Midnight Snack

Do you ever have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep? Although this could be due to a number of reasons one of them is due to not having enough of the right raw materials to help you fall and stay asleep. Your body needs tryptophan which is used to make serotonin and then melatonin- which is the hormone that helps you fall asleep when its dark. Some of the foods rich in tryptophan include: almonds, oats and  banana. So for me a perfect evening or midnight snack would be an oatcake with almond butter and some slices of banana on it. Not only does it help with sleep but its tasty and very very good for you. I drizzle  some honey onto this which is also beneficial because it slightly raises insulin levels allowing tryptophan to enter the brain more easily. In addition to this almonds are also a rich source of magnesium, studies have found that when your magnesium levels are too low its harder to stay asleep. So what better snack really ...

I happen to like to sprinkle cacao nibs on mine or you can grate a little dark chocolate on it. Anyone who loves the combination of chocolate and peanut butter will appreciate the similar taste sensation that  it has with almond butter and the cacao ... plus the banana ... yum! Cacao/ dark chocolate are super foods too and full of antioxidants so its not subtracting anything from this snack ... just increasing its score!