Do you find that you have difficulty falling asleep at night due to a growling stomach? A healthy, light, bedtime snack that enhance sleep may be just what you need. Eating certain foods can prevent you from falling asleep, so it is important to know the right foods that can help promote sleep. Focus on nutrition. Eat smarter, and sleep better! Here are ideas for 12 great, quick and easy, simple recipes for healthy snacks before bedtime to help promote better quality sleep.
Go bananas with a banana smoothie!
This banana smoothie is made with just 5 simple ingredients. Banana is rich in potassium, and is also a good source of Vitamin B6, which is needed to make melatonin (a sleep-enhancing hormone stimulated by darkness). Milk contains calcium and tryptophan. Greek yogurt is rich in protein, and nutmeg is also known to be a natural sleep aid. All the ingredients come together in this fruity, thick, and deliciously creamy smoothie to help you fall asleep and get a good night’s sleep!
Ingredients
1/2 banana
3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Add the ingredients into a blender and blend the ingredients.
Depending on how ripe or sweet your banana and orange are, you may need to add a little extra honey, so add based on your taste.
Pour into a glass and enjoy.
Kiwi and Cottage cheese
Kiwi is a small, fuzzy fruit that packs a punch of health benefits. It is loaded with vitamin C and has antioxidant properties. Another one of its benefits is better sleep. In one study, participants who consumed two kiwis one hour before bed, fell asleep more quickly, and slept more soundly. Pair kiwi slices with some protein-rich cottage cheese for a yummy, sleep-promoting snack!
Ingredients
1 kiwi fruit
1/2 cup of cottage cheese
Peel and slice up a kiwi. Top the kiwi slices over cottage cheese for a deliciously creamy and sweet bedtime snack. Enjoy!
Whole Grain Toast Spread with Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is a good source of protein and magnesium. Magnesium prevents muscle cramps and promotes and restful slumber. Whole grain bread provides sleep-inducing, slow-releasing carbs. Together, they provide a tasty snack that will help you fall asleep with a satisfied tummy, keep your blood sugars in check, and keep late night food cravings at bay.
Ingredients
1 slice whole grain bread, toasted
2 tablespoon peanut butter
Spread peanut butter evenly on the toasted bread slice.
Savory Hummus-Stuffed Celery Stalks
Celery is a healthy, low-calorie, high fiber vegetable that is great for snacking. Hummus is a healthy, delicious condiment made from chickpeas and sesame oil, so it contains a great blend of plant protein, fiber, healthy fat, vitamin B6, tryptophan, and complex carbohydrates keeping you full with stabilized blood sugar levels throughout the night.
Ingredients
1 celery stalk
1/4 cup of hummus
Wash and cut a small celery stalk into 2 inch pieces. Place celery stalks on a flat surface. Fill each stalk with hummus.
Whole-Grain Cereal with Milk
Pair whole grain cereal with milk for the perfect combination of protein and carbohydrates that will make you sleepy. In terms of cereal, avoid cereals that have a lot of added sugars, which can laden your body with unnecessary calories and wake you up at night.
Ingredients
1 bowl of cereal
1 cup of milk
Pour milk into bowl of cereal and enjoy!
Soothing Golden Milk for Sleep
Bedtime golden milk – nothing like a creamy, delicious, soothing and relaxing, warm latte before bed to help you sleep!
Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 1/2 teaspoons almond butter
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In a small saucepan, combine the milk, almond butter, honey, cinnamon, ginger, tumeric, and vanilla extract.
Mix together all the ingredients over medium heat.
Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Carefully pour into a cup and enjoy.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Reheat and stir on the stove to recombine the spices and almond butter.
Strawberry-Spinach Salad
Yet another reason to eat your greens! Spinach contains tryptophan, which is responsible for the production of the sleep-regulating melatonin and the feel-good serotonin, making it easier for you to doze off to sleep. Strawberries offer vitamin C and melatonin to help you sleep better.
Ingredients
1/2 cup of baby spinach leaves
4 chopped strawberries
1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds
1/2 ounce crumbled blue cheese
1/5 red onion, thinly sliced
red wine vinaigrette
Toss the baby spinach, strawberries, almonds, blue cheese and red onion together in a large bowl.
Pour red wine vinaigrette lightly over the salad mixture.
Turkey and Spinach Roll
Turkey contains tryptophan, which helps promote good mood and good sleep. Spinach also contains sleep-promoting tryptophan. Reach for this snack if you want a good night’s sleep!
Ingredients
2 oz. sliced turkey
1 oz. sliced provolone cheese
1/4 cup fresh baby spinach
1 tablespoons sun-dried tomato paste
4 fresh basil leaves
1 small tortilla
Spread tomato paste on the tortilla.
Top with cheese and turkey slices.
