Protein: The Smart Way to Snack
Hi there! I’m Kate, a nutrition nerd passionate about all things food and travel. You can follow my nutrition journey on Instagram @NutritionWithKate
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of snacks? Chips, crackers, granola bars? Because of the foods we have commonly put into the snack category, snacking has received a bad reputation. What if I told you that snacking didn’t have to be detrimental to your eating habits, but instead could be helpful. How? By eating high quality, protein heavy, minimally processed foods without added sugar.
In America, often without realizing, we over consume sugar. That’s because it’s in almost everything! Next time you go to the grocery store take a peek at the sugar content in the snacks that we like to buy. I guarantee you will be shocked with how many grams of added sugar are in each, and all of those grams quickly add up. Studies show the average American consumes around 82 grams of sugar per day, well above the daily recommendation of 25g for women and 38g for men.
Protein Instead of Sugar
A simple switch of incorporating more protein into your diet can easily lower your sugar consumption. Not only that, there are numerous other benefits to eating protein. Besides the fact that we need protein to survive, protein also keeps satiety levels up so you’re not reaching for food every hour. It’s also vital for building muscle and muscle recovery.
With brands like Ayoba, it’s never been easier to snack on high quality, sugar-free protein!
A few ways I use snacks like Ayoba-Yo
Post workout: Protein is essential post-workout in order to start muscle repair. Although you don’t need it immediately, it’s important you get it within 3 hours of your workout. I usually workout mid-day after breakfast and lunch, but before dinner, so I need something in between that I can take on the go. Ayoba has been such an easy way to get a healthy snack in with enough protein to start the recovery process and keep me full until dinner.
Busy days: There are days when I am on the go for over 14 hours. I always start my day with a healthy breakfast and eat a balanced lunch, but there are hours in between that I need something to snack on. Insert Ayoba. One bag packs 31 grams of protein, which is equivalent to 4oz of steak… and a lot more convenient to carry around! It keeps me full in between meals and keeps my energy levels steady throughout my active days.
During a Whole30: Anytime I am doing Whole30 I am religious about carrying compliant protein snacks with me. Why? It’s extremely difficult (almost impossible) to find breakfast meats that are sugar-free when you’re eating out, so I sub the breakfast meats at restaurants with some biltong (pro tip)! My go-to Whole30 breakfast is poached eggs, avocado, sugar-free dried meat and fruit. Very low stress, delicious, and enough to keep me full for hours.
Switching to a higher protein diet and cutting out processed foods has been extremely beneficial to my overall health. To read more about why I am passionate about the real food movement, visit my website at www.nutritionwithkate.com.
