Healthy Meals/Snacks for Kids
Eating healthy is a no-brainer for you… the triathlete! You’ve heard the saying “you are what you eat”? Well, this is absolutely true. Healthy foods are very powerful – they give us energy to swim, bike and run, they boost our immune systems, they keep us feeling our best. It’s really important to fuel in a way that you maintain steady blood sugar. This will keep your energy levels even, and you will feel better and perform better. To do this, make sure you are balancing out food carbohydrates with protein and fat. For example: add some peanut butter to that banana snack or a string cheese with an apple.
Here are a few other quick tips on choosing healthy foods:
1) Read the Label. Most foods with labels aren’t very healthy. It’s important to read the label to see exactly what is in there. If there are ingredients you don’t understand or can’t pronounce, it’s probably best to skip it. Luckily there are many great alternatives to most unhealthy products. Bars are a good example of this. Most bars have a lot of yucky stuff thrown in, so look for brands that only have a few ingredients like Lara, Health Warrior, Kind, or RXBAR.
2) The Less Processed, the Better. Many foods don’t have labels at all and this is actually a good thing. Fruit, vegetables, seafood, meats, whole grains, nuts and beans are less processed foods and very healthy ones for us!
(3) Do Most of Your Eating at Home. Everyone likes eating out at restaurants from time to time, but it’s healthier to have most meals and snacks at home for one big reason…. You know exactly what’s going into your food! The main goal of restaurants is to make the food taste good, not necessarily to give you the healthiest options.
Now that you have a better idea of what healthy means, here are a few examples of meals and snacks that are easy peasy, and will be in your mouth before you can shout “YUM!”.
MEALS -
1) Hummus Wrap- Spread hummus (any kind!) on wheat pita bread and top with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, olives and feta
2) AB & B - Start with 2 pieces of Ezekiel bread, add almond butter and banana slices
3) Turkey Wrap - Wrap deli turkey, sliced cheese, and avocado in a tortilla
4) Yogurt Parfait - Mix plain Greek yogurt, sliced grapes and coconut chips
5) Cottage Cheese Bowl - Mix full fat cottage cheese, pineapple chunks and pumpkin seeds
SNACKS -
1) “Smash” - combine peanut butter, banana, and dark chocolate chips in a bowl and smash it up! (this doubles as a dessert)
2) Baby carrots, sugar snap peas and guacamole
3) Unshelled edamame & string cheese
4) Pistachios & fresh berries
5) Hard boiled egg & cherry tomatoes
There you have it! A whole bunch of easy healthy meal and snack ideas to that come together in just a few minutes. Remember to include a carbohydrate, a fat, and a protein whenever you can to keep those energy levels up.