Healthy Convenience On the Go, Go, Go!
It has begun.
What is “It”, you ask?
“It” is Spring Sports Season. On any given day, we could have 3 kids at 3 games or practices in 2 sports in three different locations. It really is fun, but it makes scheduling thing like….oh, say….. homework, dinner, orthodontist appointments, haircuts and sleeping a little dicey (that is just today!).
With this busy schedule, healthy eating becomes much more important and much more complicated. These growing active bodies need fuel but time is at a premium. We need quick and healthy food at a reasonable cost. If this is the crazy season for you, too, or maybe you just want to Make Healthy Eating More Convenient, Read on!
1. Make your own single serving snacks. Invest in snack-size baggies or small GladWare bowls with lids (1/2 cup size). Check out the serving size on your snacks and dole out the snacks into single serving bags or bowls. Some of our favorites: dry cereal; prezels; raisins or dried cherries; almonds, cashews or mixed nuts; Chex Mix; cookies (Newtons, Gingersnaps); crackers like whole wheat Ritz and Cheez-its.
2. Clean and prep food when you bring it home from the store. My family will eat carrots, cantaloupe, grapes, celery, you name it. But we have to cut it up first (the boys help me with prep, too!), and put it in single serving baggies.
3. Use refillable water bottles. We all have one, we wash them often, re-fill them, and put them back in the fridge. When the weather gets warmer and my kids actually need electrolytes (usually they don’t!), I’ll purchase the Gatorade powder packets instead of buying Gatorade at the concession stand, and add the packets to our water bottles.
4 (a). Make your own trail mix. We toss some of our favorite things in a bowl, like nuts, chocolate chips, dried cherries or banana chips or raisins, pretzels, teddy grahams, whatever is in the cabinet. Then we fill up our snack bags and take our favorites with us.
4 (b). I just started Weight Watchers and it is great, but sticking with the plan makes convenient eating even more of a challenge. I mix my own trail mix with dry cereal, almonds and dried cherries. I know how many points each baggy is worth, and the portable snack keeps me from eating junk food I may regret later!
5. Plan quality, portable after-school snacks: Add an extra bag to the lunch bag line-up in the fridge (we pack our lunches at night). Include fruit, juice pouches or water bottles, and some of your newly created single serve snacks. If you have a cooler bag and plastic utensils, you can add chicken or tuna salad, yogurt, hummus or ranch dressing for dipping your crackers or veggies, string cheese, hardboiled eggs, etc.
6. Make the rest of your life more convenient too:
Pack The Magic Bag: This is the bag that lives in my van during sports season. Inside you will find: Umbrellas; granola bars and extra water bottles; tissues and anti-bacterial wipes (can you say Port–o-john?); a soccer ball for little brother to play with at big brother’s game; first aid kit with instant ice packs; blanket; small plastic garbage bags for wet, muddy cleats or garbage or whatever; and an extra hoodie for me or a child who gets chilly. Also in my van, you will find folding chairs.
Just for me in the magic bag, I have: the master schedule for all teams; a magazine; a WW friendly snack; a notebook for jotting down all the to-do’s that occur to me while I am goofing off at the games; and some mindless busy work, like coupons to cut or blank grocery lists to fill in.
Also in my van is the Homework Bag: clip board, pencils, pens, eraser, scissors and ruler. Because who are we kidding? No, they will not feel like doing their homework after their game.
So embrace the spring weather and a busy active life style, but do it on your terms. Maintain quality health and convenience on the Go, Go, Go!
