Dance Snacks with @DailyDancerDiet
Dance rehearsals are long and snacks are essential. They need be quick bites, easy to eat, non-bloating and energy packed. I recently teamed up with friend and fellow professional dancer Liana Blackburn to share a dance and a snack.
Liana, fresh off the road touring with Selena Gomez as dance captain, is the creator of a YouTube series called Daily Dancer Diet. Not only does she share my passion to dance but also to nourish our bodies with delicious, REAL food. We challenged each other to bring dance snacks that catered to both of our allergies and food intolerances. Liana: gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free. Meagan: allergic to peanuts/nuts (almonds ok) and fish. We danced and snacked the afternoon away full of energy. Of course these snacks aren’t just for your dance bag, they’re great for travel, at your desk, pre or post workout.
Meagan’s Dance Snacks
BERRIES: Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries. Berries are a no brainer- they are are easy to grab on the go, the sugar keeps your energy high and the antioxidants help keep your memory sharp.
ALMOND BUTTER FILLED DATES: Because of my nut allergies, it’s difficult for me to eat protein bars. Most bars contain a variety of nuts or are processed in a facility containing nuts. Barney Butter is an almond butter that is processed in a peanut free facility. That being said, most bars contain a few solid bites of protein, fat and sugar. This is essentially what these almond butter filled dates provide: The pitted date is packed with natural sugar and the almond butter carries the protein and fat. You can get creative and sprinkle some coconut flakes, bee pollen, or chocolate chips on top. The sky is the limit!
POPCORN: I’m addicted to homemade popcorn! It’s so easy. Coat the bottom of a pot with high heat oil like sunflower oil, coconut oil, or canola oil. Pour a layer of kernels to fill the bottom of the pan. Cover and pop until you hear a couple of seconds between kernels popping. I top mine with Flax Oil, turmeric, cayenne, salt and Nutritional Yeast. The flax oil and popcorn itself has a lot of fiber to keep you full as you burn calories while sweating. Turmeric and cayenne are anti-inflammatory and fire up your insides. The Nutritional Yeast contains the vitamin B12 to keep your energy up. This popcorn was left over from last nights’s Netflix and chill so I packaged it up and brought it to the studio.
Liana’s Dance Snacks
JICAMA WITH LIME: Jicama is so underrated! It’s a vegetable but its juicy, sweet and crunchy texture is refreshing. Liana explained that since the flavor is subtle, it takes well to anything you pair with it. She skinned the jicama, cut it into easy to grab sticks and smothered them with lime juice.. so good!
MARY’S GONE CRACKERS: Mary’s Gone Crackers are gluten free, dairy free and nut free. They’re jammed with fiber and are super durable so they wont turn into dust in your dance bag. Once a specialty item available at those niche health stores, these crackers are now on most major grocery store shelves and come in several delicious flavors.