Tips for Feeding a Young Athletes

I am not a nutritionist or an expert on feeding high performance athletes, but I am a mom of three very active boys (7, 9, and 11) who are always moving and constantly hungry. Generally, I try to feed my boys a healthy and balanced diet, and on game days we stay away from high fat and fried foods. This often means having "easy to grab" snacks in the fridge and packing a cooler when we are on the road.

My boys (like most people) are more likely to eat make healthy choices if tasty and nutritious foods are easily available to them. Here are the types I food I generally feed my boys when we are "on the go":

• milk (and sometimes chocolate milk for after a hard game or practice)
• smoothies (made ahead of time and frozen or pre-made and ready to serve*)

• low sugar cereal (which they love as a bedtime snack after a late game)
• chicken wraps (mayo, chicken, shredded cheese, and whole wheat tortillas)
• peanut butter wraps or sandwiches (peanut butter and whole wheat tortillas/bread)
• hard boiled eggs (cooked and peeled)

• salad or raw veggies
• fruit (washed and ready to eat)... and don't forget bananas
• unsweetened applesauce (it travels well)
• pasta (warm noodles and spaghetti in a thermos or cold noodles with an olive oil based salad dressing)
• cheese or cheese strings
• yogurt
• snacks (pretzels, crackers and hummus, granola bars, etc...)
• Don't forget to pack dishes, utensils and a refillable water bottle!

Recently, I was given the opportunity to work with Hans Dairy*, and I was really impressed with their all natural dairy products. They are a small dairy company (run by two sisters) that truly understands that quality trumps quantity every time. Hans Dairy makes ready-to-eat products such as smoothies, lassies, rice pudding, whipped butter, and yogurt in their traditional and time honoured small-scale operation. Hans Dairy products are free of artificial sugars, flavourings, colourings, and preservatives... wonderful high protein and healthy options for my little athletes.

You can also enter here to win a Hans Dairy* prize pack. 

The blueberry and strawberry smoothies were my boys' favourites.

It can definitely be a challenge to keep busy children happy and well fed... especially when busy schedules keep you "on the go". I hope you find my tips useful, and I hope you get the chance to try some of the wonderful Hans Dairy* products. Let me know what you think!

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

*Disclosure: I received compensation as part of my affiliation with Hans Dairy .... however (as always) the opinions on this blog are 100% my own... and my love for products that are 100% natural is real. I only ever promote products that my boys and I like and believe in.