Pre workout nutrition and a chicken shawarma style marinade

Recipes
Written By Julia Seward

I’m experimenting with a new blog format which centers itself around answering one question I’ve received and one recipe success! I often toy around with the idea of a more official newsletter. This is something in that direction.

What makes a good pre-workout snack?

This question comes up frequently during morning workouts. Getting up for a work out before the workday is hard enough on its own. Getting up in time to eat and then digest BEFORE your workout? Even more difficult!

While it might not feel good to eat a heavy meal before your workout, it is a good idea to have some sort of pre workout nutrition plan.

Your body won’t be able to immediately use anything you eat to fuel a workout - digestion takes time. The most important thing when working out in the early morning is to make sure you eat a balanced dinner the night before. That said, most of us still don’t want to hit the gym on an empty stomach.

Simple carbs spend as little as 30-40 minutes in your stomach, while fats might take 2-4 hours to break down. Having food sitting in your stomach during a workout is both uncomfortable and unhelpful. Food that hasn’t been digested cannot be used to fuel activity. This is why pre-workout snacks should be carb heavy and consumed at least 30 mins before a workout.


Characteristics of good pre-workout meals and snacks

  • high carb

  • low fat and moderate to low protein

  • low density/low volume
    ex: a dried peach versus a whole melon or apple

  • low fiber
    fiber is healthy, but slow digesting - so not ideal before a workout.

What to avoid

  • rich, fatty snacks
    fats are healthy, but more energy intensive and slower to digest.

  • high volume foods
    fruits like melons with high water content are bulky and don’t feel good to have sitting in your stomach during a tough workout.

  • high fiber foods
    fibrous carbs like oatmeal - or even an apple - might not feel great as fiber is takes longer for the body to break down.

Snack examples

  • Nutrigrain bars, or other high carb snack bars such as Chewy bars.

  • Dried fruits

  • Bananas, grapes and other lower fiber fruits

  • Fruit smoothie

  • Relatively low fiber cereals

  • Toast with jam

  • Latte with low fat milk (full fat may be ok, but slower digesting and richer)

When choosing your own snack, look at the nutrition label and opt for something that shows most of the calories coming from carbs with a low fiber content.

Particularly sensitive people should look for foods that have less than 2-3 grams of fiber per serving!

Chicken Shawarma Style Marinade

This chicken marinade is quick and easy. The chicken can marinade for as little as 30 minutes - just enough time to get everything ready before you turn on the stove - or up to 6-8 hours! The flavors are really great and the chopping is minimal - just a few cloves of garlic. You can serve this with a wide range of homemade or store bought sides (I’ve listed some at the end of the recipe).


Chicken thighs are a great source of protein, relatively affordable compared to many meats, and have just enough fat to be forgiving if you overcook them a little. You can also use breasts, but they risk overcooking more easily!

Chicken shawarma served with garlic yogurt, feta, hummus and lemon

Marinade Recipe

  • 2 lbs chicken

  • 4 garlic cloves, finely minced using a garlic press

  • 3/4 plain yogurt (greek or regular works but regular yogurt may be easier because of the more liquid consistency)

  • juice of a medium lemon

  • 1 TB oil

  • 2 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1 TB smoked paprika

  • 1 TB ground cumin

  • 3/4 tsp cinnamon

  • 1/2 to 3/4 tsp ground cayenne or other hot pepper

Combine all ingredients besides chicken thoroughly in a large bowl. Pat the chicken dry, then add to the marinade. Cover and let sit for 30m, or in the fridge for the work day.

Grill the chicken

Heat a grill or grill pan over medium (not too hot!). Cook chicken thighs for about 5-6 minutes per side, or until done.

grilling tip: if you try to flip the chicken too soon, the meat will always stick to the grill grates or pan. You’ll end up trying to scrape it off. You’ll know that the chicken is ready to flip when it releases easily from the pan or grill.

cooking tip: if you have a meat thermometer, wait till it reads 165 to ensure the chicken is done. If you don’t, its a great investment - it will help you so much in the kitchen!

Let chicken rest for a few minutes while you prepare the sides, toast the pita, or whatever you’ve chosen, then slice and serve hot!

Suggested sides

Julia Seward
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