You should snack, a lot. During the day you should eat approximately 200 calories every 2 to 4 hours, both for health and productivity. If you let your blood sugar get too low, you could be on your way to some serious binge eating and desperate snack choices.
In fact, 90% of your overeating could probably have been avoided if you ate a little before you got hungry. But you don't plan to snack, so you overeat. Then what happens? Grogginess, sleepiness and the inevitable productivity plummet. Your response to said grogginess? Candy, sweets, coffee, and other quick fixes that cause quick blood sugar highs only to be followed by lower lows. The cycle continues forever until you actually go to sleep. Regular, planned snacking can avoid all this.
So how to we snack? Clearly we have to make some smart choices and they don't have to include baby carrots and diced apples. A snack should meet some physical needs (keeping our blood sugar from getting too low) and some mental needs (i.e. Brain Food!).
So we need snacks that meet the following 4 criteria: - It must have a low Glycemic Index. The higher the GI, the quicker your blood glucose levels will rise. If your blood sugar gets too high, your body releases insulin to bring it down. This makes you tired and hungry again right after you just ate. Lower carbs, more fat and fiber (to slow absorption) will mean snacks with a lower GI.
- It must be filling. Ever take a pill in the morning and as soon as you turn around you can't remember if you took it or not? You don't want a snack like that.
- It must be interesting to your mouth. Your mouth likes contrasts: sweet and sour. crunchy and chewy. We want a snack that uses this.
- Ideally our snack is self-regulating. That means that we won't eat too much of it. This one is tougher, and we won't always find something that has this quality. In those cases we have to practice the dreaded art of self control.
Stumped for ideas? Here are 5 snacks (in no particular order) that fit that criteria and that you're probably not eating: - Spicy Nuts.
Now regular nuts meet our A, B and C requirements. They're crunchy and interesting and full of fat, fiber and protein. But if you had a trough of them at the office, you'd be buying new pants weekly. That's why I like spicy peanuts, they're self regulating. You can only eat as many as you can handle. I like Ass Kickin' Peanuts myself.
As an added bonus, snacking on these all day really builds up your tolerance for heat. So the next time you and your brother go out for Thai food you can make him look like a total wimp (I hate my brother).
- Homemade Salsa and Tortilla Chips.
Tortilla chips with any dip are crunchy, creamy and low on the GI. Salsa is the best choice for a dip because it has the highest flavor/nutrition ratio and because when you make a batch it's good for a week. You can pack it up and take it to work, unlike guacamole, which might make it to the table before it turns brown.
And I say homemade because it's better, cheaper and super easy. I use the Alton Brown salsa recipe (halve that unless you're a pro linebacker) and I buy bulk tortillas from the supermarket and fry them up in some corn oil. In about 10 minutes I have a bag of chips at 1/6 the cost and they're restaurant quality.
- Deviled Eggs.
Boiled eggs have the same benefits, but deviled eggs bring a little more flavor to the mouth party (yeah, I said that). They taste great, they're filling and they have 0 carbs which means they don't even register on the GI. I would call them self regulating because they are not easily packed and transported.
- Half a Toasted Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwhich.
A whole sandwich is a bit too much for a snack, but a half is perfect. The peanut butter is the key part here, it's got enough fat, protein and fiber to keep the GI low. The honey provides a nice sweetness with fewer calories (sugar is only 80% as sweet as honey) and it won't create the purple slurm on one side of your sandwich like jelly will.
Don't skip the toasting part though. The toast has a crunchy outside, chewy inside thing that makes this snack interesting; remember that's important.
- Homemade Popcorn.
This is my favorite. It's pure fiber and carbohydrate and it's GI isn't too high. It tastes great and it has the most interesting mouth feel (I'm telling you, that's important) of any snack. It's perfectly healthy if you don't add butter and it's not too bad if you use a healthier olive oil butter spread. It keeps great for a day or so and if you haven't eaten it by then (why would you not eat it by then?) throw it in a bowl with milk and sugar. Popcorn is the original cereal.
And if you make it yourself (don't buy those overpriced bags of microwave popcorn with carcinogenic imitation butter) it's practically free. It literally costs pennies per gallon if you pop it in a wok on your stove.
Almost free, tasty and healthy. What more could you want? Huh? You want more? 5 isn't enough for you? Fine, whatever. Here is a 6th:
- Bonus: Diced Apple with Lime.
This is big in Mexico and it's a great way to make an apple a little tastier. Just dice it up real fine and squeeze a lime or lemon on top. The sour gives a great contrast to the earthy, sweet flavor of the apple. It also stops the apple from turning brown so you can dice it at home and throw it in a zip lock for work.
Snacking is an important part of your day but you have to snack smart. Look for things that have a low GI (fat and fiber) and always
plan to snack. It's thinking that you won't eat anything between breakfast and lunch that leaves you standing in front of the candy machine at 10:30 in the morning, starting a cycle that's going to ruin your day.
