Speaking of Snacks

Shaina (14) has swim practice every day after school. Two of those days
she has 90 minutes of 'conditioning' (weights, running on the
bleachers, push ups ...) followed by 90 minutes of swimming. By the

-L....

That's an awful lot of exercise for someone 14, in one sitting.

Have her eat a high-protein power bar an hour before practice.

time she finishes, she's crawling on the floor .... I encouraged her to
bring snacks to help, which she does, and they DO help, but she doesn't
have much time to eat them. (It's basically a dash to the locker room
to change after the bell, then a dash to change into her swim-suit
after the dry-land stuff.) She can drink water during the workouts, but
she can't eat.

So I need ideas for fast, easy, high energy snacks. So far she's been

PattyMomVA...

Naomi,
I'm sure others can help you with snack ideas, but it's your DD's schedule
that has me concerned. It simply isn't healthy for her or any of her
teammates to go so long without eating. Would it be possible to speak to
the coach about giving them another 5 minutes here or there to gulp a snack?

Ericka Kammerer...

I would agree. It doesn't seem at all advisable. I
wouldn't expect athletes to be required to go that long and
work that hard without anything besides water. A reasonable
amount of time should be allocated to that. Part of what the
coach should be *teaching* them is how to fuel their bodies
appropriately in such situations. The coach ought to be
discussing appropriate snacks and when to have them as part
of their training. I think I'd be inclined to raise the
issue with the coach and strongly suggest that it's appropriate
and necessary for them to have just a few minutes to have a
snack or two.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Another possibility is that the teacher of her last class at school can let
her eat during class. Can you tell I've run into this issue with SD having
the last lunch period of a very long day in middle school?

-Patty, mom of 1+2

Phoebe & Allyson...

Larabars? They're esentially dates and nuts with a variety of
flavorings. The chocolate coconut chew one tastes just like a brownie,
and contains "dates, almonds, walnuts, unsweetened coconut, unsweetened
cocoa powder." The lemon, cherry pie, apple pie, and cashew cookie
flavors are also really yummy. The other flavors aren't as good IMHO,
but aren't bad, either. About 200 calories per. They won't give you a
quick sugar fix, but you don't get a rebound low, either.

Phoebe :)

taking those packaged peanut-butter and honey crackers. They seem to be
working well, but any other ideas? I suspect a little variety will
help ensure that she eats the things. They have to be things she can
keep in her pack/swim bag and don't need refrigeration, so stuff like
yogurt or cheese won't work. She doesn't like granola bars, nor does
she likes nuts, unless ground into butter. (We're less concerned about
the snacks being classically 'healthy' than just being enough to get
her through her workouts so I don't have to carry her home! ;-) )

Penny Gaines...

Over here, you can get glucose sweets, which are basically pure glucose
with a touch of flavouring. A search on "glucose tablets", provided me
with lots of URLS.

Another option might be the little sachets of sugar that are used in
cafes to add to coffee.

Donna Metler...

When I was swimming on a community team, I ate dried fruit for a short-term
sugar rush-which probably was as bad for me as candy would have been, but
seemed more nutritious.

Rosalie B....

I just read an article about a cyclist who does 36 hour mountain bike
rides, who eats a stick of butter to keep his energy up. Not that I
recommend that. .

I would think hard cheese would work OK (I don't think it needs that
much refrigeration, and so would a banana or one of those cups of
pudding or applesauce.

Jeff...

I am not trying to be funny saying that if it takes variety to get her to
eat things, then, she might not need the food at the time that much.

Jeff...

I should have added that the snack time might be best right after practice,
like on the way home. I like the idea another poster had of a snack at the
end of school, too. I suspect that the ideal time varies for different kids.

Fruits might do the trick, like bananas, which have a little potassium or
apples. She might like goldfish (they are available in multigrain, now,
too). You can get low-fat cheezit snacks and other low-fat crackers and
maybe cookies. Chocolate might not be that bad, either, because she will
burn it off in her mitochrondria. You can also get some packaged snack
packs at the grocery.

She might do just as well by drinking sugar water, like iced tea, Gatorade
or juice (both of these are pretty much flavored sugar-water; being
"natural" doesn't change that). Being dehyrdrated might be more of a problem
than being hungry.

Aula...

That's a really heavy load for a 14 year old. Have you considered checking
in with a nutritionist or even her ped?