10 Snacks and Meals for After a Workout

Consider these delicious workout-recovery recipe ideas suggested (mostly) by Minno and Zeitlin:

1. Plain low-fat Greek yogurt with ½ cup fresh fruit, and (optional) teaspoon of honey. When it comes to yogurt, you might as well go Greek. It sometimes has twice as much protein as regular yogurt, and no more added sugar. 

2. Slice of whole grain bread with four slices of turkey, and vegetables too if possible. Our Smushed Turkey and Cheese Sandwich can provide some inspiration. Use a whole-grain bun instead of the sweet yeast bun, but otherwise, you could follow this recipe. 

3. Banana or apple with 1½ to 2 tablespoons of unsweetened nut butter of your choice. Zeitlin prefers almond butter. “You can get the individual to-go packets of nut butter and store them in your gym bag for easy access,” Zeitlin says. “My favorite brands here are Justin’s and Barney Butter. 

4. Five to 10 whole-grain crackers with string cheese (or mozzarella, provolone, or Laughing Cow cheese). Those kinda glossy, butter-colored sticks of cheese from which you peel strings take more time to eat and they’re lower calorie than other cheeses. But if you don’t want to sacrifice taste on your cheese choice, go with your favorite kind. 

5. Smoothie with a scoop of protein powder, ½ cup fresh fruit, milk, and a teaspoon of honey. If you can’t carry fresh fruit and milk around all day before you workout, just bring some protein powder with you and pour it into one of those bottles that have a ball in them to break up the powder when you shake it up. 

6. 1 ounce of nuts and a 1/4 cup of dried fruit. A 100-calorie pack of Wonderful Pistachio nuts is a great post-workout snack and available in nearly every drugstore you pass on the way home from the gym, Zeitlin says. “These guys have that protein-fiber combo in one snack, with 6 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving, plus good-for-you fats,” she says.

7. Hummus, pita, and vegetables such as some fresh greens, shredded carrot, or tomato slices. Try our Easy White Bean Hummus, which replaces chickpeas with cannellini beans. This hummus is better after it’s warmed to room temperature after fridge storage, so it seems safe to eat after a couple hours away from the fridge. Get our Easy White Bean Hummus recipe.

8. One to two hardboiled (or scrambled) eggs with a piece of whole grain toast. If you want to make this into more of a meal, then go with 2 to 3 eggs and add ¼ of an avocado to the toast, and you have the perfect post-workout meal, Zeitlin says. 

9. Massive maple oat cookies are fun. The dietitians didn’t recommend this recipe, but we did. Anytime you can have a cookie and feel healthy, we’re down. In this Men’s Health recipe, rolled oats, whey protein powder, peanut butter, maple syrup and either chocolate chips or raisins make five large cookies that are great for when you’re on the go and can’t cook at home right after your exercise. Get the recipe.

10. Quest Bars are under 200 calories, high in protein, low in simple carbohydrates, and contain simple ingredients. “They also taste delicious and come in a variety of flavors, so I never get bored,” Minno says. The bars also have complex carbs, which can help after any workout.

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