Hi all! I am SO excited to introduce you to my Insanity instructor – that’s right, the lady who kicks my butt every Thursday. She has just launched her own website, jackiegarnett.com, and is a Personal Fitness Coach to the stars…I mean moms in Portsmouth.

She heard my plight about going out of town (we leave for France tomorrow…I am halfway packed which is pretty good for me) and having a few freelance writing magazine articles due before we leave, so she brought her A game to the Humble Onion and is sharing with all of you how to bust those late night snacking cravings. I just read what she wrote and will be referencing this post nightly when my Salt & Vinegar Popchips are calling.

Hope you love this one as much as I do, and if you do show her the love and check out her new blog! She is one of the most positive, mentally tough girls I know, so I can’t wait to follow. xoxo Katie

 

by guest blogger, Jackie Garnett of jackiegarnett.com

 

It’s 9pm. You finished dinner with the family a couple hours ago. You’re not hungry but you want a snack.

Well, hello, internal struggle, it’s nice to see you again. I’ve missed you since last night.

Your mind is telling you no but your heart is all like: snuggling up with that ginormous box of Cheez-Its on the couch during the Bachelorette sounds like the best thing in the world right now. We convince ourselves that we deserve it. The kids are in bed, it was a long day, this is our time to enjoy life’s little pleasures.

Sound familiar? Well, I’ve got news for you: you’re not alone. I asked my Facebook friends what their Achilles heel is when it comes to late night snacking and I received 45 comments about chips, cheese, crackers, ice cream, chocolate, wine, cereal, popcorn, pretzels, and Nutella. I loved this thread on my timeline because it felt like a confession of sorts. We don’t talk about it a lot, but look, when you feel like you’re the only loser in the world going to town on an entire sleeve of Thin Mints, I promise you– you’re not. And I’ve got something to tell you: it’s not your fault.

After years of research, Dr. Nora Volkow recently presented a lecture announcing that refined processed foods are equal to, if not more addictive than, cocaine, heroin, and morphine. Through brain scans, she discovered that during the moments before consumption, we experience the exact same kind of anticipation as drug addicts before taking a hit. That’s right, you heard me correctly. Your salivation for those hyper-palatable foods is in fact an addiction. Habits formed along the way that eventual led to a lack of control. Luckily, these habits are reversible. Or rather, there are ways to create new, healthier habits that will take the place of your old ways.

I typically hear about 5 different scenarios that paint the picture for our reasons to snack at night. Here are some ideas for how to make these scenarios a little prettier.

 

#1. When you are convinced you deserve a treat.

You ate healthy all day, and you deserve a little indulgence. I’m right there with ya. I teach my clients about the 80/20 rule because it works for me: 80% healthy food, 20% fun food. That’s why at the end of every day I indulge in 5 Dove dark chocolates. They are 210 delicious calories. They don’t ruin my entire day of clean eating. And they satisfy my sweet tooth. So when you’re craving something bad for you, fine, have it. Don’t deprive yourself. Instead, portion out the amount you know you should consume (hint: there’s usually a “serving size” on the label. Follow it), eat only that, and let that be it.

(in case you’re wondering, the serving size of Trader Joe’s cookie butter is just 1 Tbsp.)

 

#2. When it’s all in your head.

You know there are treats in the pantry but you also know you have the willpower to say “no” to them. This is when you have to remember the bigger picture. Your “why” for wanting to make a change. So why do you want to make a change? My guess is that your answer is somehow related to your health. When it’s all in your head, this is when you should pull out your Pinterest board of healthy motivation. What, you don’t have one of those? Well go make one! And pin everything that will inspire you to take baby steps toward your goal. If Pinterest isn’t your thing, scatter other reminders around the house that will keep your head in the right place. Maybe there’s a hot dress you want to fit into again. Hang it on display in your bedroom. Maybe you have a new grandkid you want to stick around for. Post a picture of him on your fridge. Anything that will help you visualize your success.

 

 

#3. When you have a major craving.

Make a healthier version of it. Make a whole bunch of it on Sunday so that you have it ready to go for your entire week. Even better, portion it out into individual servings. Because it’s the convenience you want late at night, right? Air popped popcorn, chocolate peanut butter protein balls, baked sweet potato chips, and banana “ice cream” are all perfect alternatives. I could show you pins all day long, but you can do a search yourself to find a healthy alternative to your favorite snack.

 

#4. When you want company.

When you want a friend to share your favorite tv show with, or if you have to get work done on the computer and you need something next to you. Substitute the junk with some herbal tea. You can milk that puppy all night and it will be with you through the entire thing.

 

#5. When you’re bored.

Go to bed. Seriously. Unless you’re a sleepwalker, there is a 100% chance that you will not eat when you’re asleep. As my friend, Jaynie, mom of 3 adorable kids, says: “I’m a toddler…put me to bed before 7pm and all is good. After that…I’m a wanna be frat boy!!??”

