15 Delicious (And Nutritious!) Snacks for Triathletes

Always hungry? The more miles you log, the more often it seems your stomach is growling at you. So it makes sense that you may find yourself snacking more than normal to silence it.

While snacking usually gets a bad rap (and deservingly so if you end up nibbling predominantly on ultra-processed junk food), it can most certainly assist athletes in meeting their overall calorie and nutrient needs if done properly. After all, when you are in the throes of high volume training, it can be almost impossible to get all the energy you need from just three square meals.

With supermarkets overflowing with package snack options, it can seem daunting to pick options that work in favor of your healthy eating goals. Let us guide you towards snacking bliss. Stock your pantry, fridge and freezer with these not-so-guilty store-bought and homemade bites that will please your palate while still delivering clutch nutritional value.

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Good Culture Simply Raspberry Cottage Cheese

100 calories | 3g fat | 4g carbs | 15g protein

Unlike most flavored yogurts, these individual cottage cheese cups contain no added refined sugar, instead getting almost all its sweetness from real berries. There is certainly enough high-quality protein here to give you a snack with muscle-building benefits and the live cultures will work to foster better gut health. Bonus: the added sodium will go a long way in helping replenish your spent electrolyte stores after a sweaty workout.

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Bob’s Red Mill Oat Crackers Rosemary

130 calories | 4.5g fat | 19g carbs | 3g protein

The latest whole grain addition to Bob’s impressive roster will satisfy your post sweat session crunchy desires in a much healthier way than chips or cheese puffs. Top with a chunk of cheese or a smear of your favorite nut butter. They’re also a great delivery method for dips like hummus.

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PB&J Pops

76 calories | 1g fat | 12g carbs | 6g protein

Call it part cooling effect, part nostalgia, who doesn’t love a frosty popsicle? (Hint: nobody.) And it’s easy to bypass the mystery ingredients in many store-bought popsicles by making your own. Reminiscent of everyone’s favorite schoolyard sandwich, these licks deliver a powerful mix of protein, antioxidants and happy thoughts.

Makes 6 servings

½ cup milk
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup raspberries or strawberries
¼ cup peanut butter powder, such as PB2
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅛ teaspoon salt

Place all of the ingredients in a blender container and blend until smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until solid, at least 6 hours. To unmold a popsicle, run the mold under warm water for a few seconds, being careful not to thaw the pops.

Also, try the deluxe version from Clean Eating, pictured above.

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Stryve Biltong Stick Hatch Green Chili

125 calories | 8g fat | 0g carbs | 14g protein

Way beyond your run-of-the-mill gas station jerky, these protein-packed meat sticks are made with beef that is air-dried instead of oven heated and hide no added sugars. Their fiery kick is the perfect respite when your taste buds need a break from sweet snacks. Great for road trips, days at the park and finishing lines.

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Banana Bread Balls

173 calories | 7g fat | 26g carbs | 5g protein

Here’s a way to take your banana with you to help power your workout without the risk of reaching for sweet mush or tripping on tossed peels. With a good macro mix, these power balls will tame your hunger and help crush any fitness goal all at once.

Makes 6 servings

½ cup pitted dates
¾ cup quick cook oats
½ cup almond flour
¼ cup ground flaxseed
1 large ripe and peeled banana
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt

Place dates in a food processor container and blend until they are the size of large pebbles. Add remaining ingredients and pulse machine about 10 times, until everything is well mixed but not mushy. Form mixture into 1-inch balls. You should get 12 balls. Keep chilled.

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Mid-Day Squares Fudge

160 calories | 12g fat | 8g carbs | 6g protein

When you want your snack to taste like a chocolaty treat, here’s one that for the most part plays by the nutritional rules. Dark chocolate is fortified with pumpkin seeds and sacha incha protein (who knew?) for a fudgy bar that is nutritionally better-rounded than most candy.

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Sargento Balanced Breaks Natural Double Cheddar Cheese, Dried Cranberries and Salted Walnuts

190 calories | 13g fat | 12g carbs | 7g fat

Sweet, creamy, crunchy, and salty…pure snacking satisfaction. Each tray offers up a nice mix of healthy fats, protein and energy-boosting carbs for a snack that delivers big-time on texture, flavor and nutrition.

