What are some good after dinner/before bed snacks?

[Maxtro]

I usually eat dinner around 6 and I'm in bed at 11. Obviously in that 5 hour window I get hungry. I'm too lazy to cook again so I usually snack on junk food; chips, cookies, ice cream etc. trying to get full before I go to bed. If it was a workout day I have a casein shake before bed.

My goal is to gain 10 lbs muscle. I have considered buying some weight gain powder to supplement my meals but that stuff is expensive. Cheapest one I saw is $2.00 a serving. Every now and then I'd buy a store brand boost plus which is 360 calories and 14 grams of protein for about $1.20 per serving.

Are there any better alternatives that don't require a lot of effort in preparing. Before anybody suggests it, I can't stand tuna.

 

[dj ben2]

cottage cheese............. i love the stuff i eat it by the tub and its slow digesting so its PERFECT before bed

 

[CaptainJ]

Milk is probably the best thing you can have before bed. Not only will it make you get to sleep better, but apparently the muscle recovery and building ingredients in it work better when followed by sleep.

But really any dairy is good.

 

[Fuglydude]

Milk is probably the best thing you can have before bed. Not only will it make you get to sleep better, but apparently the muscle recovery and building ingredients in it work better when followed by sleep.

But really any dairy is good.

I respectfully disagree... 250 cc of milk will typically contain 6-7 g of protein and 14-16 g of fast hitting, high GI carbs (namely galactose). Fat content will vary depending on whether its whole milk, skim, etc. I've found that since I've minimized milk and bread intake I have had a much easier time staying lean.

Pre-bedtime/after dinner snacks should have high protein, good fat content while minimizing carbs. This is assuming you wanna stay reasonably lean while adding muscle. Cottage cheese is a great pre-bedtime snack w/ 1 cup giving you ~30 high quality slow-release caseine... definitely a lot cheaper than buying casein the supplement store! Almonds are another great choice, as are veges and low GI fruit.

Recenty I've tried taking in 1 lb of pork ribs as my pre-bedtime meal. This is aroun 700-800 calories w/ 60-80 g protein and lots of fat. I need a lot of calories to put on mass and this did the trick well. I'm personally not a huge fan of weight gainers. Your body has a much easier time using and assimilating natural food like meat than it does w/ supplements. Furthermore, depending on where you shop meat can be considerably cheaper than supplements. I get my ribs at costco, w/ ~10 lbs going for $20-25. This normally lasts me around a week, so again its considerably cheaper than buying weight gainers.

Hope this helps. Just my 2 cents.

 

[CaptainJ]

I respectfully disagree... 250 cc of milk will typically contain 6-7 g of protein and 14-16 g of fast hitting, high GI carbs (namely galactose). Fat content will vary depending on whether its whole milk, skim, etc. I've found that since I've minimized milk and bread intake I have had a much easier time staying lean.

Pre-bedtime/after dinner snacks should have high protein, good fat content while minimizing carbs. This is assuming you wanna stay reasonably lean while adding muscle. Cottage cheese is a great pre-bedtime snack w/ 1 cup giving you ~30 high quality slow-release caseine... definitely a lot cheaper than buying casein the supplement store! Almonds are another great choice, as are veges and low GI fruit.

Recenty I've tried taking in 1 lb of pork ribs as my pre-bedtime meal. This is aroun 700-800 calories w/ 60-80 g protein and lots of fat. I need a lot of calories to put on mass and this did the trick well. I'm personally not a huge fan of weight gainers. Your body has a much easier time using and assimilating natural food like meat than it does w/ supplements. Furthermore, depending on where you shop meat can be considerably cheaper than supplements. I get my ribs at costco, w/ ~10 lbs going for $20-25. This normally lasts me around a week, so again its considerably cheaper than buying weight gainers.

Hope this helps. Just my 2 cents.

The OP said he wanted to gain muscle. I don't see anything about staying lean. At beginner stage, milk is better than roids for building muscle, but like you say, it's going to give you a bit of fat gain too.

Although, I drink 3 pints of milk a day and my fat gain is minimal. At his stage, I think it's better to bulk that to worry about staying lean.

