Moms' Nutrition Hotline: Sports Kids Score with Good Nutrition

By Phil LeClair

As a sports dad and coach, I know how much time (and money!) is invested by parents for their kids to play youth sports. A just as important part of getting them ready to play is good nutrition habits before, during and after games and practices. Your kids are pint-sized athletes and need to eat like ones to be at their best mentally and physically.

Allow me to provide you with a few pointers:

Pre-Game—Never let your kids hit the ice, field or gym on an empty stomach. With most weekend game and practice times happening in the morning, it is hard enough just to roll kids out of bed let alone sit them down for breakfast. But you definitely do not want them trying to be active without fuel in the tank. Just remember: Breakfast literally means to "break" the "fast" and replenish energy stores. The best strategy is to get them in the car and hand he or she something quick and healthy to eat en route. Good examples include: A piece of fruit with a cheese stick, whole-grain bagel with natural peanut butter or naturally-sweetened yogurt (which is more portable these days as it is available in squeezable tubes and drinkable smoothies). Energy bars are a super-portable and convenient option. With seemingly hundreds of brands to choose from, look for those with "natural ingredients" on the label, contain around 200 calories, 10-15 grams of protein, and of course, get flavors that your child likes. For kids up to six, a whole bar may be too filling, so give them a half-bar. They can eat the other half after the game or practice.

During Game—If your young all-star had a proper snack or meal prior to game time or practice, they need nothing more than to stay hydrated with water. Sports drinks are not necessary at this level of play—and may in fact be detrimental. Their high concentration of sugars on a small stomach can bog down a young player and cause stomach aches. If your child is adamant about having a sports drink, dilute it by pouring half-water, half-sports drink in their water bottle. Doing this (or ideally with just enough sports drink to provide some flavor) is actually not a bad idea because it encourages them to drink more, keeping them well-hydrated.

Post-Game—This is the time to let them have some sports drink. The key word is SOME! When it comes to sugar, sports drinks are not much more than a non-carbonated version of soda. Check out the label. Total sugars will usually be listed around 20 grams. But this is only for one serving. Most sports drink nutrition labels state them as containing 2.5 servings. So if your child drinks the whole bottle it is actually in the neighborhood of 50 grams or 10 teaspoons of sugar! Juice boxes are a better alternative. That is…the ones with 100% juice and no sugar added. Food-wise, if you are not going to be getting to a meal within an hour, an energy bar or small snack like those suggested for pre-game work great.

Be Prepared—Do not let yourself be at the mercy of the concession stand, vending machines or surrounding fast food joints. It only takes a few extra minutes to throw together some healthy snacks and beverages. Pack for the duration of time that you are going to be on the road and at the rink, gym or playing field. Always add a couple of extra items as it is not uncommon for games, meets or tournaments to be running behind schedule. When you do eat out, choose sit-down restaurants which typically offer healthy choices. If you need a fast-food option, a sandwich shop or deli helps minimize exposure to a menu that includes fried, fat-laden and non-nourishing foods.

Be a Nutrition Role Model—Healthy food choices are a hard-sell to kids if their parents are sitting in the stands with a donut, soda or mystery meat hot dog from the concession stand. Make good nutrition a team effort and the whole family will score!

Moms' Nutrition Hotline: Halloween Treats Part 1

Hi Phil,This is a two-part Halloween question. With Halloween fast approaching, how does a parent deal with the influx of sugar (okay, more sugar) into the house? Is there a good way to go about doling out the dole? Also, can you recommend alternative Halloween treats to hand out? Thanks! Anne

Anne,"Influx" is a great word to describe the sharp-increase of household processed sugar levels when Halloween rolls around each year. Heck, we've all been there as kids pulling in the loot and seeing who could get the heaviest trick-or-treat bag. And then proceeding to dump it out on the floor, hording favorites and trading with siblings. You know, as I recollect, most of the fun about Halloween is dressing up and getting the goods. Yes. It was great to O.D. on sugar that evening, but with the hype over, eating the candy just became more of an autonomous routine until my stash was exhausted. The magic of Halloween Eve was gone. That said, I suggest --and do this with my own kids -- is let them have their fun on Halloween, Hey, I am no fan of processed sugar and candy, but I am not going to deny my kids the "fun factor" that Halloween represents. But the next day, we sit down together and sort through their candy, let them keep a "few" of their favorites to let the fun linger for a couple of more days. The rest of the candy goes to the top of the pantry, and a week or so later when forgotten, then: Bye, Bye! To save them any trauma or create grounds for a tantrum, I do not overtly tell the kids I am throwing away the candy (and obviously not in front of them), I also give my kids a little more education as to why they can't consume all of the candy they get at Halloween ("It's Bad For You" is a lttle to genernal and tends to fall in the same category as, "Because I Said So." ). My kids work well with this plan of action. Some parents trade-out candy for a small toy purchase. I even came across a local dentist that is taking an exchange of $1.00 for every pound of candy. That's cool. Whatever your plan, I suggest discussing it with your kids before they hit the neigborhood. That way there will be no surprises when they heave home their bags with expectations of indulging in every sugary morsel! Your second question is on my next post. Phil

Moms' Nutrition Hotline: Halloween Treats Part 2

This is part 2 of the previous post. The second question was suggestions on healthy alternatives to give out to Trick-or-Treaters.

