Meals on nights with "sports practice"?

[Stayseeliz]

We are making our first serious foray into sports and I need some help with meals. My son is playing football and at least one of my daughters will be cheering. They work them HARD. Tons of running, jumping jacks, etc. Right now practice is from 7-8pm but when the official season starts I'm thinking it's going to be from 6-8 or so.

 

I'm trying to think of healthy, lighter meals I can serve at least an hour before practice that will give them energy but not make them feel yucky. I did grilled cheese sandwiches, bananas and cucumbers one night this week. I just can't think of what to serve. I'd like something fairly simple but healthy. We don't get home until 8:30 and I'd like them to shower, get a snack and head to their beds by that point. Any thoughts?? Thanks for the help! This is new territory for me and I don't want to end up getting take out on the way home very often!

[Samiam]

We are like this every fall, and it stinks truly, in terms of meals. I usually feed them a light dinner at 4p, in time to digest, and then plan another light snack, ie turkey sandwich etc when we get home. DH is on his own for dinner quite often, unless I've crockpotted something.

 

Fall is the worst, because football is every evening!

[Kaleidoscope]

I had issues with meals too with a similar schedule. It rarely worked for us to do an actual meal before practice. we do a big lunch. Then a sandwhich and fruit or eggs and fruit before practice. My kids fav after practice meal is cold cereal or fruit and yogurt.

[freerange]

DS found he couldn't eat after 2pm on training nights. I try to have tea ready for when I'd pick him up, so he eats at 8:30 on those days. I encourage him to drink something before he goes for a little energy boost.

[momofkhm]

ON the what to eat before - it truly depends on the kid. One year both dds had soccer on Sunday afternoons. The one with the earlier game got to choose lunch. Older would always choose something light - sandwiches. Middle could as often choose chicken. Neither got sick during the game and both were well hydrated.

 

Nights - soccer has always been during dinner. I make a normal dinner. See if they want to eat before practice (no) and just rewarm something when they get home. The rest of eat at normal time.

[Pippen]

I would try feeding them a regular meal early first and then a snack afterwards. When my kids were younger this worked best, or else making dinner at lunchtime then filling in with sandwiches, snacks, fruit before or after the practice depending on their needs. My son was more flexible, but my daughter absolutely had to be well fueled for ballet and needed a meal.

 

Now that they're teens they prefer to have something lighter (sandwich, Mac and cheese) and eat afterwards.

[Swimtaxi234]

We are unconventional in that we like to eat a hot meal at lunch and my husband eats leftovers when he gets home for dinner.

 

Before we leave for practice, my children like to eat some fruit and a Greek yogurt since that can have 8-10 grams of protein and is filling.

 

After practice, they like to eat a quick sandwich and more fruit.

[FaithManor]

We are making our first serious foray into sports and I need some help with meals. My son is playing football and at least one of my daughters will be cheering. They work them HARD. Tons of running, jumping jacks, etc. Right now practice is from 7-8pm but when the official season starts I'm thinking it's going to be from 6-8 or so.

 

I'm trying to think of healthy, lighter meals I can serve at least an hour before practice that will give them energy but not make them feel yucky. I did grilled cheese sandwiches, bananas and cucumbers one night this week. I just can't think of what to serve. I'd like something fairly simple but healthy. We don't get home until 8:30 and I'd like them to shower, get a snack and head to their beds by that point. Any thoughts?? Thanks for the help! This is new territory for me and I don't want to end up getting take out on the way home very often!

 

 

When my kids were in soccer, I made wraps. I would make homemade, fairly healthy tortillas and then fill them with cold chicken salad, or cold taco fixings and every thing had both veggies such as red pepper and shredded greens and sour cream or ranch dressing...fats, proteins, and healthy carbs. I would take orange juice fortified with calcium for them to drink on the trip to the field for some instant boost and we would top it off with homemade granola that I made with honey and not any other kind of sugar. Sometimes, for a change, I filled the wraps with scrambled eggs, cheese, mushrooms, chopped turkey, and green pepper. Usually, I had four "fillers" and alternated so they didn't get the same thing two meals in a row. I stayed away from simple carbs as much as possible - except the juice - because while they raise the blood sugar and give energy in the short run, the crash when exercising hard can be fairly intense. My homemade granola contained crushed almonds, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, and peanuts and I used coconut oil in the recipe as well. So, there was fat and protein along with the grains.

 

Cheese sticks went with us in case someone came off the field ravenously hungry and threatening to cannibalize a sibling. :D:lol:

 

Faith

[MamaT]

They get a healthy snack before we leave the house at 2:00, and then eat dinner when they come in at 8. Their activities are not seasonal - it will be like this our entire school year.

[Annie G]

I end up spending more on food during the times we're juggling dinner like that. The kids eat a sandwich or something fairly light before we head out but after we get home, they're ravenous even if it's 10 PM. So they forage and eat again. This happened whether we had a typical lunch or a dinner style lunch.

