When you are in a tennis family, you know the struggle that is eating, especially eating in the best way possible to fuel your body for your next practice, match, or tournament. Junior tennis can be a grind sometimes, with practice every evening and tournaments on the weekend. I still remember the intense practices after school, the long hours in the car to a tournament that may be out in a town only supplied with a Dairy Queen and a small convenient store, and the early morning first round matches. How do you keep your child well nourished when under a time crunch and on the road? What else should you add to your bananas and apples? Here are just a few of the great snacks that are healthy and full of nutritious ingredients that kept me going through my athletic career.
KIND Bars
I am a major advocate for KIND bars. I like to know what I’m putting into my body, and KIND bars, usually sitting at 7 or less ingredients that I can pronounce, make this very easy. Usually nut-based, these bars have protein, fiber, antioxidants, and more to keep your kids full and energized without weighing them down while on the tennis court. Want to try one, but don’t know what flavor to get? The dark chocolate peanut butter is my favorite!
Larabars
Larabars are similar to KIND bars in the fact that they only have around 5 ingredients or less. They are a great bar to mix things up bar-wise. Rather than nut-based, these nutritious bars are held together with dates. They are usually more of a fruity taste with some nuts thrown in. These bars are full of fruit and fiber with a little bit of protein when you need something quick.
Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is by far my favorite food in the entire world. During season in college, I would eat an entire jar in three days. My friends would joke that I would eat peanut butter with a little bit of banana (rather than the other way around). This is such an easy snack because you can put it on bread, rice cakes, bananas, apples, and more or you can just take a spoon and eat it plain. You can make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, etc. The possibilities are endless. With a good amount of protein and the right kind of fat, peanut butter offers a snack/meal that will stick with your kids through a grueling match. Warning though, avoid all of the added sugar and partially hydrogenated oils by only opting for the old-fashioned peanut butter. Check out the ingredients and make sure that there are at most only two foods listed: peanuts and salt (salt is optional).