译文:
5种零食让你击碎午后的倦感
你应该吃很多零食.在一天之中,为了自身的健康和工作效率,每到2至4小时,你都要摄入将近200卡路里的食物.如果你让你的血糖过低,你可能就要”大吃大喝”,并迫切的选择一些零食.实际上，如果在你觉得饿之前吃一点东西的话，90%的饮食过量就可以被避免。
但是你并没把吃零食列入计划，所以你会吃得过量。然后会发生什么呢？倦感，睡意和不可避免的工作效率的大幅下降。你对于所谓疲倦感的回应是什么呢？糖果，甜点，咖啡和其他有效的食物，可使血糖迅速升高，但随之而来的是血糖降到比之前更低的水平。规律的，有计划地吃零食可以避免这一切。
我们怎么计划零食？很显然，我们要做出些明智的选择，那些食物不必含有给儿童食用的胡萝卜或切成块的苹果。这种零食要符合一些生理要求（避免我们的血糖过低）和精神需要。
所以我们需要达到以下4种标准的小吃：
A 它必须有较低的血糖指数。血糖指数越高，你的血糖就升高的越快。如果你的血糖过高，你的身体就分泌出胰岛素来降低它。这就在你刚刚吃过东西后就感到累和饿。少一些碳水化合物，多一些脂肪和纤维（来减缓吸收）意味着一个低血糖指标的零食计划。
B 一定要有饱腹感。是否曾有过在早上吃了一粒药片，但你一转过身就不记得是否吃过药的经历？你不会希望一顿零食就像一粒药片吧。
C 它必须合你的胃口。你的胃喜欢食物的味道有差别：甜的和酸的。易咀嚼的和有嚼劲的。我们希望一顿零食也符合这一要求。
D 理想的零食是自律。这意味着你不会吃太多零食。这一条要求要困难得多，我们不会总找到一些事有这点要求。在这种情况下，我们必须把自律付诸实践，虽然那很难做到。
被以上的主意难住了？这里有5种符合以上要求但你不太会去食用的食物：
1 有辣味的坚果
普通的坚果符合我们A，B和C的要求。他们易嚼，味道也不错，也富含脂肪，纤维和蛋白质。但如果你在办公室里吃了一桶坚果，那你一个星期就得新买条裤子了。这就是为什么我喜欢辛辣的坚果的原因，他们可以帮助你自律。你有多么不怕辣就可以吃多少。我本人就很喜欢辣得要命的花生。
以这些作为你一天的零食可以带给你额外的好处，那就是造就了你对辣的忍耐程度。所以改天你和你的兄弟去吃泰国菜，你就可以让他像个胆小鬼眼巴巴地看着你（我讨厌我的兄弟）。
2 自制的蕃茄酱汁和玉蜀黍饼条
玉蜀黍饼条很易嚼,富含乳脂,血糖指标又低。番茄酱汁对喜好品尝的人是最好的选择，因为它口感/营养比例最高，如果你一次性做了一些也可以保存一个礼拜之久。你可以把它装起来带到办公室去，不像鳄梨酱在被端去餐桌以前就变质了。
我说的自制是因为这样更好，更便宜，而且超级简单。我用的是the Alton Brown salsa recipe，我从超市买来大量的玉蜀黍饼，并用玉米油来炸。只要10分钟我就有了一带子和餐馆同样水准的薯条了，而花费只是去餐厅的六分之一。
3 蘸了很多芥末的鸡蛋
煮熟的鸡蛋有着相同的好处，但蘸了很多芥末的鸡蛋更有味道，更符合人们的胃口。他们尝起来很棒，很能让你有饱腹感，他们没有碳水化合物的成分，这就意味着在含血糖指标这类食物中找不到这种鸡蛋的影子。我也把他们当作是自律的帮手，因为他们不易打包和运输。
4 半个加了花生黄油和蜂蜜的烤三明治
一整块三明治对于一顿零食来说太多了,但半块就不多也不少。花生黄油则是它的关键所在，它含有足够的脂肪，蛋白质和纤维来使6血糖指数保持低水平。蜂蜜提供了一种甜美的口感，卡路里也不高（糖只有蜂蜜甜度的80%）也不会像果冻那样只在三明治的一边粘上很多。
但不要跳过烤这个步骤。烤三明治能让三明治的外面清脆易嚼，里面又很有嚼劲，可以使这顿小吃有滋有味。所以记住这很重要。
5 自制爆米花
它是我的最爱。它含有纯正纤维和碳水化合物,血糖指数也不高。尝起来不错，口感也是零食中数一数二的。它绝对健康只要你不加黄油，如果你选择相对更健康的橄榄油则会更好。爆米花能保存几天，如果你一下子没有吃完，就把它装进大碗里再加上牛奶和糖，它可是纯正的谷类食物。
如果你尝试自己做那基本上不需要花钱（不要去买那些有致癌的油放在微波炉里炸出来的价格又高的爆米花）。实际上，如果在你自己家炉子上炸的话，一加仑爆米花只花了你几毛钱。
几乎不要钱的花费，好吃的味道和健康的成分，你还能有什么更多的要求了吗？难道这还不够吗？好吧，下面介绍第六种食物：
浇了莱姆汁的苹果块
这种做法在墨西哥很常见,它是能让苹果口感更好的一种好方法。把苹果切成方块，在上面挤上莱姆汁或柠檬汁。汁的酸味和苹果的甜美的口味形成了对比，同时它也能防止苹果氧化，所以你能在家把它切成块然后装进袋子里带到办公室去。
零食是你一天中一个重要的环节，但你的选择要明智。选择那些血糖指数低的食物，并且有计划地进行。如果你在早饭和中饭间不吃任何东西，那这只会让你上午十点半就在糖果机前买来糖果，这会破坏你一天的饮食计划，所以这是值得我们留意的地方。