What to snack, if you have to

 

I do snack. I admit it. Despite that I like the idea of eating only once a day, I still snack. 


But, in my defense, my lunch is usually less than 300 calories and I snack only within my "eating" hours, between 5 AM and 5 PM (yes, I know, this is 12 hours; therefore, my fasting period is probably not long enough to dip into the fat metabolism). 

For my job, I prepare apple slices, baby carrots, and celery sticks. In addition, I have my daily banana and "other" fruit (whatever is in season). 

More recently, I added sunflower seeds and whole wheat crackers for the times when I crave salt. I have also experimented with some homemade crackers (these are much better than Triscuit).

To make it easier on me, I wash the carrots and celery on Sunday, distribute them in sandwich bags and keep these in the refrigerator for the weekdays. 

Once I stop working, I may not downsize to one meal a day, but I may shorten my eating period to six-eight hours a day, and take advantage of the daily intermittent fasting.

High fiber brownies

I found a recipe for brownies with bananas on Pinterest and modified it to a minimum-sugar recipe. The sugar comes from the chocolate chips, bananas and unsweetened applesauce. 

To me, the product tasted great; however, I suspect that for people who are used to commercially available desserts and sweets, to appreciate these brownies will take some palate training.  But believe me, every time you consume one of the store-bought high-sugar items, your pancreas screams :).  Obesity and bad dietary habits might be the major reasons for the increased incidence of pancreatic cancer, and it has been projected that by 2030, the top cancer killers in the U.S. will be lung, pancreas and liver cancer.

Recipe
You will need: 
4 ripe bananas (mashed), 4 oz (113 g) of unsweetened applesauce, 2 tsp vanilla, 2 eggs (lightly beaten), 1 cup whole-wheat flour, ½ cup cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips.
 
How to: 
Preheat the oven to 350 F, and oil/spray an 8-inch square pan. Combine the mashed bananas, apple sauce, vanilla and eggs. Add flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda, stir well. Add chocolate chips, pour in the pan, and bake for 35-40 minutes.