Real Mom Nutrition
A no-judgments zone about feeding a family.
Kid athletes need good fuel between meals! Here are 21 ideas for easy sports snacks they’ll love. Thank you to CLIF Kid for sponsoring this post! Sports snacks can be maddening for parents–when it’s donuts, cookies, chips, and punch that often crop up on the sidelines of pee-wee sports. Those snacks feel more like a …
Tired of chips and candy on the sidelines of your kids’ sports? Here’s how one mom got parents on board with healthy team snacks. Since I began crusading for healthier team snacks, I’ve loved hearing from so many of you. And I LOVE success stories! I recently got an email from Karin Kulinski of Alexandria, …
Five years ago, I stood on the pee-wee soccer field and got angry. I sat down at the computer and hammered out a post called Soccer Mom Soapbox, about the frustration I was having with all the Capri Suns and Oreos on the sidelines. I didn’t know how it would be received. Maybe I was overreacting. Or …
Are you fed up with junk food sports snacks on the sidelines–but afraid to rock the boat? Not sure how other parents will react? That was me, five years ago, watching a steady stream of Oreos, frosted cupcakes, and Kool-Aid appear on the sidelines every Saturday morning after pee-wee soccer games. I was appalled–and afraid of speaking up. But I reached …
I frequently gripe about sports drinks. I cringe when bottles of it are handed out to pee-wee players after less than an hour of light exercise. And I can’t stand the way sports drinks are marketed to kids (read: “Why I’m No Fan Of Sports Drinks“). But the truth is, some young athletes may need what a …
If you have kids in baseball, softball, football, and other organized sports, you know about the concession stand. It may generate much-needed revenue for the sports league. It’s almost always stocked with junk food. As a parent, it’s hard to deny your player something from the concession stand, especially when the whole team gathers there after …
After all the cupcakes and cookies on the sidelines of pee wee soccer (read Soccer Mom Soapbox), I was relieved when my son started playing flag football and sports snacks were a non-issue. In four seasons, I didn’t see a single Capri Sun or Dorito. One coach brought goodies to the last game–but beyond that, it …
Coaches are role models, and they set the tone for the season. They also play a critical role in getting junk food and sugary drinks off the sidelines of youth sports. When I’ve taken my Snacktivism mission to the coaches of my children’s teams, I’ve been grateful that they’ve all been on board (read: “THAT Mom: The Sequel“). I was …
Leaves are falling. Soccer balls are flying. Naturally, my thoughts turn to healthy team snacks. Since I first voiced my frustration over junky soccer snacks a few years ago (read Soccer Mom Soapbox), I’ve advocated for fruit-and-water team snacks. I’ve also made the case for simply eliminating the team snack altogether (read The End of Soccer …
Remember when soccer snacks were simple orange slices on the sidelines? Someone’s mom brought a Tupperware container full of them for halftime. You sucked out the juice or peeled the fruit from the rind while getting a pep talk from your coach, then ran back onto the field. Flash forward a few decades and orange …
Two years ago, I tromped around the soccer fields in my community, snapping photos of the snacks I was seeing. I set the photos to music and turned them into a video slideshow called “Soccer Mom On A Mission”, with the hopes of raising awareness and mobilizing a new wave of Snacktivists to create change. After …
A few years ago, I got fed up with the Kool-Aid and cupcakes my son was getting after soccer games and vowed to make a change. I began talking to coaches and parents about providing fruit for post-game snacks instead–or even nixing snacks altogether (read: “What If Soccer Snacks Just Went Away?“). One day, a …
