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Foods for energy

ghall

ghall

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 27, 2006
3,771
1
Rhode Island
So, what are some good energizing snacks I can eat during school? I usually feel week and tired in the morning, even when I eat some breakfast (a buttered english muffin, sometimes with bacon). Any ideas what I could eat as a snack during the morning until lunch. I usually eat nuts (cashews and peanuts are my favorite), but I'd like a little variety. Thanks ahead of time for your suggestions.
 
Much Ado said:
Do you have Red Bull in the US?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_bull

Oaty bar things are good too.
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I think so, doesn't red bull have caffine? I can't have any caffine, it makes me shaky and nervous.

I'll give the oaty bars a try, they sound tasty.

sushi said:
Start out the day with a healthy and hearty breakfast.

It's the most important meal of the day. Good for the brain. Do not skimp.
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Is there anything that's quick to make, I don't have a lot of time in the morning (hence the english muffin).

Much Ado said:
Drink plenty of water too.

God, i sound like the mother i should have had.
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I definitely do. I had a scare a few weeks ago, and since then I never leave the house without a bottle of water.
 
Throw a little egg in that english muffin. And drink a small cup of juice with it. Also, either buy or make your own trail mix to get the nuts you like and some more variety for your snack. Drink lots of water throughout the day.

Just saw you have a time limit...so you might go with some sliced hard boiled egg or a light egg salad in your english muffin, since you can make those ahead of time.
 
ghall said:
Is there anything that's quick to make, I don't have a lot of time in the morning (hence the english muffin).
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This is an easy one... if you don't have enough time in the morning to have a healty breakfast then there is a simple solution.

GET UP EARLIER :)

Also fatty foods aren't good in the morning. English Muffin & Bacon = Bad.

Sugary and fatty foods in the morning have been proven to make kids more hyper and pay less attention in school. Also leading to a bout of tiredness when the short term effects of sugar wear off.

What you want are foods high in carbs. Like Oaty bars, although these usually have a lot of sugar. Carbs are slow burners which give you a steady stream of energy, unlike sugar which is an initial rush.

Your best bet would be a healthy breakfast of a whole grain wheat or oat based cereal or muesli. Not the nicest to have by a longshot but you'll be rewarded with better concentration and less tiredness.

Fruit is also good too. Maybe a smoothie?
 
ghall said:
Is there anything that's quick to make, I don't have a lot of time in the morning (hence the english muffin).
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You can always get up earlier? ;)

BTW, by doing this you can easily decrease your stress level since you don't have to rush in the morning to get ready for school/work.

As for food suggestions. Quick things like instant oatmeal might be good. Top it off with some milk. Good taste and you get your dairy intake at the same time.

If I want energy, I usually eat a high protein combo such as a small piece of steak, couple of eggs, some toast, milk and juice. You can prepare, eat and cleanup in less than 20 minutes -- 15 if you are in a hurry and organized.

For the steak, you can get a cheap cut at the local store. Cut it up into small portions. Spice them up then freeze them. Then the night before, just put one out to thaw for the morning meal.

You can also make your own egg McMuffin with juice and milk. Quick and easy, and I dare say more healthy than one from McDonalds. Good whole wheat bread, a fried egg, slice of ham and slice of cheese. Cheap too.

You could go Japanese style with some fish, miso soup, rice and pickles. Cook the fish on the weekend. Store in refrigerator. Nuke a piece for breakfast. Boiled water for instant miso soup. Cook rice ahead of time. Nuke for breakfast with the fish.

Try to stay away from processed foods as they tend to be high in sodium content.
 
Try to balance out the carbs (english muffin) with some protein (cheese, meat).

Very short course on insulin metabolism:

Simple carbs (most wheat breads & bakery, rice, potatoes) are broken down into sugars very quickly. Most "energy" products also contain primarily sugars.

When you eat a high carb/sugar thing, the sugars pile into your bloodstream like a crowd rushing for general admission seating at a concert. Your body kicks insulin production into high gear to metabolize the sugar. But... the simple sugars and carbs are metabolized very quickly and then there's nothing left, the tank is empty. Meanwhile, the insulin level is still high and metabolizes whatever is left -- your blood sugar drops rapidly to too low of a level. That's the sugar rush, and then the crash a little while later.

You know this one - eat a quick sweet snack (or a sweetened beverage), feel good for 20 minutes, then wham, your energy goes down, you get a headache, and your body starts screaming for more sugar.

The answer is to eat snacks that enter your bloodstream slower, and for a longer sustained period. That means complex carbs (vegetables, some whole grains), proteins and fats.
Nuts are good - protein and fat. Eggs, soy, meat, milk and cheese too (milk has more lactose, a sugar, so it is pretty much balanced on its own). Fats are not bad things, they are necessary - and the fat in milk and cheese is preferable to the fat in fries, potato chips and the hydrogenated oils in most commercial snack foods. Obviously, eating too many nuts or cheeses is going to cause weight gain too, same with anything.

Try to eat some protein/fat component along with each carb component (bread, cracker, etc) in order to slow it down.
 
If you have a juicer, a glass of fresh carrot juice has so much goodness it will keep you going for ages.
 
