The Best PCOS Snacks

Ever ask yourself what is the best PCOS snack? Yea me too.

We all feel that afternoon hunger that strikes around 3:30 or 4:00 pm. At this time you may start to feel lethargic, annoyed, and have a hard time concentrating on your task. These are all signs that your body is hungry and you need to nourish it!

It takes your body between 2-4 hours to digest food and for most people, we go 5-6 hours between lunch and dinner. To put it plainly, that is a long time to go without providing your body with fuel. You should aim to eat every 3-4 hours. For example, your day could look like this:

8 am: Breakfast

10 am: Balanced Snack

12 pm: Lunch

3 pm: Balanced Snack

6 pm: Dinner

This is an example of spacing your meal out in an ideal time period to provide your body with consistent fuel to complete basic biological functions like breathing but also provide your brain with lots of fuel so you can stay concentrated at work.

Having consistent meals and snacks can also help with reduced cravings and uncontrollable thoughts about food. So Keep reading to learn how to build the best PCOS snacks!

The Formula for the Best PCOS Snacks:

You may have picked this up earlier but when I talk about snacks I always refer to them as balanced snacks. My goal for balanced snacks as a PCOS dietitian is to provide sustainable energy to the body.

When you’re hungry your body is looking for glucose that comes from carbohydrates. Often carbohydrates are easily digested as the energy they provided is highly needed by the body. For that reason, pairing a carbohydrate that has fibre with a protein and/or fat source helps to slow down digestion and provided your body with more sustainable energy.

Chose a carbohydrate/fibre source to pair with a protein/fat sources to make a balanced snack that will give you energy AND keeps you full! If you are looking for a larger meal you can pair two carbohydrate sources with 2 protein sources.

Carbohydrate/Fibre + Protein/Fat

Carbohydrate/Fibre Source	Protein/Fat Source
Fruit Berries Apple Pear Banana Fruit smoothie Mango Melon Clementines Oranges Vegetables Sweet Bell Pepper Cucumber slices Snap Peas Tomato Slices Cherry Tomatoes Shredded / Sliced / Baby Carrots Cooked Frozen Vegetables Roasted Sweet Potato Celery Sticks Grain Whole Wheat (WW) Bread/Bagel/ English Muffin WW Crackers Granola Muffin Pita Cereal WW Tortilla Wrap	Dairy Cottage Cheese Cheese Slices Glass of Cows Milk Greek Yogurt Vegetables Avocado / Guacamole Hummus Edamame Chickpeas Tofu Nuts & Seeds Nut Butters Hemp Hearts Cashews Walnuts Almonds Chia Pudding Pumpkin Seeds Animal Products Hard Boiled Eggs Canned Tuna Beef Jerky Other Tzatziki

Examples of The Best PCOS Snacks

Bell pepper slices + Hummus + WW Pita

WW English Muffin + Peanut Butter + Banana Slices + Cinnamon

2 Hard Boiled Eggs + Cherry Tomatoes + Hummus + WW Crackers

WW Blueberry Muffin + Cheese Slices + Glass of Milk

Apple Slices + Peanut butter

Fruit Smoothie + WW English Muffin + Peanut butter

Cottage Cheese + Cherry Tomatoes + S&P

Greek Yogurt + Granola + Frozen Mixed Berries

Guacamole + Cucumber Slices + WW Crackers

WW Cheerios + Cows Milk + Banana Slices

Baby Carrots + Tzatziki + WW Pita + Roasted Chickpeas

WW Bagel + Cashew Butter + Hemp Hearts

Canned Tuna + Celery Sticks + WW Tortilla Wrap

Clementine + Greek Yogurt Cup + Almonds

Chia Pudding + Peanut butter + Strawberry Slices

Want to take these ideas with you? Download my FREE PCOS SNACKS resource here!

I hope these ideas inspire some healthy snacking to keep you energized and productive throughout your day!

If you are looking for more personalized PCOS nutrition help than work with a Halifax dietitian to help you manage your PCOS and PCOS symptoms.