Stress Eating Snacks That Are Okay To Binge On
It’s been a long day at work, and it’s not even 2pm yet. Your desk is flooded with papers, your email inbox is full of the word “URGENT,” and your boss won’t stop nagging you about that report that’s due at the end of the day. I don’t know about you, but when I’m in that type of situation, my saving grace is the corner store. I run down the street both to get away from my desk for a moment, but also to bury my stress in food.
My preferred stress snack? Gummies. Gummy candies are my ultimate guilty pleasure. I could go through an entire bag in record time, especially when my head is buried in work and I just can’t stop myself from reaching for another, and another, and another… The problem is that eating entire bags of gummies on a daily basis is not a very healthy habit. When I’m going through stressful periods of work, they tend to last days or even weeks, so I decided I needed to find new snacks that are healthy, but still satisfy my cravings. AKA not carrot sticks or almonds.
Here are some of my favorites that I’ve found:
Medjool Dates
via fed and fit
Before you’re all like “ew, gross,” hear me out. Dates are the best. They have that slightly chewy texture, making them a good stand-in for my beloved gummy bears, and are super sweet and taste almost like caramel. I love to slice them open, fill them with almond butter, and then dip them in chocolate. I pop ‘em in the fridge until the chocolate hardens and *boom* delicious snack that’s high in protein and contains zero processed sugar!
Dried Mango
I know, another dried fruit. I just love that chewy texture! Dried mangos are deliciously sweet and slightly tart, with a great chew that you can nosh on during those high-stress times.
Go Raw Sprouted Cookie Crisps
via Go Raw
Sometimes, rather than gummies, I’m in the mood for something crunchy and/or chocolatey. That’s when I reach for these. They’re super chocolatey and don’t taste nearly as healthy as they are. They’re crispy and easy to snack on single-handedly while the other hand types away on your computer.
Kween Granola Butter
via Bubble
This. Stuff. Is. SO. Good. It tastes like cinnamon toast crunch in spreadable form. It’s like a healthy cookie butter perfect for dipping pretzels or apples into. This stuff will seriously change your life, I promise. It also comes in a chocolate flavor, which I haven’t tried but am sure is ahh-mazing.
Popcorn
Sometimes you just need some good old-fashioned popcorn. It’s high in fiber and low in calories, making it a great healthy option. Just make sure to opt for the plain variety over the “butter flavor” ones. If you need a little extra oomph, I love sprinkling some nutritional yeast on top. It gives it a nutty, cheesy flavor similar to parmesan, but is really high in vitamin B!
Kale Chips
I don’t know why kale chips are so delicious, but somehow, they are. They’re super light and crispy and usually come in a variety of different flavors. My favorite is always the cheesy ones, which are usually vegan and use nutritional yeast and other flavorings in place of real cheese (I’m slightly addicted to nutritional yeast, in case you couldn’t tell). The only problem is that they’re really delicate so they easily turn into tiny crumbs. I just had a major lightbulb idea though – throw those crumbs on top of a fresh bowl of popcorn. Now excuse me while I run to my kitchen.
Cover image via Pretend Magazine