Healthy postgame snacks for kids

I’m so proud of the young man my son is becoming. I love to see how patient and caring he is with little kids, especially this little guy here who admires him so much. Every time he sees my son his eyes light up. His mom has two other kids to run after so I offered to take her son along with mine to the park to play soccer. He just started on a league and my son wants to start working with kids next year as an after-school job … so I thought this would be a fun opportunity for them to do something they both love. Soccer! I snapped away as they kicked around the soccer ball and rolled around on the grass.

My son took this opportunity to go over all the tricks he learned when he played soccer. He was actually in a variety of sports most of his life, and is now interested in pursuing martial arts or boxing. He knows it’s important to stay active and keep fit. Being the natural leader that he is, he enjoys showing younger kids how to play sports. In fact, he often stops by his old elementary school to help the kids in aftercare shoot hoops. He wants to be a film maker … but I also think he would be a great mentor for kids … a coach or teacher.

I spent many years on soccer/track/football fields and basketball courts. I was the assigned snack mom many times and would love to share a few things about what to pack (and what not to) for kids after a game or practice.

Healthy postgame snacks for kids

Instead of potato chips, pack unsalted sunflower seeds, whole-grain crackers (fat-free or low fat), apples or orange slices, bananas, carrot or celery sticks (my son loves celery sticks), unsalted almonds.
Instead of candy, pack fresh or dried fruit, raisins, frozen grapes, fresh fruit pops (paletas).
Instead of sugar or energy drinks, pack water and coconut water for the game, and milk for post-game nourishment.

After an exhausting game, it’s important to maximize recovery within 30 minutes with both carbohydrates and proteins. Low fat chocolate milk, like Nesquik, offers the right amount of carbs and protein that an athlete needs. To make sure your child replenishes post-game, pack low-fat Nesquik chocolate milk to nourish tired muscles and replace what is lost in sweat. As the official chocolate milk of the American Youth Soccer Organization and US Youth Soccer, Nesquik is a trusted choice among parents and coaches while loved by kids. Let’s just put it this way, once I said I had chocolate milk back at the house, they were ready for tall glass next to the AC.

As soon as the boys got home, they prepared drinks for each other. We had powdered Nesquik in the pantry so that’s what we used. However, you can get Nesquik chocolate milk premade in 8 oz. serving bottles full of all the same nutritional benefits you would get using milk separately. It’s a lot more convenient for packing snacks for games.

I actually just learned that Nesquik provides a combined 59% of the Daily Values for electrolytes, calcium, potassium and sodium, compared to the 1% found in most juices. That’s good to know … My son drinks quite a bit of Nesquik or regular milk after school and workouts. Protein is essential for a healthy and active lifestyle. Nesquik provides kids with 40% Daily Value for calcium and 8 grams of protein in every serving compared to zero grams in the leading sports and juice drinks. As part of the ongoing nutrition and health efforts, Nesquik readytodrink chocolate milk is free of artificial colors and sweeteners giving parents like us greater confidence when choosing Nesquik flavored milk.