"I need something for energy" is one of those sentences that sounds specific and isn't.
Sometimes it means hungry. Sometimes it means tired. Occasionally it means about to go and do something physical. Those are three different problems, and most writing about the best snacks for energy answers all three with the same handful of almonds.
So here is the honest version, sorted by what you actually mean.
Key Takeaways
- Pairing: If you want something more substantial, try putting something starchy together with a bit of protein or fat. Oatcake and cheese, yoghurt and fruit, apple and nut butter. Simple, delicious, and a bit more satisfying than either half on its own.
- Timing: The NHS suggests eating regular meals and healthy snacks every three to four hours rather than one large meal less often, which is exactly the gap most afternoons fall into.
- Tiredness: If you are tired rather than hungry, a snack might not be what you need. Food is very good at hunger. It is not a replacement for sleep or a glass of water.
- Enjoyment: A snack you do not look forward to is a snack you will not eat, and an uneaten snack has never nourished anybody.
Why do you run out of energy in the afternoon?
The afternoon dip is normal, and it is not necessarily lunch's fault. Alertness naturally tends to fall in the early afternoon, which is why that 3pm slump can turn up even after a perfectly sensible lunch. The NHS suggests eating regular meals and healthy snacks every three to four hours rather than one big meal less often.
All sensible. None of it is what is actually happening in your kitchen.
What is actually happening is that lunch was at half twelve because half twelve was when the gap was, it has now been four hours, and the bag of worthy things at the back of the cupboard has been in there long enough to have opinions.
What are the best snacks for energy?
If you want a snack that feels a bit more substantial, pairing something starchy with some protein or fat is a useful place to start. Oatcakes, yoghurt, bananas, nuts, dates, eggs, hummus, oats. That is the whole shape of it. The only real question is which version you will genuinely want.
Ten that work.
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Oatcakes with something on them. An oatcake is a delivery system and everybody knows it. Which is where Messyface arrives: dark, glossy, deeply caramel-like, spread thick enough that the oatcake starts to struggle. Then the ridiculous part. It is grape molasses and sesame tahini. Two things.
People who stop at our tastings nearly always try to file Messyface against something they already know, and peanut butter is the usual opening guess. On an oatcake it stops being peanut butter's business entirely. Watching somebody run out of comparisons is one of the better parts of the job.
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Thick Greek yoghurt and berries. Protein, a bit of fruit sugar, cold and quick. Blueberries or raspberries do the work. Cold yoghurt, sharp berries, and a dark sticky spoonful sitting on top of the lot.
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A banana. The most efficient snack in Britain, because it arrives in its own packaging and requires nothing of you. It particularly earns its keep when you want something quick, portable and requiring absolutely no preparation.
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Nuts, seeds and two squares of dark chocolate. Fat, protein and fibre, plus the thing you actually wanted. Almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds. Portion it into a small tub first, because an open bag is a decision you keep having to make.
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Apple slices and nut butter. Crunch, juice, and something thick to drag them through. Peanut, almond, cashew, or the sesame end of the shelf if you want it darker and stickier. Expect more to come off the knife than makes it onto the apple.
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Dates. Soft, sticky, faintly toffee-like, and genuinely one of the great British undersells. Medjool if you can get them. Split one, flick the stone out, put something in the gap.
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Hummus and vegetable sticks. Carrot, pepper, cucumber. Chickpeas bring protein and fibre, which makes this more substantial than a plate of vegetables might first suggest. Shop-bought hummus is completely fine.
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A boiled egg. Not exciting and not trying to be. Eggs are protein, they keep in the fridge for days, and they ask nothing at all of you.
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Overnight oats. Oats, milk or yoghurt, left alone overnight until they go soft and thick and creamy. The slowest-burning thing on this list.
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Rice cakes, loaded rather than spread. A plain rice cake is the sound of a snack rather than a snack. Load one properly and it becomes something else, right up to the moment it snaps under the weight and you are holding two pieces.
What makes a snack keep you going for longer?
A snack can be more than one thing. Carbohydrate brings energy; foods containing protein, fat and fibre can make the whole thing feel more substantial. Starchy foods are broken down into glucose for energy, according to the British Nutrition Foundation, and wholegrain versions bring fibre with them.
None of this means everything has to be paired with something else. Sometimes an apple is exactly what you wanted. But when you want something more substantial, combinations are useful. Crackers with cheese. Fruit with yoghurt. Toast with something thick and delicious on top. The pairing can be the good bit.
What should you eat when you are tired rather than hungry?
Sometimes, nothing. Tiredness and hunger feel similar and are not the same thing, and no snack has ever fixed a bad night's sleep. If you've eaten recently and are still flagging, it might be worth trying some water, daylight or a short walk before assuming food is the answer.
