If your child has an early morning game or practice, here's some advice on what and when she should eat for peak athletic performance.
Dinner the night before
The night before, serve your child a nutritious dinner. Include large portions of grains or pasta, vegetables and small to medium portions of beans, chicken, fish, or meat.
Bedtime snack
Snacks before bedtime are not usually recommended, but in this case could be helpful. Suggested snacks:
- popcorn
- tortilla chips and salsa
- crackers and cheese
- oatmeal cookie
- fruit smoothie
1-2 hours before the game
A pre-game snack/mini breakfast is very important. Some suggestions:
- Bagel, muffin, scone, or piece of toast (not a sweet roll)
- Small portion of yogurt
- A big glass of water
Cynthia Lair is a blogger, author (with Scott Murdoch, PhD, RD) of Feeding the Young Athlete: Sports Nutrition Made Easy for Players and Parents (available on her website and from which this article has been adapted) and the newly revised 3rd edition of Feeding the Whole Family: Recipes for Babies, Young Children and Parents, and the host of Cookus Interuptus, a web-based organic cooking show.
