Cooking

Best Late Night Meals

Cottage cheese is an excellent choice for a nighttime snack because it’s low in carbohydrates and high in protein. Don’t shy away from “full-fat” cottage cheese, as 2/3 cup of full-fat cottage cheese contains less than 6 grams of fat, which will help you feel fuller and kill cravings. Look for cottage cheese with live and active cultures to get a dose of probiotics without having to take a supplement. Delicious sums up easy week Night Meals, produced alongside the team at my food bag.

With about twice the protein and only half of the carbohydrates as regular plain yogurt, Greek yogurt carries a significant nutritional advantage, especially if you’re trying to lose weight. The addition of pomegranate seeds gives you a stimulating, tart flavor from some of the world’s most powerful antioxidants.

How to Prepare: Mix together pomegranate seeds, Greek yogurt, and enjoy.

Endangered Species chocolate bars are vegan, gluten-free, certified organic and contain 70-percent cacao. This dark chocolate treat will satisfy your late-night sweet tooth while providing a hefty dose of antioxidants, which can help lower your blood pressure and improve blood vessel function.

Pistachios are a nutrient-rich, simple snack. If you’re extra hungry, snacking on pistachios gives you an advantage over other nuts, as you get more nuts per ounce. Plus research shows that snacking on pistachios compared to other common snack foods like pretzels leads to more weight loss and greater reductions in cardiovascular disease risk factors.

The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is hard to beat. This high-protein, fiber-packed snack is so good, you’ll feel like you’re cheating on your diet.

How to Prepare: Thoroughly mix all the ingredients in a bowl (add a little water if necessary; 1 tbsp at a time). Use a tablespoon to form half-spheres and place in freezer for 2 hours before eating (if time is an issue, you can eat them right away, but they taste better when frozen).

Fermented Coconut Milk is a perfect, creamy nighttime snack with only 70 calories. It contains probiotics (healthy bacteria for your GI track) and prebiotics. Prebiotics are specific nutrients, in this case the fiber and inulin, that are used by good bacteria to help promote their growth to support digestion and prevent bloating. Coconut milk also contains medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), a type of saturated fat that is processed differently than the saturated fats found in meats and dairy products.

MCTs are thought to be preferentially used for fuel, decreasing their likelihood of being stored as body fat.

This double chocolate spin on instant pudding is a guilt-free way to enjoy a carb-conscious chocolate treat that cuts out 14.5 grams of sugar per serving compared to regular chocolate milk.

How to prepare: With a wire wisk, mix together 1 packet of pudding mix with 2 cups of cold Calorie Countdown Chocolate Milk for 2 minutes. Pour pudding into bowls, 4 equal portions. Place in refrigerator for at least 5 minutes before eating.

This snack is a healthy spin on the popular Almond Joy candy. It is very low in sugar but still contains the coconut-chocolate combination that we’ve grown to love. Our upgraded version is high in protein and contains an extra dose of nutrients from the flaxseed meal.