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Peckish Snackable Eggs & Crunchy “Ranch” Dip

180 calories | 12g fat | 5g carbs | 13g protein

Ready-to-eat free-range eggs are paired with a dunk-worthy seasoning that hits your taste buds with a reminder of why you love everything bagels. Research shows the nutritional make-up of whole eggs including plenty of protein can help your muscles recover better from a hard-charging workout.

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Curry Roasted Chickpea Snack Mix

270 calories | 16g fat | 26g fat | 9g protein

Think of this as ye-olde trail mix on steroids. Getting lost in the woods never tasted so good.

Makes 6 servings

1 (14 oz) can chickpeas
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons canola oil
½ teaspoon salt, divided
½ cup raw almonds
½ cup raw cashews
⅓ cup raw shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 ½ teaspoons yellow curry powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cayenne
Zest of 1 lime
½ cup sliced apricots
⅓ cup coconut chips

Preheat oven to 400°F. Drain can of chickpeas and rinse well. Dry chickpeas thoroughly with paper towel or a clean kitchen towel. Place chickpeas on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt. Toss to coat. Roast chickpeas for 25 minutes, stirring once at the 15-minute mark. The chickpeas should be very dry and crunchy, if not continue roasting. Toss almonds, cashews and pumpkin seeds with remaining 2 teaspoons oil and then stir in curry powder, cayenne, garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon salt and lime zest. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes, stirring once, or until nuts are lightly toasted. In a container, toss together chickpeas, nut mixture and coconut chips.

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Pop Bitties Maple & Sea Salt

120 calories | 4g fat | 19g carb | 2g protein

A hit of sweet and a touch of salty, this crunch bunch made from whole grain sorghum, brown rice and quinoa are exactly what you’ll be craving after you hop off the saddle. What they are not are your standard greasy chips so you won’t be left with a pang of guilt after one too many handfuls.

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Patience Fruit & Co Organic Whole Fruit Blend

130 calories | 0g fat | 32g carbs | 1g protein

A couple of handfuls of this sweet-tart medley of parched cranberries, blueberries, tart cherries and goldenberries will help give you the necessary naturally sourced carbs and antioxidants to help power your fitness pursuits. Also toss them on yogurt, oatmeal and, dare we say, ice-cream.

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Navitas Organics Power Snacks Cacao Goji

120 calories | 3.5g fat | 19g carbs | 3g protein

These little blocks of energy contain a string of body-friendly ingredients including chia seeds, goji powder, sunflower seed butter and antioxidant-laced cacao. They are portable enough you could even bring them along to help fuel a long-haul workout.

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Maple Tahini Stuffed Dates

248 calories | 8g fat | 46g carbs | 4g protein

These road roaches will hit all your sweet and creamy pleasure points and have enough juice to power you up the next set of inclines.

Makes 4 servings

¼ cup tahini
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon orange zest
⅛ teaspoon salt
8 Medjool dates

In a bowl, stir together tahini, maple syrup, orange zest and salt. Using a knife, slice an opening in the dates (without cutting them in half) and remove the pit. Gently pry open dates with fingers and spoon in filling.

Or try a ricotta-upgraded version of stuffed dates with this recipe from Clean Eating, pictured above.

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Wonderful Pistachios Sweet Chili

100 calories | 9g fat | 5g protein | 4g protein

The combo of fat and plant-based protein will take a sledgehammer to your hunger, while a fiery kick will perk up snack time. Also available in snack-sized 2.25-ounce bags for better portion control (to prevent pistachio binging…). Pre-shelled nuts also make this an easy option.

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Bobo’s Banana Peanut Butter Bar

250 calories | 9g fat | 40g carbs | 11g protein

Seriously, does the flavor combo of peanut butter and banana ever get old? These oat-based bars have an ideal 4:1 carb-to-protein ratio to kickstart muscle recovery after any spirited workout. They are also a great snack option for any athlete putting in big mileage that requires enough nutrition to keep up the pace.