What's your snacking personality

3 mins to read

Are you the type to nibble all the way through a movie? Or do you want a snack that's super satisfying? Perhaps you're a comfort eater who needs a sugar lift? Discover your snacking personality, along with the healthy bites that could become your secret weapons.

Weight management

The super-size snacker
Do you always pile plenty onto your plate? Do you love feeling full?

If you answered yes, you may be a super-size snacker.

Whether you love to feel full or simply love seeing your food piled high, you can snack smarter by choosing foods that are low in calories and contain lots of water and fibre.

“We know from research that you consume fewer calories and feel full on a bigger volume if you chose foods that are also low in calories – these foods are referred to as having a low energy density,” says professor and dietician Dr Clare Collins.

Snack ideas

Fill up with homemade soup in a cup – a tomato or vegetable-based soup (minus the potatoes, meat and cream) can be very satisfying. Use low salt or homemade stock if you can. Or, sip some tomato or vegetable juice.
Try home-popped popcorn without added oil or butter.
Pile your plate with crudités, such as carrot, celery, capsicum, tomato and cauliflower, and dip into a tomato salsa or low fat hummus.
Chill out with low-sugar cordial frozen into ice-block moulds, ice cubes or set as jelly.

"Other ways to trick yourself into thinking that you have had more to eat than you have actually had is by serving your snacks on a tiny plate and using smaller cutlery, for example, using a teaspoon to eat yoghurt,” Dr Collins said.

The sugar craver
Do you choose snacks as a pick-me-up? Do you favour quick fixes that are high in sugar or caffeine?

If you answered yes, you could be a sugar craver.

If you often find yourself ravenous for a quick energy fix, you've probably noticed that sugar eradicates this feeling, fast.

The trouble is the quick lift that comes with sugar is rapidly followed by a low as your body overcompensates in trying to normalise blood sugar. The resulting low blood sugar sends you in search of another fix and so the cycle continues.

According to Dr Collins, fruit is the solution. “Fruit is low in calories, sweet and refreshing. Plus, it requires lots of chewing so it can fill you up.”

Another good way to avoid sugar highs and lows is to choose high-fibre foods whenever you can. Go for whole grains because they take time for your body to digest and the sustained energy they release will help to keep you going.

Snack ideas

Enjoy any seasonal fruits.
Try a bowl of wholegrain cereal, such as porridge with banana or sultanas, for long-lasting energy.
Snack on a small salad of whole-wheat pasta or rice with vegies.
Crunch on some wholegrain toast with a little low fat spread and Vegemite or nut butter.
Dried fruit will give you a fantastically effective sugar hit. Try sweet peaches, apricots, prunes or cherries – but don’t overdo it. After all, you wouldn’t eat 6 peaches as a snack so why eat the equivalent dried? Drink plenty of water to help fill you up, too.
Sip on a mug of low-fat, low-sugar hot chocolate.
Try a pudding made with a low-fat digestive biscuit topped with a little low-fat cream cheese and piled high with berries.

The erratic eater
Are your meals unplanned? Do you feel ravenous and then gorge on whatever you can grab?

If you answered yes, you may be an erratic eater.

Hunger can make you reach for unhealthy snacks and can easily unravel your best-made plans. Eating regular meals plus high-fibre snacks that contain some protein can stave off hunger for the long haul and prevent binges.

Planning ahead may be the answer. So, stick with the program, stay close to your recommended daily target and don’t be tempted to slice and dice too many calories off your suggested plan.

Snack ideas

Always have breakfast – keep some wholemeal bread in the fridge or freezer at work if you just can’t find the time for a sit down brekkie at home.
Try some cereal with low fat milk – it takes seconds to get together.
Opt for a smoothie if you're on the go (if you buy one of these, check the calories and that you’re not overdoing the portion size and downing a colossal number of calories).

The distracted dieter
Do you find yourself wanting to munch when you’re watching TV or at the movies? Do you like snacks that keep your fingers busy?

If you answered yes, you could be a distracted dieter.

If you enjoy eating while you're doing something else, such as watching television, choose snacks that don’t pile on the calories. Low-calorie, high-fibre snacks, such as vegetables sticks, is ideal.

Go for foods that take some time to prepare, such as a small handful of nuts in their shell, melon or mango.

If you find you like to keep your hands busy or you eat to overcome your emotions, you may also find that your emotions have improved by the time that your snack is served.

Snack ideas