Workout Snack

There are so many reasons why I dislike working out in the morning but I’ve been conditioning my body to get up earlier simply because I want a social life. My weeknights are often booked up and I realized that if I don’t work out in the morning, there’s no way I’m going to be able to do it regularly. In fact, the last few months, I’ve been working out MAYBE 3 times a week (Saturday, Sunday and a weeknight). No good.

But to get back to the plethora of reasons why morning workouts just aren’t ideal…the chief reason is that I’m not a morning person. Anyone who knows me can tell you that.  In fact, my mom got me a nightgown a few years ago that says “I am not a morning person.” My family members used to fight about who had to come and wake me up in the morning because quite often, there would be a lot of shouting and most likely a pillow or two thrown. (Yes, I heard you all outside my door.)

Another reason I hate morning workouts is that I have absolutely no energy so my workouts are pretty lackluster.

Last summer, I discovered this great pre-workout snack so I thought I’d re-institute them. Not only are they relatively healthy but they’re easy to make, keep well, and are chock full of carbs for a boost of energy. It’s also a really great snack for kids.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 banana (mashed)

honey graham crackers

peanut butter

Yes, that’s Skippy peanut butter. As much as I’m all for whole foods and healthy eating, I can’t bring myself to eat the weirdly texture nut butters. Skippy or JIF is my pb of choice. The graham crackers are great because they’re sweetened with just honey and molasses (and they’re organic!)

Directions:

Put ripe bananas in a bowl and mash.

If they aren’t already, break apart the graham crackers in half. Mine already came small…

Spread a thin layer of peanut butter on one cracker and the mashed banana on the other.

Stack together…

Wrap…

And freeze!

And there you have it! Easy and delicious! I usually eat a bite or two of the sandwich before rolling into the gym. The weird and wonderful thing about these sandwiches are that for whatever reason, the graham cracker soaks up the mashed banana moisture and has the consistency of an ice cream sandwich! The banana is a little ice cream-like so it’s the perfect hot weather treat.

I highly recommend making this not only as a pre-workout snack but also a summertime dessert!

Tags: mashed banana sandwich, peanut butter