The Plate

The goal of this page is to help parents choose healthy food options for their athlete. While your player is still young it is still very important that you encourage healthy eating habits. The habits you create while traveling will impact them for the rest of their lives. We hope this page and our blog posts will provide you with helpful articles and tips to make healthy choices. What you feed your child will affect how they play and how they sustain energy during practices, in games, and during tournaments. It is important to keep this in mind while making choices. We hope you find these tips helpful, and we encourage you to post questions in the comments section!

Here are some Articles to Get You Started!

20 Healthy Snacks for Traveling on the Road:

1. A tin of tuna or salmon
2. A good quality packet of beef jerky (look for low salt options when possible)
3. Granola! This will go quick so make a lot! (Quick & Easy Recipe Click Here!)
4. Some dark chocolate ( Kids will go nuts...just remember to keep in moderation)
5. LaraBars are a good emergency option (These bars can be found at Trader Joes and most Grocery Stores, typically include 3-5 healthy ingreadients).
6. Banana and Almond Butter (Much better option than Peanut Butter, learn why peanut butter isn't the best choice for your little athlete.) Winco has great Almond Butter in the back by the honey!
8. Apple & cheese slices
9. Fruit balls (made with a melon baller) in coconut milk
10. Turkey roll-ups with cucumber, tomato, grated carrot and avocado inside (You can really wrap and fill with anything your child likes...this option is much better than a happy meal.)
11. Make “chicken nuggets” coated in coconut flour and egg ( Pre-make forget the stop at McDonalds!)
12. Wrap melon in ham
13. An avocado and a spoon
14. Peeled, hard boiled eggs (Easy to keep in an ice chest, great easy option!)
15. Black and green olives
16. Fruit in coconut milk, its worth a try!
17. Seasonal fruit on it’s own
19. Clif Bars
20. Homemade Protein Bars

Super Size Me: Documentary on the Effects of McDonalds

 

What to Eat Before a Game and Practice:

For a longer game or training session, add some protein or fiber to slow digestion and sustain energy: Choose fruit or low-fat protein options such as milk, turkey, or yogurt.

Avoid fatty foods (these slow digestion too much) and extra-sweet foods such as soda, candy, and sports drinks. These cause a spike in blood sugar. If sugar levels then drop quickly during a game, your child could become sluggish or even dizzy.

 

During a Game, if It's a Must:

During a game, it's most important to stay hydrated, so keep the water flowing. If kids need a half-time snack, make it something easy to grab, eat, and digest. Avoid salty foods, since they dehydrate instead of re-hydrating. The best half-time snack choice is fruit, since it contains lots of water and nutrients, and also has kid appeal!
Half-time snack suggestions:

• Bananas (cut in half for younger kids so they can peel and eat more quickly)
• Orange slices
• Clementines (be prepared to help little ones peel)
• Grapes
• Small slices or chunks of melon

 

What to Eat Between Games:

• Crackers, tortillas, or pretzels
• Granola
• Enriched pasta or brown rice
• Plain popcorn
• Low-fat cheese, yogurt, pudding or milk
• Turkey, chicken, tofu
• Apples, bananas, pears, oranges
• Carrots, sugar snap peas, cucumbers 
• Lunch Meat rolled with Cheese

 

Post Game Eats:

Immediately following a game or intense practice, kids need lots of fluids to replace what they've lost to perspiration. Milk (including chocolate milk) and water are good choices. If they've really been sweating and/or it is extremely hot outside, athletes also need sodium and potassium, which is why sports drinks contain these electrolytes.

Finally, carbohydrates and proteins help kids refuel and re-energize. While a little sugar is OK, don't go overboard; it's not wise to reinforce the idea that sweets are a good way to reward your self for a job well done.

If you're providing a team snack, find out if any children have allergies so you can avoid those dangerous foods.

 

Post-game snack suggestions:

• Fresh fruit (see list above) or applesauce
• Fruit frozen into kabobs or pops
• Dried fruit, including leathers or rolls made with 100% fruit
• Fruit-flavored gelatin
• Granola bars, but watch out for high calorie, fat, and sugar content
• Cookies: Best choices are fig bars, oatmeal cookies, animal crackers
• Yogurt
• Pudding
• String cheese
• Popcorn, pretzels
• Trail mix (with dried fruit instead of candy, make your own and add a little chocolate

 

Hydration:

If you are looking for the best way to hydrate your little athlete, we highly suggest one of these options.

1. Water H2O!
2. Coconut Water

Compared to typical sports drinks, coconut water has fewer calories, less sodium, but higher amounts of potassium. While coconut water typically has less sugar than sports drinks, it also has much less sugar than regular sodas or fruit juices.Plain coconut waters can be an ideal beverage for those who are looking for a drink that is less sweet than soda or juice, but the calories can add up if you are not careful.


Why not Gatorade or Poweraid?

Sugar!!!!!!!!