 

[Fuglydude]

Valid points... I just assume everyone wants to stay lean. Different people have different lactose-tolerances... so it will depend on his lactose tolerance.

I have to maintain ~10% bf... have to be able to get a 6-pack within a few days for work, and I was just stating what works for me.

I think he'll have to find the combination of foods that work best for him.

 

[thedude4242]

the best thing to do is go to bed hungry when you can.

 

[Maxtro]

I have to look into cottage cheese I've also heard it being mentioned here before.

I may not have made it clear but I'm looking for something that can be a mini-meal. Not a right before bed snack.

The pork ribs sound like a good idea but I wonder if it's too heavy to eat a few hours before bed. I'll look into the cost.

I don't really care about eating lean as my goal is to bulk up. Once I hit my goal weight then I'll start to cut.

 

[mikelangelo11]

Re

There's not one single ideal snack. Yours is a good choice. Mix it up some. Try yogurt, popcorn (no butter), carrot sticks. Pickles are great because they have no calories.

 

[blinkwatt101]

Raw peanut butter. Fat free milk(i love it before bed unless I'm trying to drop to 5%). Almond butter. Cashews.

 

[Bible_Belt]

I like frozen and individually prepackaged salmon, tilapia, and chicken. Throw a piece in the toaster oven for 15 minutes and season as you like.

 

[blinkwatt101]

I like frozen and individually prepackaged salmon, tilapia, and chicken. Throw a piece in the toaster oven for 15 minutes and season as you like.

Interesting can you link them?

 

[EFFORT]

If your goal is to gain 10lbs of muscle the first thing you should do is setup a detailed base eating plan for each day of the week (including times of meals/quantities/food choices) Once you have that laid out plugging in the before bed meal will have relevance to your overall plan. So come up with a rough draft of your diet and post it up and I'll plug in your before bed meal into it if your still lost.

 

[EFFORT]

The OP said he wanted to gain muscle. I don't see anything about staying lean. At beginner stage, milk is better than roids for building muscle, but like you say, it's going to give you a bit of fat gain too.

Although, I drink 3 pints of milk a day and my fat gain is minimal. At his stage, I think it's better to bulk that to worry about staying lean.

Milk before bed is going to be a very bad idea for a lot of people. I understand your point about having him get some overall mass on his frame, but just spending sometime creating a clean diet will accomplish that.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Interesting can you link them?

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=360940&pCatg=2472

The chicken is precooked and seasoned. It is high in sodium, but otherwise pretty good.


http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=205539

The tilapia will taste like whatever you put on it. Lemon juice is probably the healthiest thing.

 

[blinkwatt101]

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=360940&pCatg=2472

The chicken is precooked and seasoned. It is high in sodium, but otherwise pretty good.


http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=205539

The tilapia will taste like whatever you put on it. Lemon juice is probably the healthiest thing.

Thanks man!

Unfortunately I know longer have a Sam's Club membership....Costco all the way. I started wondering why my Strawberrys from Costco were always fresher and last longer then the ones from Sam's Club although they come from the same company,just different containers.....Costco sells their old products to Sam's Club...it's true. (A friend that works at Costco verified this for me,if you look around on the net you can verify the same)

 

[CarlitosWay]

the best thing to do is go to bed hungry when you can.

lol worse advice...yeah when your body is about to go into a deep REM sleep cycle where it'll repair vital organs/release beneficial hormones, let's not give it anything! Plus eating before bed helps limit/halt your body from going into a deep catabolic state (muscle eating stage). People don't realize but you're still burning calories while you're sleeping around 300-400 roughly during those 6-8 hours.

Milk before bed is going to be a very bad idea for a lot of people. I understand your point about having him get some overall mass on his frame, but just spending sometime creating a clean diet will accomplish that.

Exactly my thoughts too. Plus many people are allergic or have intolerance's (lactose) towards milk and can do more harm in good, putting fat gain into the equation.

I think one should never think of gaining muscle in the "bulk/cut" state of mind. It should be eating big and clean the majority of the time and adding in more cardio/reducing carbs/avoiding cheat meals some when one gets a bit too much fat gain.. Never actually sitting down and say I'm going to do a "cut".

It's just not efficient to yo yo up and down especially in the long term.