Snack Attack!

I hope you are all doing well on your new fitness and nutritional programmes. I have had a lot of enquiries lately about what to eat for snacks. Snacks are the bridges that get you from breakfast to lunch and from lunch to dinner without breaking the rules. It is a good idea to have a good supply of snacks in your office, car, or bag.

Ideally you will be eating between 5 and 6 times a day, with your first meal being breakfast, which you should try and eat within 30 minutes of getting up in the morning. A perfect day might look something like this:

Breakfast at 7am
Snack at 10 am
Lunch at 13.00 pm
Snack at 16.00 pm
Dinner at 19.00 pm
Snack (optional) at 9pm

Ofcourse, these times are just an example and you will have to adjust them to suit your daily schedule. However, try and stick to no more than 4 hour gaps between feeding opportunities. This way you will be giving your body consistent nutrition throughout the day and keeping your metabolism fired up. If you tend to do your workout in the evening, you will probably not be able to eat dinner until 8 or 9 pm and it will be important therefore to have a substantial snack pre-workout. This is an ideal time to drink a pre-workout protein shake, something that will provide you with some good energy and will be easily digested. Likewise, if you plan to do a lunch time workout, try and have a protein shake a couple of hours before you start. Men should aim for 250 -400 calories per snack and women should aim for approximately 150 - 300 calories. Ideally, your snack will contain a good combination of both fats and protein and not include any sugary or processed treats.

11 of our favourite snacks

1. *Protein Shake*
2. 1 handful of roasted pumpkin seeds
3. Carrots with 1 cup of hummus
4. 1 apple with 1 tbs of almond butter
5. Low fat greek yoghurt with a few chopped almonds
6. 2 hard boiled eggs
7. a cupful of mixed berries and a small carton of fromage fraise
8. Chopped celery, peppers and cucumbers with small portion of tzatziki
9. Celery sticks with 2 tbs of organic peanut butter
10. 1 handful of pistachios, cashews or walnuts
11. 2 slices of roast beef or chicken with some broccoli florets

*PROTEIN SHAKES*

Super pre-workout energy shake
8-12 ounces of water
2 scoops of protein powder
1 banana
6 ice cubes
Whizz all the ingredients in a high powered blender

If you don't have access to a blender or if you just want to make your shake and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to drink it, you will have to exclude the ice cubes. Please check out the link we have posted on the blog for Melsfit. You can purchase your protein powders from this store and you will also get a special plastic container in which to mix your shakes!

*More Shake ideas*
Energy Blaster
1 cup of un-sweetened almond milk
1 scoop of protein powder
1/2 cup of blueberries
1 banana
Whizz in the blender and then store in the fridge until required. Shake before drinking.

Berrylicious Shake
1/2 cup of mixed berries
1 scoop of protein powder
1/2 cup of low fat greek yoghurt
1 tbs of ground flaxseed
1/2 cup of cold water
Whizz in a blender and store in the fridge. You can replace the water with ice if you want to consume immediately

Don't forget to fuel your body with high quality foods throughout the day and plan ahead so that you always have access to something nutritious.

In Health,

Tamara
Geneva Fitness - "Changing Lives One Rep at a Time"