 

Our kids were just acting,singing and dancing (musical theater). They were sweaty and tired, for sure, but I would guess your football player and cheerleader will burn even more calories.

 

For us, protein was key to getting them through long rehearsals without crashing.

[regentrude]

We only eat snacks before they go to their riding lessons and have dinner afterwards when they are really hungry. Riding night is pizza night.

[kristi26]

We had baseball a lot this past spring. We did a lot of early dinners, lots of sandwiches, and tried to do crockpot stuff on those days. We also often didn't eat until 8:30pm on game/practice days.

[Cinder]

Ds had soccer practice from 7:30-9 so we could eat a regular dinner slightly early, 5-5:30ish, then have a snack after. When he was younger and practice was earlier we'd have a big snack before practice then another one after.

 

You might want to avoid cheese and other dairy before practice. Some people don't do well with dairy followed by heavy activity.

[Parrothead]

Have you considered a larger lunch (more like dinner) then a light snack about 4 and another when they get home.

 

Chopped celery mixed with peanut butter served on half a bagel

Apples and cheddar

Apple and peanut butter with a bit of cinnamon

Falafel in pita

Hummus and veggies

Smoothie

Hard boiled eggs

Egg salad sandwich

Wraps

Cottage cheese with pineapple and almond

Tuna salad

Green salad with tuna or chicken

Yogurt with granola

Oatmeal

[ChristyB in TN]

When they were all living at home, my kids swam 6 days a week, at least 2 1/2 hours a day all year. Some nights we just had smoothies and popcorn.:D We lived 45 minutes from the pool so I always tried to have food ready in the car for after practice, sandwiches and such, but we ate a lot of spaghetti or smoothies and popcorn because it is just so difficult to get all that done.

[catz]

Have you considered a larger lunch (more like dinner) then a light snack about 4 and another when they get home.

 

Chopped celery mixed with peanut butter served on half a bagel

Apples and cheddar

Apple and peanut butter with a bit of cinnamon

Falafel in pita

Hummus and veggies

Smoothie

Hard boiled eggs

Egg salad sandwich

Wraps

Cottage cheese with pineapple and almond

Tuna salad

Green salad with tuna or chicken

Yogurt with granola

Oatmeal

 

:iagree: We do grab and go stuff like this quite a bit when the kids have activities. Sandwich fixings, yogurt, cottage cheese, Baby Bel cheese, hummus, fruit, raw veggies, peanut butter, nuts, salad fixings, nitrate free chicken hot dogs (or sausages) are all staples.

[Cricket]

We are unconventional in that we like to eat a hot meal at lunch and my husband eats leftovers when he gets home for dinner.

 

Before we leave for practice, my children like to eat some fruit and a Greek yogurt since that can have 8-10 grams of protein and is filling.

 

After practice, they like to eat a quick sandwich and more fruit.

 

This, but in smoothie form for us. My dc don't like Greek yogurt by itself. We eat a bigger meal earlier in the afternoon, then smoothies before heading out the door. Then another meal when we get home--either a crockpot meal or something quick and easy!

[mereminerals]

When my boys played football, we had one coach that recommended that the boys eat a mixture of grapes and bananas prior to practice. We always just had dinner after practice.

[love2read]

I don't know the ages of your children, but we do half a meal before and the rest when they return home otherwise they want to eat an entire meal again when they walk in the door and that's not a good habit to develop. Eating two dinners would be fine for a growing teen boy who is involved in seriously intense sports, but for the others it will create problems.

 

Our meals on sports days include foods that can keep or can be reheated easily so they can pick whatever part of their dinner they want to finish afterwards. This usually includes a salad, protein that can be easily reheated (dark meat chicken, stew type beef or chuck or meatballs), potatoes or pasta with a sauce or olive oil and a starchy veggie like corn or carrots. Those items keep well, reheat easily and don't lose flavor or become gluey. The starchy veggies provide the extra carbs they need.

 

In the winter we lean more toward the crockpot meals that can keep like stew and broccoli & chicken with rice. In this case we have a 1 spoon policy. One big spoonful before the sports, one spoonful when they return.

Of course quantities change for boys 12 and up.

[HollyDay]

my dds like something with pasta before practice. It can be a cold pasta salad, noodles with a bit of olive oil, or spaghetti with meat sauce. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are often requested as well. They always take bottles of water and some sort of snack. I was just speaking of snacks this morning with another mom. We all tend to pack apples, grapes, cheese, crackers, carrot sticks and some form of chocolate (m&ms usually). Some bring "tea sandwiches" (ham/cheese or some such cut in fourths for quick bites). Fridays after practice we tend to get french fries on the way home. My oldest really like hummus and crackers prior to a long practice as well.

[dirty ethel rackham]

My kids are in sports (the boys did Karate and baseball near the dinner hour and dd and I rock climb in the early evenings.) We have had to do the busy evening meals for many years. We never did "light" meals because it never held them until the end. But, I found that a regular meal served an hour before vigorous exercise was good. Here are some of our favorite busy evening meals.

