Healthy Snack Ideas for Athletes During Quarantine

Healthy snacks for between meals

Snacking and eating between meals is a growing tendency, especially among university students. This, according to an article published in the Spanish journal Nutrición Clínica y Dietética Hospitalaria. When it comes to athletes, snacking may coincide with pre-training ingestion. Thus, in these cases, consuming a high percentage of carbohydrates can improve athletic performance.

There are a variety of strategies related to the diets that athletes can adopt throughout the training season. For example, when weightlifting, athletes will want to improve their mark. Training while fasting is another strategy that many utilize when it comes to improving performance and body composition.

What needs to be clear is that this strategy needs to be justified and only take place during training. It’s never a good idea to apply it on the day of the competition. If it doesn’t produce the desired effect, it could cause problems.

Healthy snack ideas

Below, we’ll list off some healthy snack alternatives that athletes. With the objective of reaping maximum benefits, we recommend consulting with a nutritionist and inserting them into a healthy and balanced diet.

• Pickles, but be careful with the salt!
• Microwaved potatoes or yams.
• Natural or toasted nuts.
• Mussels.
• Toast with tomato and olive oil.
• Spanish peanuts.

• Shrimp and vegetable kebabs.
• Gazpacho soup.
• Fruit: having a bowl of washed and cut fruit in the refrigerator makes things easier.
• Fresh carrot.
• Vegetable, potato, and yam chips: cut the vegetables into thick pieces and dehydrate them in the oven or microwave.
• Garbanzo hummus.
• Cherry tomatoes.

Other more elaborate healthy snack options

Popcorn

According to a report from the FAO, the commercialization of corn is growing. This grain contains potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, and every vitamin except B12. What’s more, it’s a gluten-free grain, which means it’s present in many recipes for persons with celiac disease.

Popcorn constitutes a very versatile and healthy food to munch on, which is why it’s on our list snacks. In order to prepare it, you just need popping corn, olive oil, salt, your favorite spices, and a microwave-safe bowl. The bowl can be ceramic or silicone and have a steamer type lid.

Plantain nachos

This is a healthy snack that’s quick to prepare and requires only three ingredients: plantain, olive oil, and your favorite spices. The procedure for preparing your nachos involves the following three steps:

• First, cook the plantain for several minutes.
• Next, add a spoonful of virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then mash.
• Finally, mash the mixture between two sheets of oven paper and bake for several minutes. Cut into triangles and then bake until toasted.

Once your nachos are ready, you can accompany them with guacamole or homemade salsa. To make guacamole, all you really need is avocado and lemon. Just mash the avocado and add lemon juice, adjusting the proportions to your taste. If you want, you can also add chopped tomato and red onion and a pinch of salt.

What to drink?

Many enjoy the tradition of having an alcoholic drink before dinner, especially on the weekends. Without a doubt, many will want to continue this tradition during confinement. And for those who live alone, streaming with friends and family is a growing social phenomenon.  So, if you want to stay healthy during quarantine without missing out on tradition, what can you drink?

As an appetizer to accompany your drink, you can choose any of the options we suggested above. And when it comes to what to drink, here are several alternatives.

Remember that alcoholic drinks aren’t the best option for athletes as they can lower your defenses. So, we suggest the following substitutes:

• Infusions with ice and a slice of lemon.
• Water or carbonated water with slices of fruit to add flavor (you can also make a smoothie).
• Tomato juice.
• Alcohol-free beer.

Enjoy a healthy snack without sacrifice

Do you simply prefer to eat healthily? Or are you worried about putting on extra weight during quarantine? Either way, all of the options in today’s article will come in useful. Play around and choose your favorites!