Training and consistently participating in athletic exercises will leave your teenager feeling very hungry. Here are a few ideas for healthy and easy recipes to keep them fuelled for future workouts. You can make these in advance and have them stored in your fridge to save time on meal preparation as well.

Protein-filled snacks and complex carbohydrates are rich in fiber. That means that they take much longer to break down than a simple carb or processed food. This helps keep your athletes’ blood sugar levels steady. Because they are digested more slowly, they provide a lot more sustained energy, which will help them feel full for a more extended period.

7 Easy Snack Ideas for Teen Athletes

3 Ingredient Vegan Cookies

All you need are rolled oats, bananas, and a sweetener of your choice (I have used coconut flakes, dates, dried cranberries, and dark chocolate chips as an example)

• Mix 2 cups of oats with 2.5 crushed bananas and add ½ a cup of your choice of sweetener
• Mix all 3 ingredients together until you have the consistency of a cookie dough
• Place 1 spoon full of the batter onto a cookie tray lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven for 15-20 mins at 350 F

Trail Mix
Who said trail mix has to be boring? Many grocery stores offer ready-made trail mixes, but they can be quite costly. Now is the time to make it creative and tasty. Having your athletes’ favorite snacks or nuts in a premade mixture is an excellent time-saving technique. My go-to trail mix comprises almonds, walnuts, chocolate covered almonds, dried cranberries, and sliced dried mangos.

Protein Filled Parfait
Add plain Greek yogurt in a bowl or mason jar, top it with granola and add berries, chia seeds or even peanut butter if you’re feeling extra hungry.

Healthy Candy Bar
Crush 2 dates into a small bowl and mix it with one spoonful of all-natural peanut butter. This mixture will taste just like a Snickers Bar with a fraction of the calories.

Ants on a Log
Slice celery stalks horizontally and fills them with peanut butter. You can top them with raisins.

Healthy Beaver Tail
Toast whole wheat pita bread to your preference and then drizzle greek honey on top of the pita. Afterward, sprinkle with cinnamon on top. Truly delicious!

Vegetables with Hummus
This dish is straightforward to make, and you can add any vegetables you like. Ensure that you are buying a hummus with a high chickpea content for more nutrients. Some of my favorite vegetables to include in a vegetable tray are baby carrots, celery, cucumbers, radishes, and broccoli. Dipping them in a low-fat hummus will have your athlete feeling full between workouts.

Ensuring that you are replenishing the nutrients in your body after a workout is paramount. With these easy recipes, you can easily make it a priority!

Read More

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