If you’re like me you’re a snacker! I love my sweets and crunchy snacks. But that doesn’t work with my nutritional goals most of the time, especially as a fitness competitor training to become a professional fitness competitor. I have however, found really fun and tasty ways to have my snacks and eat them too!
Before I share some of my favs, keep in mind that there is a logic to your snacking and still maintaining your fitness goals. Snack after a meal and not in replacement of one, watch your portion size, try to have it towards the end of the day once you’ve eaten all of the foods you’re actually supposed to. Lastly, don’t feel guilty about it. Balance is key in life and you have to treat yo’ self from time to time.
Popcorn: pound per pound it’s a great healthy choice. I’m not talking about popcorn drenched in butter and salt. I’m talking about popcorn air popped with a pinch of salt. If you can make it at home yourself, even better. Pop in evoo and only a pinch of salt. You can have a ton 2-6 cups depending on the amount of oil and salt used, and it’s low in calories. Count it as part of your daily carb intake and you’ll probably still be within your macros. My new favorite popcorn is from a local brand in New York named Pop N’s Popcorn. I’ve had them at some local street fairs. Their website is coming soon. For now, you can email them at: popnspopcorn@gmail.com
My best tips for healthy snacking. PopCorn! Try Pop N’s Popcorn From New York.
Apple and Peanut butter: I love to have this just before or after my leg day workout. It gives my body the fiber, and energy it needs to quickly recover or prep for my workout and best yet, it’s healthy! I use one small to medium-sized apple and a 1 tablespoon of peanut butter for the entire apple.
Greek Yogurt (or cottage cheese) and FRESH blueberries: Greek yogurt is a great prophetic which can help my tummy to breakdown the amount of protein I intake. The calcium helps my bones and the fresh blueberries are an amazing antioxidant. While the benefits of blueberries are better for men than for woman, our bodies definitely still benefit from them. I use one cup of greek yogurt (or cottage cheese) and a handful of blueberries. If you go for the cottage cheese, it’s a great night-time snack because it has a lot of casein. Casein takes a while for the body to metabolize, and will keep your body satisfied while sleeping. This is important, because while we sleep, our bodies are working so much. The cottage cheese will help our bodies to have the energy to do all of its recovery work during that time.
My best tips for healthy snacking. Greek Yogurt and Fresh Blueberries
Rice Cakes and Peanut Butter (sometimes I use Jelly too): Rice cakes are eaten by tons of fitness competitors. So I share our snacking secret with you. I typically use a salted or whole wheat rice cake. I also get the generic store brand, some of the fancy one’s have a ton more carbs than the simple, less expensive store brand. The store brands are often crunchier too. I use a 1/4 teaspoon of peanut butter and a dab of jelly. Sugar can be bad with maintaining fitness goals, so try to stay on the low side for sugar intake. I typically have 25g of sugar or less per day.
Almonds: I love almonds and almost always have a stash in my purse just incase I get peckish through the day. They are a fat (as are most tree nuts), so be careful how much you eat because they can pack on some pounds. But in moderation, they are a great healthy snack to munch on. I usually have 1-2 small handfuls when I do eat them.
My best tips for healthy snacking. Almonds! One of my favorite go to’s.
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