I used to skimp on breakfast- never had the time or energy to eat in the mornings. I always felt lethargic later in the day. Then i was at a friend's house the morning before a big athletics event, and they practically force-fed me porridge and muesli and toast until i felt i could explode.

I went on to get gold in all the day's events :) Don't skip the breakfast. Sugary snacks won't work on an empty stomach.

People have mentioned smoothies and these are also really nice as you can get them ready the night before and just let them chill until morning. As for mid-day snacks, flapjacks and oaty bars are cool, and trail mix is nice, so long as you don't mind feeling like a parrot while you eat ;)
 
I used to like Nutrigrain bars as a snack before lunch, though by the time I was a senior I sorta didn't give a **** and ate whenever. :)
 
Wholegrain toast with peanut butter and a glass of milk will fill you up in the morning and can be eaten on the run if needs be. Or boil a couple of eggs while you're in the shower and mash them onto a piece of toast.

Alternatively sit down with a good no-sugar added wholegrain muesli with some added fruit and nuts.

A handful of trail mix can be good to keep in your bag or the oaty bars - watch out for ones with a high sugar count though.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I'm making up a meal chart in Numbers, and I'm planning out what I'm going to eat for breakfast, lunch, and for a snack. Gives me something to do while I wait for my iPhone. :)
 
All the advice given here is good, but protein is also important to get into your body first thing in the morning. I like to eat a slice or two of whole-wheat bread with jam on it and an egg. Clif bars make a good pick-me up snack before lunch.
 
Applespider said:
oaty bars - watch out for ones with a high sugar count though.
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Yes - most "natural, whole grain oat, etc" granola bars are literally glued together with sugar, so they are a tremendous whack of simple carbs no matter how 'healthy' they advertise on the outside of the pack. This also goes for 'energy' bars of all types. In product packaging, "energy" is a code word for sugar.

The better protein bars (16+ grams of protein) are acceptable, as long as you realize you are also getting 170 - 250 calories per bar along with that protein. Read the labels and try to choose ones with lower carbs.

3500 calories = about 1 pound of weight - so a protein bar a day in addition to your baseline requirements will gain you 20 pounds in a year. The other way to look at it is a protein bar (or candy bar, or Nutrigrain oats + sugar bar) will cost you 45 minutes of jogging or 20 - 30 minutes of intense exercise to work off.
 
ghall said:
I'm making up a meal chart in Numbers, and I'm planning out what I'm going to eat for breakfast, lunch, and for a snack. Gives me something to do while I wait for my iPhone. :)
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What a cool idea...make sure you include the nutritional information so you can calculate that you are getting the proper ratio of carbs to protein to fat and that you are getting the right amount of calories.

I might just have to do one of these for myself, and here I was thinking I was only going to open Numbers to track my pathetic financial situation. Yay Numbers!
 
TheAnswer said:
What a cool idea...make sure you include the nutritional information so you can calculate that you are getting the proper ratio of carbs to protein to fat and that you are getting the right amount of calories.

I might just have to do one of these for myself, and here I was thinking I was only going to open Numbers to track my pathetic financial situation. Yay Numbers!
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Thanks, glad you like it. :)

Mine isn't quite as detailed as you've described, it just goes over the foods for each meal of each day, just so can plan out exactly what I'll be eating. I didn't think to put in the nutrition values though. Good idea.
 
I cannot eat solid food for the first few hours after I wake up so I tend to have a protein shake with flax oil and fresh fruit added, then as a snack to keep me goign I swear by Larabars ( https://www.larabar.com/ )especially the Cherry Pie one and Cashew Cookies. its just fruit and nuts pressed together so it had both quick energy and longer term energy. perfect for busy lifestyles.

Nuts are a good energy food. I sometimes pack two hard boiled eggs for a snack. it looks weird but they are great.
 
Avoid sugar in the morning (and at all when possible). While bacon is a breakfast staple, low-fat proteins are much better choices, and raw fruits and vegetables will help replenish your enzyme stores. Also, when eating breakfast keep in mind the recommended daily intake of each food group, and that an unbalanced breakfast can result in a surfeit of protein (which causes calcium deficiency) or fat in your diet. Try to eat whole grains whenever possible, especially in place of typical "whitebread" grains.

A good breakfast is important, and a buttered english muffin (especially if it's bleached white flour) isn't going to give you the boost you need to get your body started up. But it will give you quick boost and a blood-sugar crash a couple hours later.

Edit: Keep in mind that the human body is herbivorous first, omnivorous second. Herbivorous animals eat constantly, which is why many nutritionists and diet plans recommend eating every 3 hours.
 
Bread and meat and eggs in the morning? Are you working in the fields all day?

Miso soup with seaweed and tofu is quick and easy and you can cook some rice the previous night and heat it quickly in the microwave oven.
 
bousozoku said:
Miso soup with seaweed and tofu is quick and easy and you can cook some rice the previous night and heat it quickly in the microwave oven.
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That's gross.

Anyway, today is day one of my new eating plan. I ate a english muffin with a slice of ham this morning, and within minutes I felt awake. I brought a bag of mixed nuts with me to school, and I'm just snaking on a few every 30 minutes to an hour. But alas, now my allergies are acting up (damn pollen), so now I still feel crappy. :(
 
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