Best College Snacks: Easy Ideas for Athletes
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With busy practice, competition, and school schedules, healthy snacks can be an important component of a college athlete’s meal plan.
Let’s explore a variety of healthy college snacks that athletes can enjoy throughout the day to support their sports nutrition needs.
College Snacks: Ideas for Before a Morning Practice
When college athletes have morning practice, it is important they make time to eat a quick high-carb snack before heading to the gym.
Similar to gas for a car, carbohydrates provide athletes with the energy needed to train at their best. Thus, athletes desiring to complete a high-quality morning workout will want to ensure they fuel their body with carbohydrates before the session.
Easy ideas for high-carb pre-workout snacks include:
- Banana or small piece of fruit
- Applesauce squeeze, dried fruit, fruit leather
- Instant oatmeal, toaster waffle, low-fat muffin
- Mini bagel, dry breakfast cereal
- Graham crackers, animal crackers
- Fig bar, low-fat granola bar, breakfast bar
College Snacks: Post-Workout Ideas
Following a workout, college athletes should focus on snacks that can help them meet their recovery nutrition needs. This is especially important if it will be several hours until they eat their next meal.
Too often, I find college athletes rush straight from their morning practice to class and thus miss a prime opportunity to fuel their bodies.
It can be helpful to remind athletes that eating a healthy snack after practice and before heading to class is important.
Recovery Nutrition Snacks for College Athletes
When planning post-workout snacks, the three areas of recovery nutrition that college athletes should focus on include:
- Rehydrate: Consume fluid and electrolytes to replace sweat losses
- Refuel: Consume carbohydrates to replace energy stores
- Repair: Consume protein to build and repair muscles
Easy post-workout snack ideas include:
- Low-fat chocolate milk and granola bars
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich with low-fat milk
- Greek yogurt, berries, and granola
- Turkey and cheese wrap, sports drink
- Beef jerky, pretzels, banana, sports drink
- String cheese, breakfast bars, low-fat milk
- Cottage cheese with fruit and graham crackers
- Sports bar with sports drink
- Post-workout smoothie
What About Chocolate Milk for College Athletes Following Practice?
I frequently recommend chocolate milk as a recovery drink that college athletes can enjoy following a practice.
Chocolate milk is 90% water, supporting athletes with rehydrating following a practice. In addition, a 1-cup serving of chocolate milk provides 8 grams of complete protein and 26 grams of carbohydrates (1).
Thus, chocolate milk can help colleges athletes meet their fluid, protein, and carbohydrate needs following a practice.
However, perhaps most importantly, chocolate milk tastes good. I find most athletes will gladly enjoy a glass of chocolate milk as they head to class.
College Snack Ideas for Between Classes
In addition to snacks surrounding workouts, it is important that college athletes have a plan for how they will meet their nutrition needs throughout the school day.
Since class and practice schedules typically vary throughout the week, college athletes need to take time to determine when they will eat their meals and snacks each day.
On days when athletes have full class schedules, having a plan for snacks between classes is important.
Balanced Snacks for College Athletes
I encourage college athletes to plan to eat balanced snacks or “mini-meals” between classes that will support their sports nutrition needs.
Athletes can create balanced snacks or “mini-meals” by combining a carbohydrate-rich food item with a source of lean protein.
Easy “mini-meal” snack ideas that athletes can enjoy between classes include:
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
- Turkey and cheese wrap (ham, chicken, or roast beef are great options as well)
- Jerky, granola bars, orange wedges
- String cheese, pretzels, apple slices
- Bagel with nut butter, banana
- Hummus with pita chips, grapes
College Snacks for Studying
When it comes to college snacks for studying, I often find that athletes like finger-foods that they can munch on as they study.
Below are a variety of healthy college study snack ideas to share with athletes.
Popcorn
Air-popped popcorn is a convenient study snack for college athletes. Tossing peanuts or cashews into the popcorn is a tasty way to add protein to the snack.
Whole Grain Breakfast Cereal
Dry breakfast cereal can be a nutritious snack for athletes to enjoy while studying. I recommend choosing a whole grain variety, which will add fiber to the snack.
Similar to the popcorn, athletes can toss nuts into the cereal for added protein. Drinking a glass of high-protein milk along with the cereal is another nutritious way to boost the protein content of their snack.
Grapes
Grapes are an easy fruit option that athletes can enjoy while studying. Frozen grapes are a tasty, cold treat that I find many athletes enjoy.
Athletes can consider enjoying string cheese or almonds along with the grapes to add protein to their snack.
Veggies and Dip
Baby carrots, mini peppers, celery sticks, and cherry tomatoes are all great vegetable snack options. I suggest athletes pair the veggies with Greek yogurt dip or hummus for added protein.
Athletes can also enjoy pretzels or pita chips along with their veggies and dip.
Jerky: Mess-Free College Study Snack
Beef or turkey jerky is a high-protein snack option athletes can enjoy as they study. Jerky has the advantage of being mess-free, making it a convenient study snack option.
Along with the jerky, athletes can enjoy apple slices, dried fruit, or pretzels.
Trail Mix
Finally, trail mix can be an easy snack option for college athletes to enjoy while studying.
Athletes can make their own trail mix combination by tossing together an assortment of their favorite nuts, seeds, dried fruits, pretzels, and whole grain breakfast cereals.
Packaged Snack Ideas for College Athletes
I am commonly asked to share my favorite packaged snack ideas for college athletes. Below are some of my top picks for athletes to add to their meal plans.
- Kate’s® Real Food: Protein bars and energy bars
- Made Good®: Granola bars and granola minis
- Nature’s Bakery®: Fig bars
- Skinny Pop® (available on Amazon): Popcorn
- Gourmet Nut® Power Up Trail Mix: Trail mix varieties made with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit
- Righteous Felon® (available on Amazon): Beef and turkey jerky
- Good Culture® Cottage Cheese: Available in convenient, individual serving size containers
- Oikos® Triple Zero Greek Yogurt: Provides 15 grams of protein per 5.3 oz serving
- Babybel® Cheese: Individually wrapped mini-cheeses
College Snacks: Plan Ahead
Finally, with busy schedules it is important to remind college athletes about the importance of planning their snacks for the week ahead of time.
On the weekend, college athletes should make a grocery list and shop for the snack items that they will need during the week.
In addition, athletes can consider meal prepping healthy snacks they can grab each day before they head out the door.
Easy meal-prep tasks may include:
- Packaging nuts, dry cereal, pretzels, or trail mix into individual serving-size bags
- Preparing turkey and cheese sandwiches or wraps
- Washing and chopping fresh vegetables
- Creating snack bags with a variety of favorite items so they are ready to go
Taking time to plan ahead can help set college athletes up for sports nutrition success throughout the week.
College Snacks: Ideas for Athletes
You are now set with a variety of college snack ideas to support athletes with meeting their sports nutrition needs.
For additional nutrition tips for college athletes, make sure to check out my blog on healthy college dorm foods.
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About the Author
Mandy Tyler is a Sports Dietitian Nutritionist in the San Antonio, TX area. She is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian, a Board-Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, a Licensed Athletic Trainer, and is a Certified Exercise Physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine. Mandy has experience working with athletes at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. She believes the key to reaching one’s full potential, both in everyday life and in sports performance, relies on a healthy nutritional foundation.
If you are looking to take your performance to the next level, make sure to check out my new Sports Nutrition Game Day Guide. This downloadable guide is written to help athletes develop an individualized plan to achieve peak performance on game day.