Caffeine is the obvious lever and it comes with a bill. The NHS notes that caffeine can disrupt sleep rhythms and lead to daytime tiredness, and that the effects can last up to seven hours.
There is a point, usually somewhere around the second coffee, where the coffee stops doing anything except making you an alert kind of tired. Everybody knows the point. Almost nobody stops before it.
None of which is a reason to skip the snack if you want the snack. Just do not ask it to do the job of a nap.
Are energy balls and energy bars worth making?
Homemade beats shop-bought on cost and on what goes in, and takes about fifteen minutes. Dates blitzed with oats and nut butter, rolled, chilled. No baking. A bought bar is a perfectly reasonable thing to keep in a bag, so read the back and pick one you enjoy.
The no-effort version is better than both. Split a date, take the stone out, push a teaspoon of something dark into the gap, press it shut. That is it. The date and caramel combination does most of the work on its own.
If you want it pourable over yoghurt or oats, spoon a little into a small bowl or onto a plate and give it five seconds in the microwave. A spoonful only, never the jar, both because the lid is metal and because the rest keeps its texture that way.
One non-messy note. Messyface contains sesame, and the Peanut edition contains peanuts, so if either is off the menu for you or anyone you are handing a spoon to, so is the jar.
What are the best snacks for energy before exercise?
If you're eating shortly before exercise, simple, familiar foods are often the easiest option. A banana, a slice of toast or a couple of dates are popular for a reason: quick, easy and unlikely to turn your pre-run snack into a science project. If you've got longer, something like a bowl of oats might appeal more.
Afterwards the rules relax. After a run, carbohydrate and protein are often talked about together, we've gone into the why, and the actually-delicious ways to do it, [over here].
Which is where Messyface Peanut earns its keep: thick, rich and nutty, dragged through hot oats until they stop tasting like oats. Steam coming off the bowl, the whole surface turning glossy. A wonderful thing to walk back into a kitchen for.
Top Tips
- Decant on Sunday. Nuts, seeds and dried fruit into small tubs. Future you, at four o'clock, is not a careful person.
- Put the good thing at eye level. The snack you can see gets eaten. The worthy one behind the lentils does not, which is most of why healthy snacks fail.
- Pair things up. If you want something more substantial, try putting two good things together: fruit and yoghurt, oatcakes and cheese, toast and a thick spread. Conveniently, it usually tastes better too.
- Keep a spoon and a small bowl where you work. Half of all snack failures are equipment failures.
- Naturally sweet still means sweet. Messyface gets its sweetness from grapes rather than refined sugar. You'll still see sugars on the nutrition panel because grapes contain sugar. The numbers are on the jar and they are worth knowing.
Frequently asked questions
What snack gives you the most energy?
Nuts and dried fruit pack plenty of energy into a small snack, which is one reason they're such a classic combination. You get carbohydrate from the fruit alongside fat and protein from the nuts and, importantly, they actually taste good together. Dates and nut butter do much the same job with less chewing.
What snacks help with tiredness?
Snacks help with tiredness only when the tiredness is actually hunger. Snacks can help when what feels like tiredness is actually hunger. If you've eaten recently and you're still flagging, food might not be the answer, water, daylight, movement or, occasionally, an earlier night may have a better case.
What should you eat to boost energy immediately?
If you want something quick, carbohydrate-rich foods like a banana, a couple of dates, dried fruit or a slice of toast are simple options. They're particularly handy when you're about to head out and don't want a substantial snack.
What are five high energy foods?
Oats, bananas, dates, nuts and eggs. Between them they cover fast fuel, slow fuel, protein and fat, which gives you plenty of different textures, flavours and ways to build a snack. Add yoghurt, toast or a thick spread and things get considerably more interesting.
Are energy drinks better than a snack?
For most afternoons, no. An energy drink gives you caffeine and sugar with nothing to slow either down, and the NHS notes caffeine can affect sleep for up to seven hours afterwards. If it is genuinely hunger, food lasts longer and tastes better.
So, the best snacks for energy
Work out which of the three you actually mean, choose something that fits, and pick the version you'll be pleased about at four o'clock rather than the one that scores best on paper.
And if the thing that gets you there is something dark, glossy and outrageously caramel-like, there is one made from grapes and sesame. No refined sugar, no palm oil, no milk powder, no emulsifiers. Two ingredients. Far more delicious than two ingredients have any right to be.
That one is Messyface.
Load it onto an oatcake. Stand up. Eat it in about four seconds. One of the better things that will happen to you before six o'clock.
