Quick and Clean: Post-Workout Snacks on the Go, Go, Go

Moms have Superpowers. It’s true.

We may not be able to fly or have x-ray vision (and what I wouldn’t give to make myself invisible when the kids are looking for me!)

We have the power of Go.

It gets us through a typical day.

Alarm goes off, wake up, get the kids up, make breakfast, tell the kids at least 100 times to eat it, shove them out the door to school. Pause— Deep Breath.

Start the laundry, make appointments, return emails, fill out school forms, fill out medical forms, summer camp forms, forms, forms and more forms.  Run to the store, the post office, the vet.  Back home. More laundry, dishes, food prep. How much longer until school pick up?

Squeeze in workout?  Yep, gotta do it! You’ve got 30 minutes—make that 20– before you need to fly out the door to pick up the kids. Just enough time for a quick run on the treadmill. Done.

 

Workout Complete. Child on the Loose.

 

Grab bags frantically— your bag, the kid’s sports bags, bag full of snacks, snacks and more snacks.

Keys, phone, extra snacks and out the door! As you drive off in your car filled with enough gear and snacks to last 3 days in the woods, you wonder if you forgot anything?

Yes.  Yes you did. And it may slow you down faster than kryptonite.

While you packed enough kid snacks to feed a small army (or peewee soccer team), you forgot to bring a nutritious post-workout snack for yourself —a key element of muscle recovery and keeping your superhuman mom powers!

After exercising, your body needs to replace the proteins, carbohydrates and electrolytes it used up to power through your workout—and to replace them as quickly as possible. Your muscles crave these nutrients for optimal muscle recovery— reducing soreness and stiffness while building strength.

Not only do you need nutritious post-workout fuel for optimal fitness, you need it for powering through a typical busy day with kids.  Trust me— a day full of kid wrangling and activities with tired, stiff and sore muscles is a long and torturous one!

For us moms, a post-workout snack needs to be quick. Like The Flash quick. 

However, quick doesn’t have to mean unhealthy or full of empty calories.  (Put that handful of pretzels down!)  You may not have time for a well-balanced meal but there are plenty of quick, clean, whole food snack options that offer the proteins and carbs your body needs.

After your next workout, grab one of the following quick, clean (and likely already on- hand) snacks before you fly out the door:  

 

Low-Fat Cheese with a Banana- Both easy to grab quickly as you head out the door! Cheese offers you protein while a banana has potassium and a high glycemic index which delivers fuel to your body more quickly.

Whole Wheat Toast with Peanut or Almond Butter- A perfectly portable mix of carbs and protein!

Trail Mix- Most trail mixes include an assortment of nuts and dried fruits- providing the healthy fats, glycogen and carbs your muscles crave.

Protein Bar- Perfect for stashing in your gym bag or car for when you’re on the go.  Look for those that use only whole ingredients like dried fruits and nuts. I’ve just discovered GoMacro.  They’re organic, gluten-free, soy-free and vegan protein bars which are a great option for those with dietary restrictions.

Chocolate Milk- Offering the trifecta of proteins, carbs and water, this is possibly the perfect recovery snack— so don’t feel bad snagging one of your kid’s milk boxes!

So fuel up and get on with your day! Go Mom Go, Go, Go!

Let’s share! What are some of your other favorite post-workout snacks? What other mom superpowers do you possess?