Anne, Being that parents were Trick-or-Treaters a "few" years ago, we still remember being bummed out with the neighbors, that although in good faith, passed out apples, popcorn balls and pennies. I even had a neighbor that gave out toothbrushes (no surprise, he was a dentist)! And now as parents, we also remember that such treats ended up in the street or driveway of these folks. To stay hip, we can either accept that Halloween is a special occasion and just give kids candy. On the other hand, there are healthy and affordable alternatives that kids will be cool in getting as treats. Box stores and larger supermarkets offer bulk packs of snack-size bags of healthy chips, crackers and pretzels. Some more popular brands are SmartFood Popcorn, Pepperidge Farms Gold Fish and a really nice product, Healthy Handfuls (Click label "SmartGroceries" in TLN site for more on latter). Phil

Moms' Nutrition Hotline Intro

Topic Discussions with Phil LeClair in helping to get the kids and family on the right eating track!

Working or stay-at-home, written or unwritten, mom runs the show in most households (it's no secret in my house!). That said, I created the Help Hotline especially for Moms (or Mr. Moms) looking for some guidance on better eating habits for the kids and family. From what to put in lunch boxes to ideas of getting hubby out of late night snacking, keep on the lookout for Moms Nutrition Hotline posts!

Moms' Nutrition Hotline: Kids and Fast Food

I was fired up after watching a recent Dateline segment that focused on obesity on the U.S with special emphasis on kids and today's hypnotic barrage of advertising from the likes of fast food and cold cereal giants. The most alarming part of this Dateline special was when they conducted a panel with children (I say around the ages 5-6) and had them choose between two items for breakfast. Get this: On the last choice, the kids were given the option of a plain banana or rock platered with popular cartoon characters. All of the kids picked the rock!

Read the article Whose to blame for the US obesity epidemic.

From the article, you can go to the MSNBC site and see the video clips from the Dateline segment. You have to check it out. It is very sobering.

Moms' Nutrition Hotline: Vitamin Water as Soda Alternative?

Phil, Is Vitamin Water a good alternative for myself and kids? My kids just use it during sports activities. Thanks, Darlene

Darlene,Vitamin Water is all the rage isn't it? I remember being at a nutrition industry show several years ago and thinking to myself, "vitamins in water will never sell". Boy, was I off! But the big success with Vitamin Water isn't so much the trivial amounts of vitamins and minerals in it--the stuff tastes darn good! We use it quite a bit in our household. The caveat is that although it contains no artificial anything, it is sweetened with fructose, which is a type of sugar. Although fructose is absorbed much slower in the body than other sugars (so it does not cause a more immediate "high", like other sugars), the number of grams add up in one 20 ounce bottle. Take notice of the total sugars per serving. For all flavors, it usually hovers around 16 grams. Keep in mind that I stated "per serving". Look closely at the bottles Nutrition Facts and you will discover that it states "Servings Per Container: 2.5". That's bogus because nobody drinks a bottle of Vitamin Water over more than one sitting (this irresponsible labeling is common with most sports drinks greater than an 8 ounce serving)! So when you or a child drinks a full bottle, they are actually taking in 40 grams or 8 teaspoons of sugar (5 grams sugar equals one teaspoon)! For athletes during or after moderate to heavy exercise, this is no big deal because they need to rehydrate and replace energy. As a casual beverage or for kids during their activities, it is best to dilute it in half or more. It still tastes good and you are getting half the sugar. I might also recommend Fruit Water, which has a nice flavor with only a few grams of sugar and still no artificial anything. I also take the little plastic lemon or lime-shaped concentrate bottles (in the produce section) and squirt small amounts into my water bottle for a cheap, homemade version of Fruit Water. Phil

Moms' Nutrition Hotline: Healthy Alternatives for My Daughter!

Phil, Please talk to me about coming to my house and emptying my cupboards of junkfood. I'm having a hard time finding substitutes for the junk I give them. Is that part of the process? Can I get a list from you of what you feed your kids! Anne

Anne, As much as I like to purge cupboards and fridges from junkfood, I love getting feedback from moms telling me they did it themselves after talking to me. It's one more battle won against the processed food empire. So for starters, the answer is YES! Throw it away. if it's not in the house, the kids can't eat it and eventually won't ask for it. Sure, grade school kids have opportunities to get their hands on junkfood outside the house, consumption will decrease dramatically as there is none in the house. They will likely go through withdrawal, but this will pass with time. Just stick to your guns and don't relent. Your daughter should be eating the same meals and snacks as the rest of the family. It may be difficult from the start, but hunger is sometimes the best cure for being finicky. Never use a treat as a reward for eating a healthy meal. That sends out the wrong message. You can find healthy snacks and dessert ideas in TLN's SmartGroceries postings. Phil