For active people who hike, bike, walk, jog, lift weights, or just play, healthy snacks are an important component of solid nutrition for athletes. It is no secret that there are plenty of poor tasting protein drinks and stomach-churning power bars available. Now, however, finding the right snacks and the most flavorful nutrition can be a much more enjoyable experience than it was in the past.
Whether you devise your own healthy snacks or buy something prepackaged, it is more common now to find treats that are likeable and provide a boost to your fitness routine. What has changed is that the most powerful nutrition for athletes can now be more convenient and easy to obtain from healthy snacks in concentrated formulations that are prepared with real whole food ingredients. These concentrated formulas include the perfect levels of complex carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals. The most appealing aspect is that these concentrated snack formulas taste great, and they are so easy to prepare.
To consume even more solid nutrition for athletes, throw in a few bananas or other fruits with these all natural whole food concentrates and make healthy snacks that could be full meals, especially for breakfast. Besides additional fruit, try adding organic peanut butter for a little more protein. You may be astounded at the great taste and your body will appreciate the increase in essential fats. When it comes to tasty and convenient nutrition for athletes, these kinds of concentrated, nutrient dense smoothies are far superior to juicing or food combining. It is great to know that you can get all the nutrients you need to perform at peak levels by simply using a blender and about 30 seconds of effort.
One thing to remember is that purchasing concentrated whole food healthy snacks requires some digging. Learning more about what you are purchasing is critical if you are really serious about finding the highest quality nutrition for athletes. It is necessary to look beyond the nutrition fact labels to uncover how the products are processed and whether or not they contain whole food ingredients with live enzymes. Try to understand if the healthy snacks you think you are buying are alkaline foods or acid foods. This will depend on the structure of the all-natural, whole food ingredients that are used and if they were overly processed in packaging.
Numbers to look out for on the nutrition facts label include sodium and sugar levels. Too many people make the mistake of only looking at carbs, calories and protein when buying nutrition for athletes. However, many of the so-called healthy foods actually contain dangerously large amounts of protein for anyone except bodybuilders and pro athletes. Really healthy snacks that qualify as appropriate nutrition for athletes are those that include whole food ingredients with plant-based protein, not synthetic proteins, vitamins or minerals.