We’re busy people, and our lives demand the most of us each day. It’s true that you can’t pour from an empty cup, and you can’t perform your daily activities with energy levels that sink by mid-morning.
If you’re struggling to keep up with life, we’ll give you nine high-energy meals to help stoke your energy and keep you running no matter what’s on your docket.
What Are Some High Energy Meal Ideas?
The fast food you’ve been living on is convenient, but it’s not nutrient dense. In other words, it lacks the essential vitamins, minerals, and proteins your body needs for fuel. Instead, it’s probably loaded with sugar, trans-fat, and ingredients that don’t support consistent energy.
Here are nine meals packed with ingredients that support a healthy diet and regulated energy levels throughout your day.
1. Greens Smoothie
It’s what’s for breakfast (or snack time or lunch). A greens smoothie is delicious, refreshing, and loaded with ingredients that help keep your blood sugar regulated and your cells pumping out energy.
L’Evate You Vitality Daily Greens contains M-Charge, our proprietary energy-enhancing ingredient that goes right to the mitochondria in your cells to help support their energy production.
Love mint chocolate chip ice cream? Give this mint chocolate chip greens smoothie a try. It’s sweet and refreshing and will knock out sugar cravings while supporting a healthy diet.
2. Quinoa With Sweet Potatoes and Hummus
Quinoa is a seed, though it’s usually used in recipes like a grain. It’s packed with amino acids to help support protein synthesis. Cooked and topped with roasted sweet potato and hummus yields a high-protein meal packed with complex carbohydrates perfect for pre-workout or helping support your energy levels midday.
3. Brown Rice With Roasted Chickpeas and Veggies
Brown rice is a source of complex carbohydrates that helps keep your blood sugar from spiking and crashing. White rice, white flour, and similar ingredients can cause unhealthy blood sugar spikes that leave you feeling tired.
Chickpeas are legumes, which are excellent sources of protein and are also vegan-friendly. Top cooked brown rice with roasted and seasoned chickpeas and veggies of your choice cooked in olive oil. Olive oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which support heart health.
4. Peanut Butter on Whole Grain Toast
Nuts are an excellent snack with plenty of fiber, protein, and fat to keep you full. No-added sugar peanut butter is an energy-boosting food that offers the benefits of nuts in a smooth, spreadable form. Spread peanut butter on whole-grain toast for a breakfast or snack that will keep you full for hours.
5. Black Bean Tacos With Avocado
Avocados might be the perfect food for a solid energy boost. They contain protein, fat, and complex carbohydrates that take time to digest, which keeps your blood sugar related and keeps you fuller, longer.
Combine them with nutrient-rich black beans and a delicious salsa for an easy dinner recipe that will also help keep you motivated the next day.
6. Greek Yogurt With Berries and Dark Chocolate Chips
Looking for a snack that helps keep you energized? You just found it. Greek yogurt is a source of protein and is available in full-fat and low-fat options. Adding antioxidant and vitamin C-rich berries and dark chocolate chips make it a sweet snack that only seems sinful.
Level up this snack with a scoop of L’Evate You Vitality Daily Greens in tart cherry. You’ll get the benefit of greens powder along with the delicious taste of cherries.
7. Salad With Pumpkin Seeds, Lentils, and Chopped Almonds
If you’re a salad purist at lunchtime, make sure the ingredients in your salad have enough staying power to get you through the rest of your day. An energy-packed salad needs greens, protein, and slow-burning carbohydrates.
One of our favorite salad recipes adds pumpkin seeds, lentils, and chopped almonds to a bed of greens and veggies. The sustained energy and magnesium from the pumpkin seeds and lentils can help motivate you through your afternoon and keep you full all day.
8. Whole Wheat Pasta With Pesto
Just because you’re watching your weight doesn’t mean pasta is off the menu. Whole wheat options have heart-healthy benefits and slow-burning carbohydrates to energize you through a workout or just a day at the office.
9. Stir Fry With Veggies and Chickpeas
Stir fry is an easy go-to meal solution that helps you load up on vegetables. Keep it healthy by cooking your vegetables in olive oil and topping it off with a lean protein, like chickpeas. The carbohydrates in the chickpeas will fuel your day, while the fiber will keep you full.
What Nutrients Should You Focus on for Energy Support?
The next time you’re at the grocery store, stock up on energy-increasing ingredients and focus your meal planning around those. You’ll notice an increase in energy and avoid unhealthy sugar crashes from pastries and foods that spike your blood sugar and then leave you feeling tired.
Complex Carbs
Complex carbohydrates (like whole wheat, whole oats, and beans) break down slowly in your bloodstream. They are loaded with fiber, which aids in digestion and also helps regulate your blood sugar levels.
Swapping complex carbohydrates for simple carbohydrates (like sugar and white bread) can pay dividends in your energy stores.
Healthy Fats
Not all fat is bad, and some of it is necessary for our bodies to thrive. Healthy fats from nuts, seeds, fatty fish, and some fruits can help keep us full, support our dietary needs, and keep us feeling energized all day.
Lean Protein Sources
Protein sources like chicken, pork, fish, and legumes are lean protein sources that help us stain our energy longer than if we sit down to a massive steak dinner. These sources give us the boost of protein and energy we need without the unhealthy fat that can make us feel sluggish and tired.
Simply swapping out the protein source on your plate can help you feel more energized and improve your overall health and wellness.
The Bottom Line
What you eat can make or break your energy levels. If you’re constantly loading up on sugar-filled pastries or foods that contain ingredients that drain your energy, you’ll have a hard time keeping up with your life.
Swapping out foods that don’t contain important nutrients for ones that are nutrient-rich is a good step in keeping you energized and feeling full all day. Another way to support your overall health and energy levels? A greens powder.
L’Evate You Vitality Daily Greens contains:
- 30 superfoods and nine greens
- M-Charge energy complex
- Antioxidant and anti-aging blend
- Probiotic and prebiotic digestive blend
- Mushroom blend for healthy cholesterol and sodium levels and to help support brain and mood function.
Support your energy levels the easy way. Adding L’Evate You Vitality Daily Greens to your health stack is a smart and delicious choice for sustainable energy and supercharged health.
Sources:
Quinoa Is A Sustainable Protein | Science Direct.com
Omega-3 fatty acids and the heart: New evidence, more questions | Harvard Health
Fats and Cholesterol | The Nutrition Source | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health