Apr 21, 2017Healthy Snacking
Many student-athletes don’t give much thought to nutrition. It can be tempting for them to frequent fast-food drive-throughs before and after practices, stuffing themselves on burgers and fries. Often, they just aren’t aware of the effects these items have on their performance.
Fortunately, that trend has been shifting in recent years. Slowly but surely, student-athletes’ nutrition has been getting more and more attention. To help our athletes at California State University, Fresno, we put together a Sports Nutrition Playbook. It provides athletes with a great reference to use when implementing good nutrition habits into their daily life. One of the items we put in the Playbook is a section on healthy snacking.
The following are some of the suggestions included in the Sports Nutrition Playbook to help student-athletes with choosing options for snacks.
Snacks on the go
Fruit-flavored, low-fat Greek yogurt with low-fat granola
Lean roast beef, ham, or turkey and a string cheese stick rolled up in a whole wheat tortilla and paired with baby carrots
Whole grain pita bread triangles and flavored hummus
A scoop of low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese with sliced strawberries or cantaloupe cubes
Fresh fruit paired with peanut butter or nuts
Hard-boiled egg paired with a handful of cherry tomatoes
Quick picks from the vending machine or convenience store
Beef jerky
Fat-free or low-fat yogurt or yogurt drinks
Packages of baby carrots, broccoli florets or celery sticks
Fresh fruits, fruit salads, or fruit cups
Mozzarella cheese sticks
Pudding cups
Cereal bars or nutrition bars
Low-fat or fat-free regular or flavored milks
100% fruit or vegetable juices
Sports drinks
Survival stashes
Oatmeal packets with nuts or peanut butter
Single-serve tuna in flavor-fresh pouch, served with whole grain crackers
Light microwave popcorn
Raisins, dried apricots, and single-serve fruit cups packed in 100% fruit juice
Shelf-stable protein drinks
