Is Eating Snacks at Late Night Good or Bad for You?

Are you a late-night snacker?

Is your work not letting you sleep early?

Or perhaps you are a student preparing for an upcoming examination.

Or the Soccer World cup is keeping you up late at night.

Well, whatever your reasons are? Late-night snacks should be chosen very carefully else it can sabotage your weight loss effort and instantly put you off the fitness track.

So, what are the healthiest snacks to munch on late at night?

Let us find out.

I have identified the foods most commonly eaten by us late at night in India and have ranked them from worst to best.

After taking into consideration various factors like how fast they get digested in the body, their nutritional value, etc.

Why you shouldn’t eat late at night, What can happen if you eat late-night snacks 

• May lead to weight gain
• May affect digestion
• May disturb sleep
• May slow down your metabolism
• May cause headache

I have categorized them into two categories, the worst and the best.

The Worsts – Biscuits, Namkeens, Wafers, Chocolates, etc

Category 1 includes the foods which we have been used to eating late at night.

It includes Biscuits, Namkeen, Kurkure, Lays, Wafers, Maggi, Chocolates and whatever else catches the eye.

If you are even slightly serious about your fitness goals, these are the food items you should not even touch late in the night.

Most of these are a simple form of carbohydrates deep-fried in oil.

At night, our body is not physically active and most of these carbohydrates remain unutilized and are ultimately get stored in the form of fat.

Whereas Lay’s, Kurkure, Wafers and other Namkeen items are extremely high in sodium, on the other hand, Biscuits, Chocolates, and sweets are mostly sugar and maida.

These food items are anyway unhealthy but consuming them late at night may prove disastrous for you.

Eating any of these late in the night will make you put on extra weight, feel bloated and you will end up repenting in the morning.

So, are there any guilt-free options to snack on late at night? Thankfully Yes.

Category 2 includes the best late-night snack options.

The Best – Homemade Popcorn, Lotus seeds, Murra (Puffed Rice)

Starting with one of my favourites is

Homemade Popcorn

Take 1/4th cup of Popcorn kernels and put them in a cooker. Cover the cooker with a lid or a plate. Let the flame be on the lowest. The corn will start popping up in no time.

One full bowl of homemade popcorn has only 70 calories. It is tasty and filling at the same time.

Avoid making Act II popcorn which is 5 times higher in calories loaded with saturated fats and sodium.

Lotus Seeds

Phool Makhane or Lotus seeds is another low calorie, low glycemic, light, and crunchy snack option ideal for late-night munching.

One big bowl of dry roasted Phool Makhane has only 90 calories, 18 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of protein.

Puffed Rice

One more option which is widely used in India is Puffed Rice (Murra)

One cup of puffed rice has only 56 calories. Since it is so low in calories one can easily consume a big bowl of puffed rice at night and still stay strong on the weight loss journey.

Unsalted Dry Roasted Peanuts

One handful of unsalted dry roasted peanuts is another crunchy and healthy snack option to be consumed at night. 

Taking my attention away from the crunchy snacks is another delicious and healthy late-night snack option.

Chocolate Milk

Chocolate Milk, in one glass of toned milk, hot or cold. Add 1 teaspoon of natural unsweetened cocoa powder. You may sweeten it with 1 teaspoon of honey.

A complete meal in itself, an excellent source of slow-digesting Casein protein, milk is ideal before bed.

You can even have 1 bar of homemade dark chocolate with one glass of milk as a healthy late-night snack option. 

Oatmeal

Another milk-based option is Oatmeal. 1/4th cup of oats in 1 glass of hot milk will not only fill up your tummy but is also among the healthier late-night snack options. 

This oatmeal will provide 150 calories.

Peanut Butter Roti

The final late-night snack option that I have for you is Homemade Peanut Butter Roti.

Apply 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter over a medium-sized whole wheat chapati. Roll it and have it. Quick and healthy, this filling snack option is under 200 calories.

Make sure that you use natural peanut butter.

One good idea that I highly recommend is to have a Homemade Peanut butter. Add jaggery powder to sweeten it instead of sugar. Also, there will be no hydrogenated oils and additives present in the homemade peanut butter.

So, I hope this article helped you to identify the low calorie, healthy, crunchy, light and filling options for late-night snacking.

Although, late-night snacking isn’t highly recommended. But if your work demands so or you are actually feeling very hungry these snacks should be your go-to options.

Much better than the usual unhealthy snacks we mindlessly munch on.

It is also recommended that you drink a glass of water and wait for 15-20 minutes to check whether you are really hungry or just dehydrated.

So, Which late-night snack option did you like the most? Tell me in the comments below

I hope you found this blog to be helpful. If yes, then please let me know by giving your feedback in the comment and also do not forget to share.

Thank you so much for reading.