Healthy Snacks Will Keep You in the Game

Download a PDF of Sports Nutrition Tips

Children need nutritious snacks before and after exercise to help maintain energy and endurance. Providing snacks from all different food groups can balance out your child's diet and provide them with a variety of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Snack Selection Tips:

Make snacks fun and easy to eat, such as trail mix, baby carrots, prepare
fresh fruits and place different kinds together in one bag, for fruit salad
to go.
Make sure you are picking the right snack beverage. Stick with low fat
milk or water. If you choose juice, it should be 100% pure fruit juice.
Prepare sandwiches ahead of time and use cookie cutters to make fun
shapes.

Below are some snack selections:

Go with Green	Go Easy with Yellow	Slow Down or Stop with Red
Fresh Fruit	Graham Crackers	Pop
Cut-up Vegetables	Low-fat Cereal or Granola Bars	Candy
Fat-free Pretzels	Dried Fruits with Nuts	Donuts or Pastries
Peanut Butter and Whole Wheat Crackers	Low Fat Pudding	Fruit Punch
Low-fat Milk	Plain Jello ®	Chips
Water	Rice Krispie ® Bars	Cupcakes
Low-fat Yogurt Smoothie	Chex ® Mix	Non-baked Crackers
Jello ® Cups with Fruit	100% Pure Fruit Juice	Sugared Cereals
Light Popcorn	Candied Yogurt	Lunchables ®
Whole Grain Dry Cereal	Baked Chips	Candied Fruit Snacks
Snack Pack Fruit Cups	100 Calorie Snack Packs	Muffins
String Cheese	Sports Drinks	High-fat Popcorn
Go Green Trail Mix (click for recipe)

No time to fix a meal? Here are some grab and go items you can take with you:

Place deli meat and low-fat cheese in a tortilla, roll up and go
Spread some peanut butter on graham crackers
Pack cheese cubes and crackers in an individual bag
Prepare chicken salad ahead of time and place in small single serve containers. Throw in pita bread, an english muffin or a small deli bun for a quick sandwich.

* You can add single serve fruits, individual bags of vegetables, fat free pretzels or baked chips and low-fat milk or water to any of the above for a quick and healthy meal on the go.