The Refrigerator & Freezer Aisles
Your Daily Dairy
Good for You: Dairy Diet
Breakfast:
Low-Fat Kefir: "With protein and carbs, kefir is a good option when you need something easy to digest," says Sumbal, owner of Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition in Jacksonville.
Best Buy: Made with milk from grass-fed, bovine-growth-hormone-free cows, Lifeway Organic Low-Fat Plain Kefir is free of added sugars.
More: 12 Fast and Easy Breakfast Ideas
Morning Snack:
Low-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt: Thick and creamy Greek yogurt has about twice as much hunger-satisfying protein as traditional yogurt.
Best Buy: Fage Total 2% Plain has 20 grams of protein—and just 2.5 grams of fat.
Post-Run:
Chocolate Milk: "The combination of protein and quick-digesting carbs helps repair exercise-induced muscle damage and refuel tired muscles," says Sumbal. But it's high in calories, so "choose low-fat varieties."
Best Buy: Organic Valley Reduced-Fat Chocolate Milk is sourced from family farms and beefed up with vitamin D.
More: 4 Delicious Recovery Smoothies
Dinner:
Eggs: Antioxidant-rich eggs are an inexpensive, nutritious, and quick-cooking alternative to meat for dinner. One large egg provides six grams of protein, and 23 percent of your need for selenium.
Best Buy: One Eggland's Best large egg contains 115 milligrams of heart-healthy omega-3 fats and provides 11 percent of your daily need for vitamin B12.
Evening Snack:
Low-Fat Cottage Cheese: A 2012 study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found that eating protein prior to sleep significantly improves recovery from exercise.
Best Buy: Friendship 1% Low-Fat No Salt Added Cottage Cheese
More: Learn to Snack Strategically
From the Freezer:
Best Frozen Produce: Dole Frozen Wild Blueberries are packaged just after harvesting—which seals in nutrients—and don't contain any added sugar or syrups.
Best Frozen Dinner: Kashi Steam Meals Roasted Garlic Chicken Farfalle contains a balance of whole grains, protein, and vegetables with four grams of fiber and fewer than 600 milligrams of sodium--two key stats for any healthy frozen dinner.Best Frozen Pizza: The thin crust on Kashi Thin Crust Roasted Vegetable Pizza helps keep calories in check while providing fiber-rich whole grains.
Best Frozen Dessert: One Adonia Greek Frozen Yogurt Wild Blueberry Bar (by Ciao Bella) contains just 75 calories, 5 grams of protein and zero grams of fat.
More: 9 "All-Natural" Foods to Beware
Perfect your nutrition to boost your performance. Sign up for a race near you.- 4
- of
- 4
Discuss This Article