Who says back to school also means more time to look for the miracle formula to manage lunches and snacks for the whole household. Integrated into a healthy lifestyle, snacks can provide us with important nutrients and become a positive eating habit by helping us maintain optimal energy levels throughout the day. Getting into the habit of eating nutritious snacks is widely recognized for helping to maintain a healthy weight by keeping us from going completely hungry at the next meal. Of course, to have a positive influence on our health, food choices have to be judiciously made.
What then is a “race” snack?
At school?
Children (especially young children) typically have a smaller appetite. Some people may have trouble getting enough food in a day if they have to eat it in 3 large meals. It is therefore advisable to offer them snacks that contain carbohydrates, fats and proteins at all times. Same recipe for our growing teenagers. Maybe they will avoid emptying the fridge when they get back from school? I said maybe ...
For us runners?
Before training, we want to prioritize proper hydration and provide our body with easy-to-use fuel (glucose (sugar)) so that energy can be concentrated in our machine. Put simply, we don't want all of the energy to go into digestion. Juice for the legs please!
After training, we want to allow our machine to recover. To do this, proteins to repair the structure and carbohydrates to face the rest of the day with energy.
It's all well and good, but in food, what does it look like?
Here are some examples of foods rich in carbohydrates to "boost" you before or after training (amounts equivalent to about 15 g of carbohydrates = 1 serving):
- A fresh fruit, canned or in a compote (125mL). If consumed before the race, make sure that it is a fruit that is digested well. If, for example, oranges cause you to have acid reflux when you are at rest, it is likely to be worse when you exert yourself;
- Dates and other dried fruits (approximately 30 mL). Easy to transport in a reusable container. If you don't like dates as they are, I suggest the tasty galette de Mrs Labriskii. You'll never see cookies the same way again!
- Grain products (A slice of bread, half a bagel, small bowl of oatmeal or cereal, 4 or 5 crackers, muffins or homemade bars) Be careful here with grain products containing a large amount of insoluble fiber (eg allbran, grain breads, etc.) as they can cause discomfort during the race. Oatmeal, for example, has a good amount of easily digestible fiber called soluble fiber. Try it out if you haven't already.
Foods high in protein can be added to post-workout snacks and children's / teens' snacks (amounts equal to approximately 6-8g of protein = 1 serving):
- A hard-boiled egg. Easy to prepare for the weekend. Keeps in their shells for a good 7 days. The shell is shelled the same morning and kept cool in the lunch box or snack bag with ice packs.
- Nuts and seeds and roasted legumes (30 to 60 mL): Nuts are tasty, easy to transport, keep at room temperature for a long time (for the most part) and are an excellent accompaniment to one of the sources of carbohydrates mentioned above. Incompatible with school for the risk of allergic reactions, it is better to keep them for small snacks in the car or at home. In return, the legumes are a good contribution protein AND carbohydrates, and roasted in the oven with the spices of your choice, it's excellent! I recently discovered in my box Me first small crunchy BBQ lentils three farmers which contained, per serving, 18g of carbohydrates and 7g of protein. A balanced and tasty snack alternative!
- Dairy products and their plant substitutes : (Fresh cheeses like cottage 250 mL, Firm cheeses like cheddar 30g, yogurts 175mL, milk 250mL). What I really like about this category is that a portion provides carbohydrates AND protein and that everything is now done in a vegetarian version. My favorite little snack between training sessions is cappuccino soy beverage tetra pak. I love the taste, it fits wonderfully in my backpack and hydration as a bonus!
Conclusion:
Be creative. Cook pancakes, energy balls or bars with foods from both categories. Do more and freeze it all. It will always be better than the sadly over-processed products that can be found in the supermarket. Keep in mind that the best way to eat well is to gradually learn to cook.
I also want to tell you that the portions are for representative purposes only. It is ideally the feeling of hunger and satiety that should guide the amount of food we eat. On the other hand, if you tend to eat until you feel full, drunk, I suggest that you try eating a smaller portion and wait about XNUMX minutes to see if the hunger signals are still there. We bet not? And if it is, eat more. Your machine is in the best position to know what you need.
And you, what are your best combinations?
Have a good back-to-school race!
Sources and inspirations:
1MARIELLE LEDOUX, NATALIE LACOMBE, GENEVIEVE ST-MARTIN, Nutrition, Sport and Performance, GéoPleinAir collection, Vélo Québec, 2009 Edition.
Canadian Food Guide: Healthy Snacks
** Note that all the products or sources mentioned are favorites. I don't get anything in return except the pleasure of sharing 😊
It's really very interesting, but unfortunately there are spelling mistakes: It will always be better, it should be It will always be better. The fault is found in another place.
Oh, well seen, our apologies, we correct now.