dark chocolate. One of my favorites are: Endangered Species Almonds, Sea Salt & Dark Chocolate
- Popcorn (plain popped, not the butter stuff you buy at the store in a bag) – topped lightly with olive oil spray and salt or try spraying lime juice and topping with my Homemade Spicy Nacho Dorito Seasoning
- Grapes or cherries
- Banana and peanut butter (portion 1 tbsp, peanut butter is calorie dense)
- Strawberries and whipped cream
- Bean tortilla chips or Quinoa chips with salsa or Tasty Guacamole (chips & guac are calorie dense regardless, so portion)
- Pineapple or peaches and low fat cottage cheese
Tips for Snacking When You Have the Munchies
How to Snack Healthy When You Have the Munchies
- Plan ahead.
If you have the discipline, planning your snacks beforehand (portioning and preparing) and placing them immediately in view and away from the other snacks helps a ton. Cut up those veggies and make a homemade dip (options for this below)! Avoid buying problem snacks in the first place, and/or put them where you won’t easily see them. Those award centers in your brain light up 💡 when you see potato chips!
- Preload with low calorie high fiber foods (ie. veggies).
Choose snacks that are high in fiber and low in calories coupled with some lean protein! I like to “pre-load” my munchie snack session with lots of celery and carrots. Also, take note… veggies are seemingly much more enjoyable when all those senses are alive. I have legitimately enjoyed eating sliced tomatoes with balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper! This is a good time to take advantage of your desire to eat to fill in any gaps in your veggie intake for the day.
- Portion your food out and put the rest of it away.
Don’t you dare take the whole bag of your snack to the couch! This is a recipe for disaster. You will likely fall prey to mindless eating. Portion out your snack and/or put it in a small bowl and then put the rest of it away, preferably out of view.
- Choose high quality foods for your more calorie dense snacks. Save these for last.
Portion calorie dense snacks extra carefully. Higher quality desserts like dark chocolate from a good company (not just Nestle or Hershey’s) are satisfying in small doses! A couple squares of good dark chocolate should satisfy you when eaten nice and slow. These foods I make sure to savor like a fine wine – with full awareness. Poor quality snacks may not hit the spot and are often manufactured to leave you wanting more. Click here for an infographic that will help with overeating, and touches on the topic of manufactured deliciousness. Also, try and get all of your low calorie, fiber dense snacks in first!
- Experiment with stalling and skipping a meal when you’re not hungry.
Try putting off indulging in your munchies as long as possible. Your high won’t last forever. The shorter of a duration you are indulging, the less likely you will go overboard. You may also choose to experiment with skipping the following meal. I find that if I have a lot of snacks one evening, it’s likely I won’t be hungry for breakfast the next day. For this reason, I often skip breakfast. Weight loss and maintenance boils down to using the energy you are consuming (or creating a deficit). Some people won’t make healthy choices if they skip a meal though. So whether or not skipping a meal and/or shifting your eating schedule is a good choice for you is personal and dependent on many variables. Comment below if you have any questions about this!
I hope these tips and healthy munchie snack ideas are helpful for you! I want you to be able to reap all the benefits that medical marijuana has to offer as well as be able to obtain or sustain a healthy body weight! Have any questions or comments? Feel free to leave it all in the comments below. Happy Healthy Snacking! 🍿
