I was having a lovely chat with the lady today. We were chatting about balancing blood sugar levels and some of the best tactics to reverse Type 2 Diabetes. The kind of fun conversations I actually love to have. I recommended swapping meals and snacks to higher protein options.
She asked if Carrots and Hummus were a good option. It's a fair question. It's better than a bag of chips right? The carrots are a whole food and contain fibre. Hummus is made from mostly chickpeas and oil.
If only she could have seen my face. I wanted to hang my head in my hands. The reason being that I've been there.
I lived off carrots and hummus at university - thinking I was making a great choice. They didn't fill me up for long and I'd soon be reaching for something else. Because I thought they were so good and 'healthy' I also ate HEAPS of them. Because the protein in this snack is actually so low, it was an easy thing to do. I was overweight and couldn't change it. It was frustrating.
There is so much bad information out there about what constitutes a high protein snack.
The Macronutrients In Hummus
- If we look at the label below, we can see that Lisa's hummus contains 7g of protein per 100grams. So it is around 7% protein. Just 7%.
- There is 1.4g per serving (and most people should be having at least 20-30g protein to feel full).
- You can also see there is over 20% carbohydrates.
- Even though these are 'healthy' carbohydrates, they are still the most prominent macronutrient in this dip.
Why is a carbohydrate based snack potentially not great for our blood sugar?
Because our body can't really tell the difference between carbohydrates and sugar - they all turn to glucose. When our glucose levels spike quickly, when we eat mostly carbohydrates, they also tend to crash. This leaves us feeling hungrier and reaching for more.
When people eat a food containing carbohydrates, the digestive system breaks down the digestible ones into sugar, which enters the blood. As blood sugar levels rise, the pancreas produces insulin, a hormone that prompts cells to absorb blood sugar for energy or storage.
All carbohydrates that hit our bloodstream turn to glucose. If we aren't moving much and this glucose isn't soaked up by our muscles, it has to be processed by the liver. The storage mentioned above? Tends to be either in our existing or new fat cells. Our body isn't doing anything bad. It is just storing it for later.
Why Choose High Protein Snacks?
Because high protein snacks fill you up better than anything else. They will stop you from over eating or making bad choices at your next meal. They will keep your blood sugar incredibly stable compared to snacks that are mostly carbohydrate based.
Protein is also incredibly difficult to over eat. Consider trying to over eat chicken...or tuna. Compared to how easy it is to eat a lot of chips, chocolate.... or even hummus. Just me?
Let's look at some more filling and nutritious alternatives...
Some Easy High Protein Snack Alternatives
Bacon, Egg & Spinach Pots
- Boil some eggs
- Cook some bacon (whichever way you fancy)
- Throw it on top of some spinach/veggies (optional)
- Ensure you have 2 x Eggs & 2 x Bacon for a decent protein hit
- 25g Protein, 22g Fat, Carbohydrates (negligible)
Biltong (Homemade or Store Bought)
Dried beef snack. I'll be really honest here - you can make it at home and so let me know if you'd like Scott's recipe (it's really quite easy - especially if you have a biltong maker or air fryer) - but for the sake of this article I am going to say that you can buy this at most supermarkets.
Yes the bought stuff is high in sodium, so bear this in mind and probably don't make it a staple, but it is an INCREDIBLE high protein snack when you need one.
I recommend any of the brands by Canterbury Biltong which you can view here. The Jack Links stuff should be avoided.
- 27g Protein, 1.7g Fat, 2.7g Carbohydrates
Baked Eggs & Egg Cups
2 in 1 for ya...
- Keep it simple and just bake some eggs in a cupcake tray
- Make it more interesting by adding herbs and spices
- Wrap them in bacon if you fancy for an additional protein (and fat) hit
- Pack them with veggies if you like to up these nutrients
Eggs are 6g of Protein per egg. So I recommend eating a minimum of 2-3 for a meal or snack.
Biersticks & Salami Sticks
Another very lazy option. Yes, these are technically a processed meat, but some good biersticks out there contain 98% meat and just some salt and spices.
Again, I don't recommend them as a staple. They are processed and pretty high in salt, but they are a hell of a lot more protein dense than a lot of snack products out there.
These tend to be anywhere between 10-25g of Protein per serving.
Additional Options
- Cottage Cheese & Cucumber Sticks
- Tuna & Cucumber Slices
- Pork Crackling
- Unflavoured Greek Yoghurt & Berries
- Homemade Tzatziki (Greek Yoghurt, Cucumber, Garlic & Lemon Juice)
I hope you find these helpful. My aim first and foremost is to provide as much Free information as possible.
If you are sick of digging around the internet and social media for answers to losing weight, balancing blood sugar or getting cravings in check, get in touch and ask about how my programmes help.
Any questions on this topic, feel free to let me know.
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