 

Because everyone’s brain functions differently, maybe all of these will work for you, or maybe only one of them will. But try them all out, see how they go, and let me know what’s working for you. Got other ideas? Please share them!

 

If you want to read more from Jackie Garnett, be sure to subscribe to her newsletters to receive weekly blog posts.

Don’t feel like spending hours in the kitchen with all this gorgeousness happening outside? Me either. Here’s some great quick ideas that I cannot WAIT to try.

// I am a big fan of non-breakable plates. Ballard designs has so many pretty melamine plates like these ones that I could use every day or these ones from Bunny Williams (love her, she is one of the most inspiring designers). 

// This fennel and apple salad looks perfect for a date night salad.

// A bloody mary salad? Yes please.

// I can’t wait to make Ina Garten’s Gazpacho.

// Pioneer Woman’s Panzanella: Crave worthy. Basil and Tomatoes and Vinegar and Bread = Yum.

// Martha Stewart’s Tuna Nicoise Sandwich. Of course, you could put ketchup on ciabatta and it would look yummy to me, but I love salad nicoise and putting it on delicious bread just makes sense.

// These ideas of mixers for your beer made me super curious and can’t wait to try them out. Not all at once, of course.

// For non-alcoholic drinks, these looked super refreshing and yummy. 

//If you are a Trader Joe’s fan (and really who isn’t?) you probably second this list. They all belong at a picnic, don’t you think?

What are you making this weekend?

 

What kind of food blogger would I be if I threw a lunch for our families that was easy and delicious, took 20 minutes to cook, looked gorgeous all spread out, went great with white wine, and I didn’t share it with you?

Seriously, I posted before (complete with horrible photos that did not weather the transition to the upgrade of this website well) about how much we love Pork Souvlaki. We call them Greek Tacos because they are a similar concept and level of ease as the South American variety. But the flavors are my favorite!

So when my oldest son RJ made his First Communion a few weeks ago, and all of our families were coming over to celebrate afterwards, I decided to do a greek spread with the souvlaki since it can feed a crowd and it is so quick to make. And it just can’t get any easier then opening packages of hummus and tabouleh and putting lemony tangy pork in a pita with some feta and tzatziki sauce.

I should throw in that I have had a steep learning curve trying to throw food parties with small children.

If you have never tried to do it, imagine trying to be a line order cook at a restaurant in the dinner hour and a preschool teacher at the same time. 

If that sounds hard, it is.

It has to be simple. But the food lover in me really wants it to be good too. And pretty. Can we get pretty too or is that too greedy?

Not with this spread.

^^I am obsessed with aged goat cheese right now.  Learn more about them here.

I cubed and marinated the pork the night before. The morning of, I made the orzo pasta salad while the meat cooked, which took 20 minutes. You can do the pasta salad the day before too though, obv.

Then add these sides:

Pita Bread

Olives

Tabouleh

Hummas

Feta

Tzatziki Sauce (yougurt with dill and cucumbers). For Ina Garten’s recipe for this click here

Cucumbers, Tomatos, Mint, Mixed Greens

My husband likes to use romaine lettuce instead of a pita for a low carb version. 

After the ceremony we were starving but it really only took me a few minutes to set everything out while the kids played in the back yard.

 I used white kitchen towels from Target as napkins and I loved them – I can totally picture them with cute ribbons and napkin rings in the future, but since this was entertaining with kids, setting them in a bucket is a victory.

Our whole family had such a special day together and we were so happy for RJ! We had lots of full bellies and full hearts.

And to my amazing Greek friends, I know you can cook Greek food about a THOUSAND times better then this, but let the people with small kids eat your yummy flavors via store bought sides.

And, of course, let them eat cake.

Happy Eating, xoxo Katie

 

Pork Souvlaki (printer version for Pork Souvlaki and Orzo Salad here):

If you can find Basile’s Pork Souvlaki seasoning mix, making pork souvlaki is as easy as marinating 2 lbs. of pork tenderloin with:

4 T. of Souvlaki seasoning
juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup of olive oil

If you can’t find it, follow this recipe I got from allrecipes.com:

• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch cubes

Marinate for 2-3 hours, then cook the meat on the stovetop:

 

Orzo Salad with Feta: another summertime backyard favorite, travels well.

• 1 lb package of orzo, cooked and drained according to package
• 8 oz. of feta, crumbled
• 1 package of cherry tomatoes
• 1 jar of drained, pitted kalamata olives
• 1 cucumber, sliced and quartered
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced
• 1 bottle light Greek or Italian dressing
• 2 T mint, chopped (Optional)

Toss all ingredients together and serve hot, room temperature or cold. Enjoy!