What to eat for sports: 4 snacks that are easy to prepare and take with you

While the question of what you should eat before and after sport comes up frequently, it's also worth spending some time looking at the snacks you take during sports.

But, first of all, is it advisable to eat during training? “If you feel the need, yes," replies  Géraldine Mourier, a qualified dietician. “The most important thing is to stay hydrated but - depending on the effort made - naturally, you can eat".

Anne, a dietician behaviourist, clarifies, “it's not just about the theory, your behaviour plays an important role. If you don't feel hungry, there's no need to eat. Quite the reverse, it could be counter-productive”.

In fact, this will depend on the period and intensity of your physical effort.

“If you run for one hour, conventional hydration is enough and you don't need to eat," clarifies the dietician. As soon as you start pushing yourself harder for a longer period, it may be necessary to eat something.

“Above all, you need to listen to what your body is telling you,” states Géraldine.

However, there's nothing stopping you from preparing a light snack to be eaten before your sports session to give you a boost.

But how do you target the right types of food that are easy to prepare and carry with you to your training? Our nutrition experts draw up the list for you and help you boost your immune system below!

Another snack that is easy to carry around and has benefits for your body: dried fruit.

Dried fruit is rich in vitamins and minerals! Some examples include apricots, figs, dates, bananas, cranberry, etc.

Once dried, these fruits lose between 20% - 80% of their water content. At the same time, the concentration of energy and nutrients are multiplied by 4! As such, dried fruit are great energy boosters.

Easy to carry during your sports session, dried fruits also have the advantage of having a longer shelf life.

“You can eat them throughout the day, or before, during and after sport because they are dehydrated, fibrous and easily digestible," adds Géraldine.

However, she once again recommends rationing the consumption of these sugar-rich foods. “We recommend a portion of no more than 30g per day. This is equivalent to 8 dried apricots or 2 - 3 tablespoons of raisins, for example”.

Thus, dried fruit and oleaginous food provide a really good solution to eating healthily before, during and after sport.

In addition, combining them can be equally effective. Mixing dehydrated dried fruit that is highly concentrated in sugar, with an oleaginous food like nuts, will help to regulate the sugar provided by the dried fruit.

Here's a recipe idea proposed by Géraldine to make energy balls:

- Mix 100g of unsalted cashew nuts (or almonds) and 100g of dates with a teaspoon of vanilla extract and 6 tablespoons of water

- Put all these in a blender, shape the balls with your hands and put them in the fridge for a while

The end result? You'll get energy balls that you can easily take with you to practice!

As the ultimate source of sugar (and pleasure), chocolate can also form part of the sports user's diet - provided that it is properly chosen and not consumed to excess. 

“You can eat one or two squares per day. Preferably dark chocolate containing 70% cocoa, which contains less sugar than the other types of chocolate,” points out Géraldine.

“I would recommend taking chocolate during a physical effort rather than before. Particularly for a long session lasting more than 1.5 hours. And only if you feel that a small boost of energy is necessary,” suggests Anne.