Dinner Diva
Sports Nutrition for Kids
by Leanne Ely, CNC
If your children are back in school, they’re probably back in sports, too. Sports requires a lot of our little athletes; making sure he or she is well-fed and hydrated is the key to a happy child (and happy parent, too!).
On game day, you want to make sure your child has quality protein on his plate, some starchy veggies (sweet potatoes, regular potatoes for example) as well as leafy greens, and a good dose of healthy fat. Those four components will come together to create stored up energy that your child can access when their team is kickin’ tail on the field!
Children should be eating all the colors of the rainbow. Make that ‘people should be eating all the colors of the rainbow’. This is how health, stamina and strength is built, whether you’re male or female, grown or a child. This rule especially applies to children who are not only exerting a great deal of energy in their sports, but they’re still growing, too!
And at the end of the game, when you see your child running toward you, sweating from head to toe, with a proud smile of a victory across their face, make sure you feed them within the hour. They’ve just earned themselves a ravenous appetite, and if you get the aforementioned combo of nutrients in their systems within the first 30 to 60 minutes, it’ll help relax their stressed muscles.
Menu-Mailer is the way busy families get dinner on the table night after night, even during sports season!