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August 3, 2009
Sport Snacks for Kids and Teens
Is it your turn to bring snacks to the soccer, baseball or swim meet?
Don’t undo the good calorie-burning and muscle-building activities with high-fat, nutrient-poor snacks. Here are the top four healthy snacks for active kids and three snacks you should leave on the grocery store shelf.
1. Low-fat chocolate milk. A recent study with competitive college soccer players found low-fat chocolate milk to be a terrific muscle recovery food.
Researchers think that milk’s muscle-building properties result from two types of protein-whey and casein, as well as the carbohydrates in milk.
2. Fruit kebabs. Make fruit exciting by threading melon, grapes and pineapple chunks on a wooden skewer. Fruit provides needed carbohydrates for working muscles and has a high water content to replace lost fluids.
3. Trail mix. Mix up your own with whole- grain cereals such as Wheat Chex and Cheerios, raisins or other dried fruit, peanuts or other nuts and mini-pretzels. The salt in the pretzels will help replace sodium lost from sweating.
Three snacks to say “no” to:
1. Potato chips. Potatoes might be natural but when sliced, fried in oil and salted, they lose a lot of nutritional value. A fresh baked potato is high in potassium and low in fat and sodium; potato chips reverse the nutritional profile.
2. Soft drinks. Eight to 10 teaspoons of sugar are found in the average can of soft drink. All sugar and no nutrients is not a power-house beverage.
3. Candy. Even when disguised as “fruit” candy, candy is candy. A healthy snack provides quality carbohydrates and protein —- something that candy does not provide.
Posted by Lisa at August 3, 2009 8:05 AM
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Comments
Many children tend to eat frequently through the day as their bodies require. A child under the age of four or five might eat six to seven times a day. One can give fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain crackers, cheese cubes, peanut butter-cheese sandwiches into daily snacks. One can go for milk-based drinks because it rich in protein and calcium.
Posted by: Fun healthy kids snacks at August 20, 2009 2:34 AM