13 super-healthy packaged snacks to stash in your yoga bag.
IN AN IDEAL WORLD, you’d pick up a piece of fresh fruit or chop up some veggies for your post-practice nibble. In the real world, there’s often just enough time to unwrap and inhale whatever packaged morsel has been sitting in your yoga bag or office drawer for weeks. We understand. Which is why we set out to find the most nutritious (and tasty) snacks beyond the produce aisles.
We began by talking to nutrition experts who are also yoga teachers, and while they all said that the most nutritional snacks are fresh, they also agreed that prepackaged alternatives can be nourishing. “A lot of yogis think that eating a sattvic diet—a class of foods in Ayurveda that are light, nourishing, and delicious—must mean eating fresh,” says New York City nutritionist and yoga teacher Ilene Cohen, RD. “And while that’s certainly ideal, choosing snacks that are minimally processed and well balanced also qualifies.”
Kara Lydon, RD, RYT, a nutritionist and yoga teacher and author of Nourish Your Namaste, agrees: When it comes to packaged snacks, look for minimal ingredients lists that contain wholesome components, “like naturally occurring sugars and easy-to-digest sources of protein and fiber,” she says. “These give your body the nourishment it needs before and after yoga.”
With these guidelines in mind, we tasted more than one hundred packaged snacks and asked our experts to weigh in on their faves, too. Here are the 13 you’ll want to keep stocked in your pantry.
This story is from the July/August 2017 edition of Yoga Journal.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July/August 2017 edition of Yoga Journal.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Learning to Hear the Voice of Self-Care
How to discern what really matters.
Inclusive Yoga for All
A Down syndrome diagnosis set this family on a path to make yoga accessible to everyone.
For the Joy of Practice
Doing yoga without attachment to the outcome can bring unexpected gifts.
Be Kind to Your Spine
Your vertebral column is a series of complex, interconnecting parts that support your every movement. Here's how to keep it safe.
A Skeptic of Chakra Balancing
The experience helped me make peace with things that can't be explained.
Are We Having Fun Yet?
Bring play back into your practice with three styles of yoga that can get you out of your head and bring a smile to your face.
12 Ways to Use Blocks You've Probably Never Tried Before
The beauty of blocks? They not only meet you where you are in your practice, they take you beyond where you ever thought you could go.
THE SCIENCE OF AWE
THOSE MOMENTS IN LIFE THAT STOP YOU IN YOUR TRACKS IN ASTONISHMENT? RESEARCH SAYS EXPERIENCING MORE OF THEM CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
What Your Doshas Say About Your Dharma
Ayurveda can explain so much more than what's out of balance.
The Future of Yoga
Yoga has been evolving for thousands of yearsfrom a mind-and-body spiritual practice to a billion-dollar "lifestyle" practice. What's next? We asked futurists, teachers, and thinkers what to expect in the next decade and beyond.