 

Beef roast in the crockpot all day. You can put some balsamic vinegar, onion, garlic and Italian spices in there and let it go all day. By dinner time, it will fall apart and you can put it on buns and serve with a salad.

 

Pasta salad with veggies and some marinated grilled chicken breasts (or pan sauted). Vinaigrette dressing on top.

 

Thai peanut salad. You can make ahead. We use whole wheat spaghetti noodles that I break up a little before boiling so that it is easier to mix and serve. The sauce is about 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup soy sauce, a tablespoon of sesame oil, some sugar, a few tablespoons of rice wine vinegar. I also add some hot chili pepper sauce (or red pepper flakes) to taste. I cut up some green onions and julienne some cucumbers. When the noodles are done boiling, I mix in the cut up veggies and the sauce. You can serve it warm or cold. Put the chicken on top, sprinkle some peanuts and it's dinner.

 

We also do brats, burgers, salmon patties with a salad or a veggie side for quicker, easier meals.

 

In the colder months, I make a large pot of spaghetti with meat sauce that I freeze into portions big enough for a meal. All I needed to do was pull the sauce out in time to defrost it and boil up some noodles and serve with a salad or side veggie. We also do lots of planned left overs. On relaxed days, we will either cook two meals, or cook enough of one thing that I can repurpose into another meal. I.e. grilled chicken leftovers become an addition to pasta salad, the base of chicken tacos or burritos, or just bbq chicken on a bun. Marinated steak leftovers can be a fajita a couple nights later. Pork chops can become pork fried rice.

[Mrs.Gregg]

Last year and this coming year it will be 2-3 nights a week. What worked for us was crockpot meals and casseroles. I'd make up the casserole during the day and DH who gets home at 4:30-5p would pop it in the oven. When we get home (kids and I) dinner would be ready. We only ate out twice.

[Mommy22alyns]

I'm :bigear: too. Rebecca is going to have gymnastics until 7:30 3 nights a week, and with the drive time won't get home until after 8.

[LaxMom]

During lacrosse season, mine have a mid-afternoon snack, then a burrito before practice, then we eat supper when we get home around 8. I keep Evol or Gluten Freeda burritos in the freezer during the season because we're on the field 5 nights a week.

 

On game days, they eat egg and English muffin sandwiches with a cup of tea on the way to the field, and fruit between games. If there are more than two games, I make granola bars and date balls (like Lara bars), and they graze on those during breaks.

[Stayseeliz]

Thank you so much for the suggestions! I need to start using the crockpot again for sure. I dont' use it much during summertime. I think it will be trial and error for sure but I'm making notes! My players are 11 and 8. My 4 year old might be cheering too.

[acablue]

We do a full high-carb meal two hours before practices and games. Pasta, sandwiches and home-made pizza are standard here. If they're hungry in between, they can eat fruit.

 

When we get home, they eat something quick (cereal or leftovers, usually), then drink a high-protein smoothie while getting ready for bed.

[Deb in NZ]

We are unconventional in that we like to eat a hot meal at lunch and my husband eats leftovers when he gets home for dinner.

 

Before we leave for practice, my children like to eat some fruit and a Greek yogurt since that can have 8-10 grams of protein and is filling.

 

After practice, they like to eat a quick sandwich and more fruit.

 

We do something similar. When we were running 3dc to activities every afternoon / evening, we would eat our main meal at noon. This was one of the benefits of HS/ing. I would fix dh a plate & put it in the fridge for him to heat up when he wanted to eat that evening. I would feed my dc a bigger afternoon tea mid-afternoon. Yogurt / fruit / light sandwich or fruit smoothie / granola bar or hearty muffin, etc. was what worked best for my dc. Any combonation of high protein / high energy carb. worked best to hold them through practice. Our late dinner would consist of soup & toast or cereal & milk or something similar.

 

JMHO,

[ashfern]

My kids do karate. A couple days a week we are there for several hours. I make dinner for lunch those days and then they take sandwiches for their dinner. It works out well for our family as DH works from home. :D

[Caroline]

Once soccer season starts, I will have kids at soccer four evenings a week. We do sandwiches and fruit about an hour before practice. I do a lot of crockpot dinners for after practice--chili, pot roast, chicken to put on salad. I also will make macaroni and cheese casserole. Some nights we pick up Chipotle or Panera on the way home.

 

Once high school season starts, a couple nights a week we eat at games. (Not concession food, but we bring something from home or pick up Zaxbys or Subway.) The team takes care of the players--pb&j before game and Chick fil a sandwich after the game.

 

I do have one that sometimes plays at 9:30 at night, but that his his adult league. We eat before that game.

[freerange]

There is a downside to eating after training: when you collect them from training, have to go straight to hospital for x rays & don't get home til 2am.