Trial and error

I plan my meals, so they are balanced and healthy and keep me on target - unless we go out for dinner, in which case I do my best but sometimes veer off a little. My problem are my late-night snacking, which tend not to be as planned or as healthy.

So late last night, about six hours after dinner, I got the munchies. Instead of reaching for the goldfish crackers, I found leftovers from dinner and had those instead. It was still fewer calories and more nutritious than whatever salty crunchy thing I would have had instead. And it occurred to me: why don't I just cook a little extra dinner each night, save some leftovers, and have those as a late night snack if I get hungry? Last night's dinner was mixed veggies and shrimp, and the leftovers were quite satisfying. I'm going to try this, having dinner part 1 at our regular time (~6 pm) and then dinner part 2 late at night (~midnight). If I make my dinner part 1 a smaller serving than usual, I might be able to pull this off.

But I'll need to wait a couple of weeks to try this experiment. My in-laws are arriving tomorrow, which means:
a) probably no dinner leftovers for a while with two more adults in the house. Even if I cook a little more, it will get eaten at dinner, or if I set some aside for a snack before I serve dinner, I think my MIL will think I'm being weirdly selfish
b) more eating out
c) fewer late nights since my in-laws go to bed early and then need a quiet house to sleep well. This is good, may force me into a more "normal" schedule.

I can't wait until tomorrow - I grew up in a small, quiet family, and I love having relatives visit because the house is noisier and happier.