TOP 5 HEALTHY POST WORKOUT SNACKS
Snacking is a pretty big deal in my world. I'm one of those people who needs to be constantly eating or I get the grumpies, so finding good healthy snacks is important. Recently, I've also been trying to incorporate healthy post workout snacks. Iknew post workout snacks were important, but I needed a blue print, and then I found this and was on my way.
I've been trying to learn what healthy snacks are my favorite and how many calories are actually needed post workout. Tyler and I workout in the evening, a few hours after dinner, right before we go to bed. We don't want to consume a bunch of calories right before bed, but we do need a little something to rebuild our muscles. Most post workout snacks range between 150 - 200 calories. The one's I have found that I really like and eat are in the 150 range. Most of our workouts are pretty intense (P90X3), some more then others. For the most part and I can tell when I need a post workout snack and when I don't. When choosing a post workout snack keep in mind that you want to have both protein and healthy carbs.
5 HEALTHY POST WORKOUT SNACKS
1.) LOW FAT COTTAGE CHEESE & A CUTIE : This is probably one of my favorite snacks. It's filling and easy to grab from the fridge. Keep in mind when serving your cottage cheese to know how many calories your serving. A cutie has 40 calories, while a cup of cottage cheese has about 170 calories. Based on that you want about half a cup of cottage cheese.
2.) ONE EXTRA SMALL APPLE AND PEANUT BUTTER : I could eat this snack any time of day and that's what's so great about it. Tyler and I usually share an apple and dap a little peanut butter on each slice. While the peanut butter is high in protein it also has a good amount of calories. It's easy for me to go overboard with the peanut butter, keep that in mind while you're snacking.
3.) BABY CARROTS AND HUMMUS : Oh goodness, another amazing snack that can be eaten any time of day. This snack can be rather filling because you can have a lot of carrots. Baby carrots are about 4 calories each. Hummus is 70 calories per two tablespoons. I prefer a little extra hummus so I would go with about 15 baby carrots.
4.) ONE BANANA AND A FEW ALMONDS : A regular size banana is about 100 calories and while almonds are extra good they have a high calorie count. A quarter cup of almonds is 166 calories. If you are trying to stick to 150 calorie snack you only need a few almonds to get there.
5.) ONE HARD BOILED EGG, HALF WHOLE GRAIN TOAST W/ PEANUT BUTTER : Hard boiled eggs are actually my go to when I need protein. Eggs provide a solid source of protein with out having to do to much work. A hard boiled egg is about 80 calories, half whole grain bread is about 35 calories and a tablespoon of peanut butter is about 90 calories. This snack averages about 200 calories vs 150 calories, but it's still a favorite.
There you have it, 5 healthy post workout snacks. It hasn't always been my favorite thing to count calories, but I am learning that if I take the time to simply understand the calories that I'm taking in, then I can better understand how to take care of my body and build lean strong muscles. What are some of your favorite post workout snacks? xo. Samantha