Hi, we're Kristin and Chrissy, your local hungry humans.
To us, seems like you can't throw a bag of kale chips without seeing an article listing a bunch of healthy snacks that will stop your hunger — and presumably keep you from overeating later.
And while these snacks always look beautiful and Pinterest-worthy, we were curious... Do they ACTUALLY keep you full? Like... really?
Or are they just sad fail foods destined to make you feel guilty for still being hungry?
So, we decided to give six commonly mentioned healthy snack options a try to see just how long these snacks could keep us satisfied.
We would both eat the same snacks, and — most importantly — we would see how much time it took after eating the snacks to get back to our original hunger level.
(A quick disclaimer: Obviously, this is not scientific and your results may vary — we are just two people with different bodies who think eating is fine and good.)
Almonds kept Kristin full(ish) for 1 hour, 31 minutes.
Kristin's thoughts: Ah, this old healthy snack cliché. Who came up with the idea that this handful of tree bark confetti was going to be a satisfying snack? All it really does is make you not want to eat any more almonds, which would be great if almonds were some sort of endangered species.
For as much as people tout this as a ~great snack!~ I was expecting more than 91 minutes of mediocre fullness.
While almonds kept Chrissy full for 3 hours, 15 minutes
Chrissy's thoughts: Here's the thing: I'm ALWAYS. HUNGRY. I feel like an actual freak human because of this, and I swear to god whenever I say it out loud, some extremely fit woman pops out of nowhere and violently whispers, "Try eating a handful of almonds!"
Out of spite (and pure dedication to Doritos), I've never tried it until now, and wow, apparently "almonds" are a code word for "chalk" because that's exactly what they tasted like. My mouth was so damn dry when I was done with those saliva-suckers. They did keep me full, though, so it actually miiiight be worth it. Maybe. I guess.
The apple and peanut butter kept Kristin full for 1 hour, 9 minutes.
Kristin's thoughts: OK, I can now see why people do the handful of almonds thing. While apples and PB were a lot more fun to eat, I don’t have time to get up every hour or so and fix myself a snack, you know? Like, WTF stomach? I gave you something good and you reward me by hassling me an hour later, like some sort of toddler I can't even use as an excuse to get out of social engagements?
While apples and PB kept Chrissy full for 4 hours, 26 minutes:
Chrissy's thoughts: Let's be real, the apples are just a vehicle to get straight-up peanut butter into my bod, which is fineee by me. Somehow I lasted until 8:46 PM (!!!), but I was in a state of hunger so deep that I spotted a granola bar that had been stuck in the crack of the passenger seat of my car for the past four months and almost started crying.
Greek yogurt kept Kristin full for 2 hours and 19 minutes.
Kristin's thoughts: OK, this snack is legit. The length of time I stayed full is equivalent to the amount of time you might spend on a particularly bad visit to the DMV. Plus, I felt good enough after I ate it where I might be able to handle a complicated DMV issue without furiously throwing my driver's license in the toilet and becoming a unicyclist.
So, Greek yogurt: It's the snack that will probably keep you from angrily unicycling to a McDonald's after leaving the DMV.
And Greek yogurt kept Chrissy full for 3 hours and 24 minutes.
Chrissy's thoughts: IDK how much a “drizzle” of honey is, but I spelled out “ew” on mine in protest for being forced to eat an entire cup of nonfat plain greek yogurt on its own. I NEED FRUITS ‘N’ THANGS IN THERE. Once you get the bitterness down, it does immediately give you ~dat full feeling~. Also, I'm half Greek. Does that have anything to do with this? Maybe, but probably not.
Half an avocado kept Kristin full for about an hour.
Kristin's thoughts: Look, I love avocados and I was very excited for this snack, but it was just not enough. Avocado is not a movie star, it is a character actor. You cannot eat avocado by itself and expect satisfying results, just like you can't be surprised that Boardwalk Empire was not a very good TV show.
And half an avocado kept Chrissy full for 2 hours and 8 minutes.
Chrissy's thoughts: Apparently avocados are just nature fat, so I loved eating a lil' pile of earth lard, but it issss a little awkward just eating a straight-up avocado with like… literally nothing else. Weirdly, though, right after I ate it, I realized I didn't feel the slightest bit full, so I had a moment sitting at my desk where I questioned if it even happened and panicked that I had turned into a ghost and that nothing was real anymore.
Eggs 'n' Sriracha kept Kristin from wanting to eat again for an 1 hour and 35 minutes:
Kristin's thoughts: I don't think I was ever full, I think my stomach was just like, "Invalid password, you have been locked out of your account for 90 minutes." I actually eat these two things separately on their own A LOT, but together they're they're too much. I get wanting to make hard-boiled eggs more interesting, but unless you are already 35% sriracha, this is like the nuclear option.
While eggs 'n' Sriracha kept Chrissy full for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Chrissy's thoughts: If "feeling nauseous" is the same as "feeling full," then sure, a straight-up embryo covered in hot sauce kept me "full" for nearly three hours.
All in all, we were surprised (and a little validated) to find that the same healthy snacks kept us full for such different lengths of time — so it's easy to see how someone trying to eat healthy could get really frustrated!
