snack ideas

[k-dog]

Now that school has started, it is difficult to ensure that my 7 year old dd is able to get a proper snack prior to her practice. I pick her up at school directly from my work, and we head right to her 3 hour practice. I want to keep a bag of healthy snacks in the car so that something is always available to her right before practice. I am looking for suggestions of healthy food items that can be prepackaged, and ideally not need refrigeration, in order to keep up with both of our busy schedules. Thanks for ideas!

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

Crackers (Ritz, Saltines, Triscuits, Wheat Thins) and peanut butter are good; packaged fruit cups or dried fruit are good because they don't ever go bad, unlike real fruit; granola or granola bars; trail mix is high-energy so that's good, and yummy too; I like fruit snacks but they're not the healthiest things ever.

She can also bring these things to school in her backpack or gym bag - that's what I do. If you have a refrigerator at work, I find yogurt to be ideal because it tastes good and it doesn't make me feel "too full" before practice.

 

[gymnastbeth]

This thread has a lot of great ideas: Link Removed

 

[JBS]

Banana.........

 

[bogwoppit]

Banana.........

That ^^^^^ made me think of this...

Knock knock
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock knock
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock knock
Who's there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn't say banana ?

 

[Bobby]

We live in a high heat/humidity zone and couldn't get by without snack-sized packs of plain popcorn (they're really high % wholegrain too).

We actually freeze tubes of yoghurt like ice blocks so it's still cool when time to eat.

 

[JBS]

I was actually thinking of that when I wrote it...great snack though.

 

[mumoftwogymnasts]

I have the same situation with my two gymnasts, straight from work to school pickup then gym.

Some of the snacks we favour - banana, apple, orange wedges, grapes, yoghurt in a thermos, dried fruit, crackers and cheese, cereal and a thermos of milk, warm oatmeal or soup in a thermos in winter, cold homemade pizza slice, sandwich, fruit bun, plain popcorn.

I pack snacks in an insulated bag/lunchbox (take it into work with me rather than leaving in the car to get hot). In summer I add some freezer bricks to the bag. It has just become part of our routine on gym days, pack two lunches for school, pack snacks for before gym. If you have access to a fridge at work, it makes it easier because you can refridgerate stuff during the day.
If you have a microwave at work you can pack leftovers, zap them at work before you leave and pop into a wideneck thermos.

 

[bogwoppit]

I know JBS it's an oldy but so funny!

For my kids I always packed their gym food in with their school lunches. I just got a slightly bigger cooler for gym days.I put in a couple of ice packs and packed them fruit, veg and dip, home made "trail mix" with cheerios, unsalted cashews and almonds and some raisins. Frozen yogourt, cheese and crackers, hummus and crackers etc. We tried various smoothis in a thermos, but they would often get weird and funky after a day at school (my kids sometimes got weird and funky too!).

 

[coachmolly]

Not sure if you have these where you are, but around here we have these things called "Coco" which is essentially a puffed rice cake in a thin disk shape. You can get it in either regular or whole wheat and are great with peanut butter, almond butter, what ever kind of spread your DD enjoys. Regular rice cakes would work too, but these are a little less dense and more kid friendly.
One of the almond companies (Diamond maybe?) has all different kinds of flavored almonds. If you are cautious about ingredients you need to be careful about some of the mixed packages, but the cocoa ones are pretty good, not sure about the other varieties.
Trail mixes are great and easy and relatively inexpensive to put together yourself (compared to packaged prices) if your grocery store has a bulk good section where you can pick what you want to add and select the amount. It can also make it more fun for your dd if you take her along and allow her to "personalize" her trail mix and help mix it all together in the kitchen.

 

[gymnastbeth]

One of the almond companies (Diamond maybe?) has all different kinds of flavored almonds. If you are cautious about ingredients you need to be careful about some of the mixed packages, but the cocoa ones are pretty good, not sure about the other varieties.

Their cinnamon almonds are great.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

Not sure if you have these where you are, but around here we have these things called "Coco" which is essentially a puffed rice cake in a thin disk shape. You can get it in either regular or whole wheat and are great with peanut butter, almond butter, what ever kind of spread your DD enjoys. Regular rice cakes would work too, but these are a little less dense and more kid friendly.
One of the almond companies (Diamond maybe?) has all different kinds of flavored almonds. If you are cautious about ingredients you need to be careful about some of the mixed packages, but the cocoa ones are pretty good, not sure about the other varieties.

I just had to respond here because I saw these "Cocos" for the very first time at school this past week!!!! One of my 5th graders brought 2 in and boy did that stop the whole lesson (they have a "snack" time around 10:00 a.m.). Everyone wanted to know what in the world he was eating and where he got it! Someone even suggested that some nutella spread on it would be really good... I need to get some and try that!

 

[gym law mom]

Beef jerkey is great. Can be thrown in the gym bag and you don't have to worry about it going bad. Also no mess to eat.

 

[gymalex]

I would be careful not to send anything that will spike her blood sugar, such as processed carbs. You want slow digesting carbs and quality protein. Crackers are not a good idea. I think you'd find that beef jerky (try to find low sodium...the fewer the ingredients, the better!) with a mix of nuts and dried fruit (no sugar or corn syrup added) would be the way to go. I really love these Paleo kits. All of the hardcore athletes I work out with are really into this stuff. The jerky is grass fed, organic, no preservatives added, and the kits are super easy. A bit expensive, but worth it. Steve's Original: Paleo Kits, Paleo Diet, Zone Diet, Paleo Diets, Gluten Free

If you have the ability to take cold items, 2% Greek yogurt with a bit of honey or fresh fruit and some almonds is a good choice, too. Those were things I recommended for my gymnasts when I was coaching, and they seemed to feel that they had good workouts with those choices. Now I'm a competitive weight lifter myself, and I find that those snacks work well for me, too.
After practice you should have protein ready for her to help rebuild muscle and help with strength. A cup of low-fat chocolate milk is a great choice because of the sugar/carb/protein ratios, or a hard-boiled egg with a handful of almonds works, too.
Nutrition is so important for peak performance, and with kids we sometimes forget to place it high on the priority ladder. A good, quality snack before practice and a high protein recovery snack right after will make a huge difference. Good luck!

 

[gymmutti]

How much beef jerky do you give a child as a snack before practice or after? I think this would be a good choice for my family but not sure how much to give. Also - any good brands?