When it comes to following an Ayurvedic diet, snacking is not typically recommended.  However, with our busy lifestyles, many of us feel it necessary to refuel between meals to make it through our days.  Luckily like most matters in Ayurveda, this “no snacking” rule can be modified to meet your individual needs.  Using a little awareness and Ayurvedic wisdom, you can then create healthy practices around a not-always-so-healthy habit. 

Why is snacking frowned upon in Ayurveda? 

The thought process behind this is that when you snack between meals, your digestive fire is often not finished digesting the previous food, making it a bit crowded in the GI tract (which leads to congestion and clogging of this vital channel).  The habit of snacking tends to create a continuous cycle of work for the Agni (digestive fire) which overtaxes this vital force and may lead to exhaustion and burnout with continued practice.  This exhausted Agni becomes weak and sluggish, setting the stage for chronic digestive issues, a slow metabolism, toxic build-up, weight gain, and (eventually) disease. 

Is snacking ever recommended in Ayurveda?

Yes, like everything Ayurvedic there are always different recommendations to meet our ever-changing individual needs.  This can reflect your body type (aka dosha type), your current state of health or disease, or simply where you are in life.  For example, a woman who is pregnant or breastfeeding will have very different eating needs than a woman who is 50 and going through menopause (which tends to slow down the metabolism).  Similarly, a Vata type who has a very active lifestyle will have different eating needs than a Kapha type with a sedentary job and low activity level.  No matter where you are in life, however, these healthy snack rules listed below should always be followed to keep the digestive fire strong, robust, and burning bright! 

Should snacking ever be completely avoided?

Unfortunately, yes.  If you are experiencing extremely sluggish digestion, heavy toxins, strong Kapha imbalance, excessive weight, or obesity, it will likely be best to avoid all snacking habits until health and balance have been reestablished.  If you are looking to eliminate snacking but are finding it a difficult habit to break, then it will be best to begin to wean off of this routine by strictly following the recommendations below until the snacking can be removed altogether.

Healthy Snacking Tips With Ayurveda

1. No grazing!

An eating habit that is by far worse than snacking is grazing.  Unlike snacking, grazing is never recommended for any-body.  Just as unhealthy snacking creates congestion and clogging in the GI tract along with an exhausted, weak digestive fire, grazing will lead to this tenfold.  This clogging and overtaxing in time will undoubtedly lead to chronic digestive issues, toxins, and a sluggish metabolism. 

Although this is plenty of reason to avoid grazing right here, other issues that often arise with grazing include mindless eating, overeating, poor food choices, improper food combinations (see #5 below), eating without true hunger, and reduced hunger for real meals.

2. Eat proper meals to avoid over-snacking.

If you are feeling the need to constantly snack between meals, likely, you are not eating nourishing, sustaining meals.  Ideally, you should have a medium size breakfast, a large healthy lunch, and a small dinner.  They should all be filled with a substantial amount of lean protein and fiber while avoiding meals with a large amount of refined carbs, refined sugar, and processed foods (e.g. white bread, crackers, boxed cereals, chips, bars, pasta, etc).  Make sure to eat healthy (ideally home-cooked) meals each day, avoid skipping meals, and avoid eating meals too late (e.g. lunch at 3 pm).  Food is your fuel and your meals should take top priority when it comes to your daily routine. 

General Healthy Eating Schedule:

• Breakfast: 6 am to 7 am; medium in size, warm, and filled with lean protein, whole grains, and fiber
• Lunch: 11 am to 1 pm;  largest most nourishing meal of the day filled with lean protein, veggies, whole grains, and fiber
• Dinner: 5 pm to 7 pm; smallest and lightest meal of the day, yet sustaining enough to get you through without snacking before bedtime     

3. Snack mindfully and avoid snacking on the go!

Another common snacking downfall is the fact that it is often done mindlessly, on the go, and sometimes without true hunger.  Making sure to eat sitting down, with your full attention will help you make healthier food choices, realize fullness, and even digest your food better.  Whether eating a small snack or a large meal, you should eat slowly, thoughtfully, and without distraction.  Make sure to always avoid snacking at your desk, while working, on the phone, on the computer, in a meeting, in the car, while walking, in heavy conversation, while watching television, or while performing any other similar activity. 

4. Keep the snack healthy, small, and simple.

Snacking is not always unhealthy in itself, although your snacking choices may be.  Many individuals reach for heavily processed foods such as bars, crackers, and chips or sugary treats such as candy, cookies, and pastries. 

Ideally, a snack should be small in size and simple by nature.  You should avoid eating multiple snacks at once, as this can lead to improper food combining and more work for your digestive fire.  Instead, making healthy food choices that are small in quantity and light by nature will give you a sustained boost in energy, getting you through until your next meal without heaviness, spaciness, or crashing (keep reading for healthy snack ideas!) 

5. Avoid the Improper Food Combinations.

When snacking or grazing, it is common to be munching on multiple types of foods at the same time.  Since most food takes 2 to 3+ hours to make it from the stomach to the colon, it is important to avoid improper food combinations within this timeframe.  This is even more reason to keep your snacks simple and monotonous, rather than enjoying a little bit here and a little bit there.

Some common culprits of improper food combinations while snacking include eating fruit with yogurt; dried fruit with nuts; apples with nut butter; many fruit smoothies; and eating fruit too close to the previous meal.

Click here for our full chart on the Improper Food Combinations.    

