Thrifty Tales: Best Quick Snacks to Eat After a Workout

Most people know that after a workout, it's vital you re-fuel your body, or you'll end up losing nutrients, or, eating everything in site the minute you can and totally defeating the purpose of your workout.

When I did Team Fitness at Lifetime Fitness they talked about the Optimize in 45 Rule. Basically, it was about getting your body fueled with the correct carb/protein ratio within 45 minutes of your workout ending in order to help your body recover, and avoid, oh, I don't know, housing a half a bag of Tostitos as soon as you get home while your dinner is cooking (not that I know from experience).

I'm no fitness or nutrition expert, I have no training in that field, but I know that the Optimize in 45 rule works for me not ruining my workout by coming home and eating everything in site. The ideal snack the nutritionists always told us at Lifetime to eat after a workout, is a glass of non-fat or low-fat chocolate milk. It was a good carb to protein ratio, and will hold you over for a bit while you get a meal done. I also enjoy cottage cheese with fruit on top after a workout, or making my (not so) green monster smoothie as well (which I now only do a half cup of Trop 50 OJ with pulp in, and add peaches as well--delicious!).

Side Note: Austin loves this smoothie (minus the protein powder), and added in whole milk and a banana. He thinks it's a huge treat, and has no idea he's eating so many fruits and vegetables as he asks for, "mo! mo!"

Anyway, chocolate milk, a smoothie or cottage cheese aren't always easy to do after a workout if I'm not close to home when it's over. So, I wanted to tell you about a couple of my favorite post workout snacks that are delicious, gluten free and easy to transport.

The first is the Perfect Fit Protein cookie. These taste great (albeit, not exactly like a bakery cookie), and have ten grams of protein and 150 calories.

They really are a great snack to eat while driving home after a workout, that won't ruin your dinner if it's a post-work workout, or won't send you to bed feeling super full either if you're a night owl at the gym.

I'm also a big fan of the Think Thin bars. The name is annoying, but a lot of them taste good. Some of them taste like chalk (in my opinion, the peanut butter and brownie flavors), but these two flavors in particular are great for after a workout, and taste great.