So what’s a family to do in making good food choices for our kids when we are running from game to game? For those of you with kids in sports, you know what I mean. You have the best plans and then you end up with a double header which leaves little to no time at all to eat let alone get some good nourishment in your kids. Many times parents find themselves driving to the closest fast food restaurant to get their kids something to eat or drink.
My boys all play baseball and this weekend is a marathon of games. Earlier this week, I hadn’t yet started planning ahead, but the coach’s wife of my son Danny’s baseball team noticed the boys were scheduled to play back to back games on Saturday. She sent a note out to all of the parents earlier this week encouraging us to bring healthy options for the boys to share instead of bringing the “usual junky snack”. I was so excited to get this email. As a mom, it makes life easier to follow through on our goals of making healthy choices for our kids when we have a support system.
What a great way to ensure the kids not only get a good meal, but everyone from the team is now engaged. Some parents have said in the past, I don’t want to be that one mom who the kids make fun of because of bringing healthy snacks like fruit and water. There wasn’t one parents that said, oh, I really want to bring Doritos and Fruit Snacks. Everyone willingly pitched in and agreed to bring a suggested item off the list or proposed a different healthier option.
Here are some of the the items off the recommended list:
Water
Grapes
Watermelon
Granola bars
Chunks of cheese
Cantelope
Strawberries
Cuties(Baby oranges)
Peanut butter & Jelly Sandwiches
Frozen Yogurt popsicles
Pretzels
Nuts/ Sunflower Seeds
Protein Balls (Check out this recipe. They are quick and easy to make and a great protein filled snack between games).
What a great way to ensure that the kids are eating healthy. This is what I call Team Spirit. Team sports are not just a place for kids to learn about the game, but to also build good morals and character. And this week, they get the added bonus of learning that healthy options can be a great snack choice and that all parents are totally supportive. Its not just their parent that encourages them to eat their fruits and veggies.
They say it takes a village to raise a family and this is one time where I believe coming together like this will make a big difference.