We all have come across the scientific warning that indulging yourself in late-night snacks can be a one-way ticket to insomnia, bad eating habits, and weight gain. As the clock chimes midnight and your stomach start rumbling, you will eventually follow your guts and choose some most unhealthy snack to satisfy your hunger. Now the more significant challenge is to figure out what you can eat that is tasty, quick, healthy, and won’t cause you to gain some extra pounds. However, some light yet nutrient-rich snacks under 200 calories would generally be adequate for midnight if you are starving. Rather than resigning yourself and raiding the kitchen for consuming whatever is leftover and eating it by the light of the refrigerator, so for your health concern, we bring you the list of top 10 healthy night snacks you should prefer whenever you are hungry.
Contents
Tart Cherries
Tart cherries and their juice have proven to contain melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone. These cherries contain many benefits like protecting conditions related to inflammation like arthritis and heart diseases, and they also offer anti-inflammatory benefits. With health benefits, tart cherries also have many benefits like phytochemical Procyanidin B-2, which protects the amino acid tryptophan present in our blood, used for melatonin. 40gr of dried tart cherries or 240ml of real tart cherry juice contain about 140 calories.
Banana with Almond Butter
Bananas are one of those fruits that are well known to be highly rich in serotonin, some of which are converted to melatonin by our body. When we talk about almonds or almond butter, they are quite a good source of vitamin E, magnesium, healthy fats, and also supply some melatonin. One small ripe banana dipped in 16 grams, or one tablespoon of almond butter contains about 165 calories.
Kiwis
Kiwis are known to be nutritious and figure-friendly. Two ripped kiwis contain about 90 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 190% of RDI (recommended daily intake) of vitamin C. They also contain a good amount of serotonin, which helps an individual sleep faster, and it also curbs appetite.
Pistachio
Pistachios are scientifically proven to contain melatonin, a sleeping promoting components. However, every plant-based food naturally contains this component, but few of them contain it as much as pistachio does. Twenty-eight grams or 1 ounce of the shelled statue contains about 160 calories and approximately 6.5 mg of melatonin. The recommended amount of melatonin to 2 8 sleep is 0.5-5mg.
Protein Smoothie
It has been proven that eating a protein-rich snack before going to bed can help muscle repair and slow down age-related muscle loss with regular exercises. Smoothies are one of the best and tastiest ways to intake protein-rich milk before going to bed. Blend about 250 ml (8 ounces) of low-fat milk with 110gr (2/3 cup) for Frozen pineapple, which will add a tropical treat to your smoothie. The best protein-rich smoothie would contain about 160 calories. Milk has proven to be rich in tryptophan, an amino acid that makes melatonin and serotonin, which provides aid in sleep, and so does pineapple.
Goji Berries
These red and orange sweet-tart berries contain a rich supply of antioxidants and carotenoids. These berries also include a small amount of melatonin, a component that provides add to your sleep. A scientific experiment where participants drank about 4 ounces, which is about 120 ml of real Goji berries juice and a placebo beverage for two weeks. The study proved that more than 80% of people reported improvements in their sleep quality, and about 70% of them found it easier to wake up. About 50% of them reported that they feel less tired, were individuals who were drinking placebo beverages showed no such results or benefit. However, more rigorous studies are required to prove these sleep benefits, but these berries are nutrient-rich and simple snacks anyway. About 40 grams of dried Goji berries contain about 150 calories.
Crackers and Cheese
Crackers and cheese are a kind of snack that offers whole grain benefits, which is a perfect blend of carbs and proteins, which provide consistency in blood sugar level. According to the sleep perspective, combining a good source of tryptophan like cheese and carb-rich food like crackers makes this component highly available to your brain. It means that these components will help make melatonin and serotonin, which provide aid to your sleep. 16 gram of whole wheat crackers with 28 gram of cheddar cheese contains about 150 calories.
Hot Cereals
Hot cereals not only make a perfect breakfast, but it also makes a perfect midnight snack. Hot and whole-grain cereals are considered to be the best source of fiber. However, they are considered to be a better choice than cold and refined food. You can also add whole grain rice or cooked barley into the hot cereals and milk and dried fruit, nuts, and cinnamon topping. Apart from satisfying your hunger, Barley rice and oats are among the most natural sources of melatonin. One hundred seventy-five grams of cooked oatmeal in average water contains about 124 calories.
Yogurt
Yogurt is an amazing calcium source, well known for keeping your bones strong. Apart from keeping your bones, strong calcium is also linked with better sleep. Calcium present in milk contains amino acid tryptophan, which is used to make melatonin. Greek yogurt is also high in protein and especially in protein casein. Many preliminary studies have shown that consuming casein protein at night can reduce hunger the next morning. 170 gram of non-fat yogurt has about 94 calories. Mixing in any berries would add 42 calories more.
Eggs
Eggs are among the most amazing and versatile food items that can be used in various snakes, clearly depending upon how much time and effort you want to put in it. For example, you can put a few eggs (hard-boiled) in your fridge for a healthy snack, or you can also prepare egg salad with cheese crackers. Many egg muffin recipes of scrambled egg (grain-free) can be stored and reheated later in a microwave for a quick and healthy snack. One egg contains about 72 calories, 6 grams of hunger-satisfying protein, and 8mg of tryptophan.
Conclusion
If you are truly hungry at night or rather bored with stress, having a snack with less than 200 calories will not add any pound to your weight. Minimum processed food like tart cherries, goji berries, bananas, crackers, edamame, pistachio, eggs, and Greek yogurt are some tasty, easy, and healthy midnight snacks. As discussed, some of this food also contain melatonin, which is a supportive sleep component, along with serotonin, tryptophan, calcium, and magnesium. The most important and crucial thing is keeping a healthy snack in your hand when hungry. Don’t be too willing to go to any store or your closest fast food drive for an unnatural snack with high calories before you go to bed.