6. Wait to snack until 2 to 3 hours post-meal.

Healthy snacking involves spacing out your food intake to let the previous food digest before adding in any more food.  This prevents the mixing of old food with new food which will confuse the intelligence of your digestive fire and enzyme secretion, leading to symptoms of indigestion (gas, bloating, upset stomach, etc), toxic accumulation, and clogging of the GI tract. 

On the contrary, if you allow time and space between food intake, then the previous meal will have made its way to the colon and new food will be able to digest smoothly and without disruption.  Although some heavier meals will take longer, a reasonable timeframe to snack after a meal will be at least 2 to 3 hours.

7. Snack for your dosha type.

Just as your meal should be geared toward your dosha type (or current doshic imbalance), your snacks should reflect this as well.  This means that Vata types may do well with cheese or yogurt as a healthy snack, while Kapha types would likely feel heavy and congested after eating these.  Similarly, Kapha types will often do well snacking on some raw carrots and celery between meals, whereas Vata types will surely get gassy and bloated soon after. 

Remember that what is healthy for one individual may not be healthy for another.  Our foods, whether a snack or a meal, should leave us feeling light and energized with no gas, bloating, or cramping after.  If your snacks are leaving you sleepy, heavy, congested, spacey, or with any symptoms of indigestion you are likely not eating the right foods for you.  Here is a quick general list of healthy snacks per dosha.

Click here to take our Discover Your Dosha Quiz!

Healthy Vata Snacks: 

• Full-fat plain yogurt (homemade is best!) with honey and cinnamon
• Warm spiced milk such as Golden Milk 
• Steamed veggies with salt, ghee, and black pepper
• Dates with tahini or coconut butter
• Mashed sweet potato with cinnamon and ginger
• Avocado with lemon juice and salt
• Rejuvenating Ojas Drink (get recipe here)
• Butternut Squash Smoothie (get recipe here)
• Vata-Reducing Smoothie (get recipe here)
• Quinoa Pudding (get recipe here)
• Small handful of roasted nuts
• Stewed pear or apple with ghee and cinnamon (get recipe here)

Healthy Pitta Snacks:   

• Full-fat plain yogurt (homemade is best) with maple syrup and cardamom
• Dates with unsalted raw almond butter or coconut butter
• Warm spiced milk such as Golden Milk 
• Steamed veggies with ghee and roasted cumin powder
• Avocado with lime juice
• Rejuvenating Ojas Drink (get recipe here)
• Butternut Squash Smoothie (get recipe here)
• Quinoa Pudding (get recipe here)
• Ojas-Increasing Energy Balls (get recipe here)
• Fresh, juicy, sweet fruit such as grapes, plums, peaches, watermelon, pears, sweet berries, sweet cherries, figs, dates, and pomegranate 

Healthy Kapha Snacks:   

• Hummus with carrots and celery (get recipe here)
• Kale chips (get recipe here!)
• Small salad with olive oil and lemon juice
• Ginger tea with honey (get recipe here)
• Small spoonful of almond butter
• Bone broth (get recipe here), veggie broth (get recipe here), or lean chicken broth (ideally well spiced with ginger, turmeric, black pepper, etc)
• Fresh green veggie juice with ginger and lemon (avoid cucumber juice, however)
• Home-made hemp milk (get recipe here)
• Well-spiced golden almond milk (get recipe here)
• Plain goat milk yogurt or almond milk yogurt (homemade is best!) with honey, ginger, and a pinch of black pepper
• Masala Chai

8. Snack for the season.

After figuring out the best snacking foods for your dosha type, now it is equally important to make sure it is seasonally appropriate.  For example, raw green veggie juice may be great for Kapha types, but if you are enjoying it in the middle of fall or winter, this will be too rough, dry, and cooling; therefore broth or ginger tea with honey will be a much better option.  Similarly, warm spiced milk is great for Pitta during the fall and winter seasons, while drinking this mid-summer in 90+ degree weather may be too heating and provoke Pitta further.  Make sure the fruits and veggies you choose are seasonal (and local when possible) to ensure you are getting the most amount of nutrients and eating for the season (Mother Nature is so smart that way!)     

9. Avoid late-night snacking.

Last but surely not least is the ultimate healthy snacking rule.  Late-night snacking is an extremely destructive habit for any and everybody, no matter your age, weight, or state of health (pregnant woman excluded!).  Eating late at night often involves unhealthy food choices, overeating, and the intake of heavy foods such as cookies, candy, ice cream, pizza, chips, or the like.  I have known so many individuals who eat healthy all day long only to fall victim to their sweet tooth come 8 to 9 pm. 

Whether your snack is healthy or not, all food should ideally be avoided after about 7 pm (give or take).  Your metabolism naturally slows down around 5 to 6 pm and eating too late at night (especially heavy foods, junk food, or too much food) is a definite way to weaken your digestive fire, slow down your metabolism, and create toxins in your system. 

If you are a victim of late-night snacking, you will likely discover it is one of the more difficult habits to break.  Therefore a weaning process may be needed as your body and mind have become habituated to eating at this time and will not go out without a fight.  To help ease your way out of this habit, begin by utilizing all of these recommendations above to snack as healthy as possible… and remember, the lighter the better!  Some healthier late-night snacking options would be ginger tea with honey, broth, golden milk, a piece of fruit, or cooked apple with ghee.  Once you get used to eating lighter and healthier at this time, you can slowly eliminate the late-night snacking habit altogether. 

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