Why does it feel like our evening cravings are far more powerful than our daytime ones? We had a productive, healthy day—maybe we started with a smoothie and a workout, finished all our tasks and errands, had a healthy dinner, and are winding down and relaxing. And yet, a late-night craving comes over us like a tsunami, and those cookies, that quesadilla, those fries … They are all we can think about, and we will go to bed with an aching in our bellies (and our hearts) if we can’t have them.
We have our theories. Like, maybe we have been lacking nutritionally during the day, and the body’s needs become more acute as the evening wears on. Or perhaps we just finally have more time to relax and sit with ourselves, and it makes us feel comfortable, at ease, and uninhibitedly … hungry. We spoke with our girl Shauna Faulisi, holistic nutritionist, wellness chef, and founder of Soul Wellness Method, who aligns a little more clearly on the latter.
“Our late-night eating decisions have a lot to do with where we’re at emotionally,” Faulisi starts.
“I often advise tapping into how you’re feeling and what’s going on in your life. From there, you can get a better sense of what to snack on.
If you’re feeling the need to snack on things like chips, popcorn, pretzels, and dip, and engage in a constant hand-to-mouth motion, it signifies a stressful + anxious state. Clenching the jaw is cathartic and can be relaxing to the brain, hence why we crave this motion. But if we’re doing it with the wrong foods, it can leave us feeling less than optimal. Instead, go for a 10-minute walk without your phone, do some jumping jacks, take some breaths to calm your nervous system, or engage in your favorite activity to get pent-up energy out.”
Sometimes, movement isn’t an option. Maybe we are trying to undo the day, rather than boost our circulation and awaken our bodies. Maybe a walk at this nighttime hour isn’t the safest where we are, or we are genuinely too tired to release pent-up anxiety energy. Never fear, Shauna thought of everything. Here are her favorite late-night snack ideas for guilt-free body attunement, rather than deprivation.
“Unsalted, grain-free chips:
I’m a huge fan of salt, especially if you’re eating a real, whole foods diet, as the standard American diet gets most of its sodium intake from processed, packaged foods. When you’re eating real foods, sodium intake can often fall below where it needs to be.”
But there is a catch. Shauna explains that if you’re looking for a snack post-8 p.m. that keeps bloat down, salt ain’t it. “Plus, a miraculous thing happens when we remove salt from foods—they don’t taste as palatable! Therefore, our brain’s reward system isn’t lighting up. Pair your salt-free, grain-free chips with your favorite dip.”
Shauna’s favorite late-night dip? A lactose-free sour cream paired with a medium-heat salsa. Mix them together for a spinach dip vibe, sans the bloat.
“I love me some popcorn:
But the issue with most popcorns on the market is that they contain highly inflammatory oils, which is the opposite of our short-term goals of keeping bloat down and our long-term goals of energy and longevity. Lesser Evil makes a non-GMO popcorn that uses coconut oil instead of common, inflammatory industrial oils. You get a lot of bang for your buck with popcorn in regards to calories per cup. And even if you think you went ham on the bag, you probably didn’t!
If you’re into sweeter crunchy items, dried apple chips always do it for me. I love one with cinnamon, which makes it feel more like a dessert than a health-food snack. Just be sure your apple chips don’t have any added sugar because, well, bloat.
A good old cheese board! It’s like an evening activity and a snack built into one! Pair it with some berries or sliced apples. This one gets your creative juices flowing as you’re creating the plate, which naturally slows you down and likely helps to ease some of your cravings. Have fun with it. Keep your cheese selections to goat or sheep’s milk as they’re way easier to digest.”
You heard it here first: a cheeseboard is A-OK.
“Grain-free almond flour crackers:
These fulfill crunchy, cheesy, and salty cravings all in one. Best part? They’re grain-free and made from almond flour, so minimal bloating.”
A pro tip from Shauna is to dissect the craving. Are we really craving that ONE thing? That ONE flavor? Or is it a more holistic craving, a packaged deal of motion and action?
Shauna gives us an example: “When you’re craving that scooping-out-of-a-bowl sensation … Sucking is one of the most primal motions, helping us to feel at ease and calm, hence the craving for scooping. Sometimes it’s not the item, but the motion we crave. Learning to decipher those cravings will give you a lot of insight into your emotional needs.
If you’re craving things like ice cream, yogurt, cheese, or a big bowl of your favorite comfort meal, this means that you’re needing some extra love and nourishment. The slower motion of scooping and sucking is deeply primal and engrained in our brains as a safe and comforting motion.
This craving usually comes from feeling overwhelmed, needing some extra attention, wanting to be heard and/or seen, or needing a hug. Simply put, you need some love. Hack this craving with something ‘scoop-y’ like homemade ‘nice cream’ with frozen strawberries, a banana, and a dash of non-dairy milk. Or a modern parfait. Or better yet, find someone you feel comfortable with and hug each other for at least 20 seconds to release the cuddle hormone, oxytocin.”
Brb, putting our lovers and friends on speed dial for late-night hug cravings instead of giving in to ice cream.
“Modern parfait:
If you can tolerate dairy, use Greek yogurt as it has a high amount of protein helping to hold you over, while also keeping insulin down from the lactose in the dairy. If you’re off dairy, I love Anita’s, Cocojune, CocoRico, and Coconut Cult. Make yourself a modern parfait by adding a scoop of your favorite protein powder. I love a vanilla-flavored one for this as it makes it feel like a dessert! Add a scoop of ground flax seeds for fiber to fill you up, and whatever fruit you have in the house on top. Build it in a beautiful wine glass and you’ll feel super decadent.
Lily’s chocolate:
Sugar-free and oh so delicious. The best swap for chocolate lovers. I eat squares of this all day long.
Bone broth:
Bone broth is epic, and my number one hack. Not only does it feel good, but it actually helps us feel satiated while providing a mega-dose of nutrients to our bodies. And it leaves us less ‘snacky’ than when we started. If you want food that will curb your snacking urges, this is it.
I believe this to be one of the most magical foods on our earth. It doesn’t bloat us, it nourishes us, and it actually helps us feel satiated. It’s filled with minerals, vitamins, fat, and protein. And it’s what our hunter-gatherer ancestors drank purely as a way to mitigate waste. This beverage is not only ancient and extremely nourishing for our skin, joints, and bones, but it feels emotionally nourishing, which is often where our snack urges lie.
Nice cream instead of ice cream:
The thing about ice cream is that it makes us feel really good in the moment, but not so great after, or the next day. And for many of us, our skin and bowels really dislike us for it. So here’s some homemade ‘nice cream,’ because we really only have room for nice things in our lives:
In a blender, add 2 cups frozen strawberries, 1/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and a dash of sweetener of your choice.
Side note: I keep this low-sugar, but feel free to add half of a frozen banana if you want more sweetness. Omit the stevia if you use a banana.
Apple sauce:
Sitting down with a bowl of cold applesauce with cinnamon feels like the biggest hug. It’s cold, sweet, and feels so good going down. Like the others, be sure there are no added sweeteners.
Whipped coconut cream and berries:
The healthy fat from the coconut is great for your skin, and the berries are a low-glycemic wonderful source of carbohydrates and nutrients. Plus the coconut gives you some amazing medium-chain triglycerides that your body burns very easily for fuel.
Make your own non-dairy whipped cream with canned coconut milk, a dash of vanilla, and some sweetener of your choice. Top it with bright and beautiful berries for a bloat-free, decadent snack.”
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