Feature Snack: Elevate-Me
As Sports Dietitians, we are often asked about convenient snack options on-the-road and for over-seas travel. Travel is a major culprit for athletes getting sick due to the accumulation of long sleepless hours, being within close proximity of other travelers for long periods of time (who may often be sick themselves), compromising fluid intake, and most importantly, missing key meals for fueling and recovery! This means all the training these athletes have put into into this important competition has taken a backseat as the body struggles to fight whatever it’s picked up along the way.
One of the best ways to keep the body’s immune system strong is to avoid skipping meals and snacks at these crucial times. To help you with this, we will be focusing on one of our favourite athlete-approved snacks!
When looking for snacks, what are we looking for? To start, look for ingredients that are simple. No artificial flavours. Ingredients you can pronounce and visualize. Adequate protein and carbohydrate balance to ensure a steady release of carbohydrates while keeping the body feeling fuller for longer. For that reason, we’re big fans of the Elevate-Me snack bars. Each bar consists of 3 squares. Their ingredients are simple, often consisting of simply:
Whey Protein Isolate – providing building blocks needed for muscle repair following training and during travel. Additionally, the protein will help to keep you fuller for longer.
Dried Fruit (e.g. dates, organic raisins, apples, cranberries, mango, papaya) – provide a rich source of carbohydrates for glycogen (muscle fuel) top up!
Besides their convenience, it comes in 8 incredible flavours including:
- Cranberry Matcha Green Tea (My Personal Favourite!)
- All-Fruit Original
- Apple Strawberry
- Banana Almond
- Cocoa Acai Berry
- Cocoa Espresso
- Coconut Cocoa
- Cranberry Blueberry Goji Berry
Elevate-Me bars make for a great travel, pre-, or post- workout snack. Are there other snacks you’ve tried and love? Let us know – we’d love to hear about what fuels you!