It’s no surprise that celebrity trainer Kira Stokes lives and breathes fitness—I mean, look at those muscles! Stokes has been whipping bodies into healthy, beautiful shape for 16 years and clearly practices what she preaches. But she also understands how important it is to frequently fuel your body to give you energy to get through tough workouts, as well as day-to-day living.She does that by grazing. “I keep my metabolism revved the entire day and never leave my house unprepared,” she says. “I’m fully stocked with healthy options to get me through the day. Preparation is key to staying on track with food choices, just like having a plan for your workout is imperative to meet your fitness goals.”Here are the healthy snacks and foods Stokes reaches for over the course of a day:
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Breakfast Snack #1: Coffee, Steel-Cut Oatmeal, Almonds, and Hard Boiled EggsStokes’ mornings kick off while most of us are still sleeping, usually around 4:45am or 5am. After grabbing a cup of coffee, she jumps on her Cybex Arc Trainer cross-training cardio machine at home, even if it’s for a quick half hour, to get the blood flowing and her energy up for the day ahead. “This is not my workout for the day, but a way for me to wake up my mind and body,” she says.“The front end of my day is more carb heavy than the end, as I need the energy carbs provide to fuel my action-packed day,” she notes. “I typically stoke my metabolism every 90 minutes to 2 hours during the day, often starting with Trader Joe’s steel-cut oatmeal and a handful of almonds after my quick cardio session. I’ll also feast on my all-time perfect protein-to-carb ratio snack: two hard boiled eggs, with or without the yolk, and a dab of hummus. It’s like a healthy deviled egg!”
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Breakfast Snack #2: Quinoa With Vegetables and ChickenAfter training clients and coaching athletes through multiple sweat-soaked Stoked Series classes, it’s time to fuel up again. “I make sure I never get to the point where I am starving,” she says. Between clients, she typically snacks on a mixture of quinoa or farro, mixed vegetables and chicken, which she brings with her in a lunch bag with ice packs.
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Breakfast Snack #3: Protein Bar or Vegetarian SushiWhen Stokes gets another break between classes, she’ll grab part of a protein-rich chocolate chip cookie dough Quest Bar. “It’s the easiest thing to nibble on when making the transition from one workout to another,” she says. “If I have more than two minutes between classes, I may have a stash of vegetarian quinoa sushi from Organic Pharmer—my go-to establishment for healthy fare in Westchester, N.Y.—as a grab and go option,” she says. “Portion control is key. I don’t ever consider what I eat a ‘meal’ but rather a ‘nosh’ of about 150-200 calories.”
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Lunch: Chopped Kale Salad With Vegetables and ChickenStokes usually gets a break around 12:15pm after her morning clients and classes. “This is when I indulge in my favorite chopped salad: kale, cucumbers, broccoli, edamame, avocado, asparagus, chicken and hard boiled eggs,” she says. But she doesn’t polish it all off: “I’m rarely a member of the clean plate club,” she says, “often saving a bit of my lunch as a snack for the evening.”
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Pre-Workout Snack: Granny Smith Apple with Almond ButterAround 1:15pm, Stokes goes back to training clients or taking care of business (returning emails, phone calls, writing). Before her own workout around 3pm — yep, all of those training sessions and classes weren’t enough!—she’ll often grab a Granny Smith apple with a dab of almond butter. “This is a pick-me-up for my workout, which varies from day-to-day, but always includes intense cardio in the form of a run, plyometrics, jumping rope and cycling, as well as serious results-driven strength training. High intensity training for a high intensity trainer!”
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Post-Workout Snack: Protein ShakeAfter her personal sweat session, Stokes is religious about providing her body with recovery fuel in the form of a protein shake. “A protein shake quickly delivers necessary nutrients to your muscles to aid in the rebuilding process,” she says. Stokes is a fan of both Vega Sport Performance Protein Powder and a new plant-based protein powder on the market, Ojio Sport. “I combine my powder of choice — chocolate or vanilla — with a base of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, water and ice; a couple strawberries; a handful of raspberries (or half of a banana if I feel I need more potassium); and a scoop of Ojio Greens Phytonutrient Enhancer,” she says.
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Dinner: Egg White Omelet With VegetablesStokes usually ends her endorphin-filled day teaching two or three more Stoked Series workouts from 6-8:30pm. Once home, she nibbles on a small egg white omelet with broccoli, spinach and asparagus—“I’m a big breakfast for dinner kind of girl,” she says — or else a small piece of grilled chicken and vegetables. “It’s usually pretty late, so I am careful to eat ‘dinner like a pauper’ and ‘breakfast like a king’ — or in my case, three unique breakfast snacks.”
