Protein-rich snacks for work?
Posted by lovinglife on Jul 06, 2010 · Member since Jun 2010 · 46 posts
I'm looking for ideas for protein-rich snacks to get through my LOOOOONG work day. I eat lunch around 12:30pm, but don't get out of work until 8pm. Makes for a long day and I often get a little "snack-y" around 3pm. I have tried bringing some various snacks, but I've found that if they are just carbs or sweets then they just make me hungrier. I think the clincher is getting a good amount of protein in there.
Anyone have any ideas? I was thinking maybe rice cakes with adzuki bean spread? Or falafel?
P.S. I can't eat soy, hemp or flax because of hormonal issues.
Smear mushroom pate in half of a whole wheat pita, then cram if full with spinach. It'd be low(er) in calories and probably about 3 grams of protein - plus B vitamins, calcium, and fiber.
Thanks H_H! How do you make your pate? Do you think it might be good just by the spoonful? (I'm glutenfree so no bread).
Your idea makes me think of stuffed mushrooms too...that might be really good! Are certain mushrooms higher in protein than others? Like portabella/crimini?
This is my favorite nutritional database: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/cgi-bin/nut_search_new.pl
You could also powderize a blend of dried mushrooms, mix it into a nutritional yeast spread (thick sauce), and eat it on celery. I think the crunch would make it more satisfying.
Nice ideas, thanks H_H!
hummus and/or peanut butter with veggies like carrots or celery, or apples.
I work 12-hour shifts and I eat around noon and get off at 7:15. I usually eat a bowl of blueberries with either raspberries or strawberries somewhere between 4 and 5pm. It's low glycemic, and seems to hold me until dinnertime around 8:30ish.
Thanks Tweety! Good suggestions, I like the hummus & veggies idea! And the PB & apples sounds yummy too!
Quinoa muffins
Black bean brownies
Homemade granola bars
Berry yogurt made with silken tofu, berries and (optional) sweetener
Tofu "beef" jerkey
Thanks Saskia!
I was thinking more about the snacking, and the root causes of the need for snacking. Quinoa, teff, and other grains don't seem to satisfy me on their own. I don't know why that is, but they always just make me hungrier. I seem to need a bean with them to stay satiated. Maybe because they are mostly carbs.
Also I tried making some nut and fruit snacks, and that didn't work either. I made raw "cookies" with walnuts, raisins, and spices, but they just made me REALLY hungry. I thought that the fat content of the nuts would keep me satiated, but it didn't work. Maybe because of the raisins in there, causing a sugar spike?
Also I have issues with fruit (dried or fresh) in any but the smallest amounts, I think it must be the fructose or sorbitol in them causes bladder pain and discomfort for me. I had some of that pain after eating the walnut raisin balls yesterday.
So I looked up the protein content of nuts (and mushrooms) and they are not hardly as high as beans, so I think I need to try to make bean snacks. ETA: Or peanuts, since they are a legume!
Here's the listing of protein content in vegan foods that I found, FYI:
http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/nutrition/high-protein-foods.html
Per 100g, beans are definitely the highest (besides wheat flour - which is strange! Since I'm glutenfree though, I won't be trying that!). I found some bean snack recipes that look interesting, I thought I'd share:
***
Chili Roasted Chickpeas from Dried Beans
1 cup dried chickpeas
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon lime juice
Pick over and rinse the chickpeas. Cover them with water 2 inches above the level of the beans and let soak overnight.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Put in a pot with enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the chili powder and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain. Place in a bowl and toss with the lime juice..
Preheat the oven to 400F. Lift the chickpeas out of the bowl with a slotted spoon and place them in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet. Stir after 15 minutes, brushing them with the lime juice remaining in the bowl. Repeat three times, the last time sprinkling them with the remaining chili powder and salt. When they are golden brown and crispy (about 50-60 minutes in total) remove from the oven . Cool completely before serving.
***
Roasted Cannellini Beans
A can of Bush's cannellini are about 400 calories. Not low cal, but healthy. I took a can of these, drained them, added about a T of olive oil, cracked white pepper, coarse salt and dried basil, spread them on a black baking sheet and baked them for an hour at 300°F. They pop!
***
Berry Bean Blast
Makes 4 servings (about 6 ounces each)
Preparation Time: 5 to 8 minutes
1 can (15 ounces) Navy beans or Great Northern beans or 1 1/2 cups cooked dry-packaged Navy beans or Great Northern beans, rinsed, drained
1 1/2 cups orange juice
2 cups quartered strawberries
2 to 3 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 to 8 ice cubes
Preparation
Process all ingredients, except ice cubes, in blender until smooth. Add ice cubes and blend until smooth. Serve in glasses.
TIP: Berry Bean Blast can be made 1 to 2 days in advance; refrigerate, covered. The drink will thicken in the refrigerator; stir in orange juice or cold water for desired consistency. Frozen strawberries can be used; if using frozen berries, ice cubes will not be needed.
***
I like the smoothie idea but I'm pretty leery because of the fruit content in it. The roasted beans sound like they might be a good idea though!
Falafel seems good too, since it's an easy finger food that I can eat on the run at work.
Peanut butter seems like a really good idea too, with celery. That sounds great!
Another idea my DH had is to try to take my lunch a lot later, like around 3:30pm, so that I don't need snacks at all. I tried that yesterday and it worked really well!
Just wanted to report back - I tried the roasted beans idea!
I didn't have any chickpeas or cannellini beans, so I just tried roasting cooked adzuki beans that I had in the fridge. I slightly seasoned them with a tiny bit of canola oil, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. I put them in the toaster oven at 300F. They popped after about 30 minutes! They are yummy, I'm putting them in for longer though to make sure they are thoroughly crispy.
ETA: Yum!! They were great!
I'm still going to try taking my lunch a lot later, around 3:30pm, if that works that will save me from needing to snack at all! :D
The roasted adzuki bean snacks were delicious, but I don't know if they really helped tide me over. However, taking a much later lunch seems to really be helping!
I was just reading about spirulina, how it is quite high in protein and might also be a really good source for DHA and EPA too, which I've been supplementing for!
Maybe I should get some of the powder and sprinkle that on my meals!