5 Healthy Evening Snack Ideas for Athletes

Planning a nutritious evening snack prior to bed can be a great way for athletes to support their sports nutrition goals. 

Equipping athletes with healthy evening snack ideas can be key for promoting recovery during sleep. 

Ideas for What to Include in an Evening Snack

Athletes desiring to gain or maintain muscle mass should aim to consume an evening snack that provides a good source of protein. 

Consuming protein before sleep can help promote muscle protein synthesis during the overnight recovery period (1).

In visiting with athletes, I often find their evening snacks to be lacking in protein. This is one area many athletes can capitalize on for improving their their sports nutrition meal plan.

In addition to protein, look for ways to add anti-inflammatory foods to your evening snacks. Consuming a variety of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts can help support your sports nutrition goals.

5 Evening Snack Ideas for Athletes

Let’s take a look at 5 items that can make great additions to evening snacks for athletes.

#1 Cottage Cheese: High-Protein Evening Snack Idea

Cottage cheese is a great source of protein, providing ~28 grams of protein per 1 cup serving (2). The majority of protein in cottage cheese is casein protein, which is more slowly absorbed by the body compared to other types of protein (3).  

This makes cottage cheese an excellent, high-protein snack to have in the evening before bed.

Top your cottage cheese with fruit, such as pineapple, peaches, berries, or diced apples. 

Stirring in seeds or nuts can be another great way to boost the nutrient content of your cottage cheese. Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, walnuts, or pistachios are all great additions. 

If you are not a fan of the texture of cottage cheese, consider blending it into a shake. The cottage cheese won’t alter the flavor of the shake, but will make it extra creamy. Thus, cottage cheese is an easy wat to boost the protein content of a shake before bed

#2 Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is another excellent option for adding protein to your evening snack. 

The protein content of Greek yogurt is higher than traditional yogurts. A 5.3 oz individual container of Greek yogurt contains ~13 grams of protein (4).

Making this simple yogurt switch is an easy way to increase the protein content of your snack.

Consider making a Greek yogurt parfait with frozen berries and a whole grain cereal such as Kashi Go® Honey Almond Flax Crunch. This nutrient-packed evening snack provides protein, whole grains, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and omega-3s.

#3 Ultra-Filtered Milk

Ultra-filtered milks, such as Fairlife® or H‑E‑B MooTopia®, are a nutritious option for adding protein to an evening snack.

These milks are filtered to remove the lactose and concentrate both the protein and calcium content of the beverage. 

To provide a comparison, a cup of regular cow’s milk has 8 grams of protein (5), while a cup of ultra-filtered milk has ~13 grams of protein (6).

Adding 2 cups of ultra-filtered milk to your evening snack could significantly boost your protein intake before bed.

Try pairing your ultra-filtered milk with a nutritious, whole grain breakfast cereal for a healthy evening snack. Add dried fruit, fresh berries, banana slices, or nuts to your bowl of cereal to further increase the nutrient content.

#4 High-Protein Waffles and Muffins

Protein frozen waffles, such as those made by Kodiak Cakes®, can be a quick and easy evening snack. Just pop them in the toaster and you have a high protein snack ready in minutes. 

Consider topping your waffles with nut butter for a delicious spread that contains healthy fats and protein.

Protein muffins can also make for a delicious evening snack. Take time to pre-make a batch on the weekend and enjoy the muffins all week long. 

Kodiak Cakes® also offers a variety of high-protein muffin mixes. Whether you prefer blueberry, banana nut, or chocolate chip, high-protein muffins can make a great option for your evening snack.

Enjoying the toaster waffles or muffins with a glass of high-protein milk can help ensure athletes meet their protein needs prior to bed.

#5 Tart Cherry Juice

Tart cherries are a nutrient-rich fruit choice for athletes. They contain antioxidants and phytochemicals, which have anti-inflammatory effects in the body (7).

In addition, tart cherries provide a natural source of melatonin. Montmorency tart cherries, in particular, are rich in melatonin compared to other varieties (8).

Thus, consuming tart cherry juice has been researched as a natural way to support sleep quality and duration in athletes (9).

Athletes can consider drinking a glass of tart cherry juice with their evening snack before bed.  If the tartness of tart cherry juice is too “tart” for your tastes, try blending it into a fruit smoothie. 

Bonus Evening Snack Idea for Athletes – Fruit Smoothie

An easy way to make a power packed evening snack is with a healthy fruit smoothie. 

By carefully selecting the ingredients added to the smoothie, you can create a nutrient-rich smoothie that supports your sports nutrition needs. 

Add Protein to Your Evening Smoothie

There are a variety of ways athletes can boost the protein content of their smoothie with real food items. Ideas include:

• Greek yogurt
• Cottage cheese
• Ultra-filtered milk
• Dry milk
• Nut butter
• Tofu

Include Anti-Inflammatory Ingredients

Including anti-inflammatory fruits, leafy greens, seeds, and spices in your smoothie can provided added nutritional benefit. 

Variety of Frozen Fruits

Frozen fruit is flash-frozen at the peak of ripeness so it maintains a high nutrient content. Using a variety of fruits allows you to change the flavor each time you make the smoothie. 

Consider trying the following fruits in your smoothie:

• Tart cherries
• Berries: Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
• Tropical Fruits: Mango, pineapple, papaya
• Banana Slices

Evening Snack Ideas for Athletes

You are now equipped with ideas for building a healthy evening snack to support an athlete’s sports nutrition needs.. 

To be successful with incorporating these snack ideas into your meal plan, take time to plan what snacks you will have before bed. 

Consider meal prepping your evening snacks for the week in advance. This will help to ensure that you have healthy snacks ready when you are tired at the end of the day.

For additional suggestions on ways to meet your performance nutrition needs visit with a sports dietitian nutritionist. The sports dietitian can work with you on developing a customized sports nutrition meal plan that meets your training and performance needs. 

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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.