Add basil leaves and spinach.
Tightly roll the tortilla ensuring all ingredients stay wrapped up in the tortilla.
Use a sharp knife to cut the roll up into half.
Avocado, smoked salmon, and Cucumber Bites
Cold-water fish, like salmon, contains DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid that reduces sleep disruptions and improves sleep quality. Avocados provide the sleep-promoting tryptophan and magnesium and are also a great source of healthy fats. Cucumbers, with its high magnesium content, have been known to help promote sleep. Magnesium is a mineral that have been linked to improving the duration and quality of sleep. These smoked salmon, avocado and cucumber bites are the perfect recipe to help drift you off to dreamland.
Ingredients
1 medium cucumber
2 oz sliced smoked salmon
1 peeled and pitted avocado
1 tsp lime juice
cracked black pepper
finely chopped chives
Slice the cucumber and lay the slices flat on a plate.
Add the line juice and avocado to a bowl. Mash and whip with a spoon until creamy.
Spread a teaspoonful of the avocado mousse on each cucumber slice, and top with a thin slice of smoked salmon.
Garnish the bites with black pepper and chives. Enjoy!
Tuna Canape
Like salmon, tuna is a fish that can help with sleep. It contains vitamin B6 which the body uses to make melatonin (sleep hormone). Pair this with Greek yogurt and you will have your head hitting the pillow in no time.
Ingredients
1 can flaked tuna
juice from 1 lemon wedge
2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon chives, finely diced
Combine all ingredients into a small bowl and mix. Enjoy with 2 or 3 whole grain crackers!
Remainder can be stored in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
Thick Creamy Greek Yogurt with Honey and Walnuts
Yogurt contains calcium needed to process the sleep-promoting hormones, melatonin and tryptophan. Honey can lower levels of orexin, a brain neurotransmitter that makes you more alert. Nuts, such as walnuts, contain tryptophan and magnesium, and boost serotonin levels. Together, these three ingredients – yogurt, honey, and walnuts – help support relaxation, making it easier for you to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Ingredients
1 cup plain, fat-free Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
1 tablespoon of honey
Drizzle honey and sprinkle walnuts over yogurt. Enjoy immediately.
Caprese Salad
Caprese Salad is a simple salad of mozzarella cheese and cherry tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and a splash of balsamic. The red cherry tomatoes offer the sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin. The olive oil also provides melatonin. A perfect snack to help you nod off at bedtime.
Ingredients
3 cherry tomatoes, sliced into halves
1 oz mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
5-6 basil leaves
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Place sliced mozzarella in a bowl.
Top with basil leaves, cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and pepper. Enjoy!
Final words
In each of the recipes, pairing carbohydrate with fat or protein slows the absorption of carbohydrate by your body to help stabilize blood sugar levels overnight, so you can get uninterrupted restful, deep sleep.
Whatever you choose as your bedtime snack – banana smoothie, kiwi slices with cottage cheese, whole grain toast with peanut butter, golden milk, or strawberry spinach salad, turkey and spinach roll, tuna canape, Greek yogurt with walnuts, smoked salmon cucumber bites, or caprese salad – they are all bedtime snacks that enhance sleep. These healthy snacks before bedtime all pack ingredients that promote better sleep.
Watch your portions and have your bedtime snack a full hour prior to going to sleep and you’ll find yourself drifting off to dreamland at bedtime in no time!
Good snacking and good night!
What are your favorite healthy snacks before bedtime? Are there other snack ideas you love for bedtime? Please share them! We’d love to hear about them!
6 Responses
Great recipes for sleep! I’m going to try the caprese salad first!
Great choice! This easy, tasty salad with its sleep-promoting ingredients may have you feeling ready to sleep in no time! Thank you for reading our blog!
I love bedtime snacks. I sleep like a log!
We’re glad you sleep well! What you eat before getting to sleep can help you sleep better. Eating a small, nutrient-rich snack before bed can help fill you up, and help you to fall asleep faster for a good night’s sleep!
I sometimes get late-night hunger pangs. They keep me awake at night. Its hard to fall asleep when my stomach is growling.
The right snacks at bedtime can help you score a better night’s sleep.
If you’re waking up hungry during the night, you may want to have a healthy bedtime snack.
Going to bed with some food in your stomach may help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
Easy, tasty healthy snacks of complex carbs such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, paired with a small amount of fat or protein can help keep you full and keep your blood sugar stable through the night.
Foods high in tryptophan can also help to induce sleep and prevent you from waking up hungry in the night.
Just watch your portions and make sure you have your bedtime snack no later than a hour before bed.
So go ahead and have a healthy snack before bedtime. A healthy, nutritious snack could help you fall asleep faster, sleep better, and wake up feeling refreshed and rested.