Fueling Sports on the Road

by Christina Meyer-Jax, Tastemaker in Residence

Packing up the family for an out of town youth sports tournament is no small task. With busy schedules, what healthy food to bring is rarely on the radar?  If there is room in the trunk we might throw in a few bags of chips, granola bars, and a cooler of bevies.  This obviously sets the stage for nutrition choices that might be less than optimal for adult waistlines and youth athletic performance.

As a mom of hockey and baseball players I know first-hand that road trips and tournaments occupy many weekends on the calendar. Leaving the “what you eat” to the whims of convenience stores and restaurants can derail health goals in a hurry and not support the athlete in performing their best. 

So a couple years ago this dietitian and sports nutritionist worked up a plan to fuel my on-the-go family. Not just to for the athlete to perform their best, but for everyone to feel great and have fun while doing it!

Top Tips for Sports Road Trips:

Invest in the Right Food Gear
Just like you choose the best sports and fitness gear, to eat better on the road you need the right equipment. Being prepared with healthy snack and mini-meal options helps decrease impulse choices that can be less than ideal.  My favorite packs are ironically similar to my last name (but no relation) the Jaxx Fitpak. These meal prep bags and coolers have portioned containers that can hold healthy options at the proper temperatures while traveling. The tough part is planning ahead for the meal prep. But in as little as 30-60 minutes you can get this all prepped up and ready for at least the first 1-2 days of your trip.  If you think about it, that’s only one less stop at restaurant time wise.

My favorite cold food items to pack:
-Grass-fed beef sticks
-grilled chicken (cooked, cooled, cut into bite size pieces)
-string cheese or cubed cheese
-cold quinoa/veggie salad of choice
-cut up fruits and veggies
-hard boiled eggs
-hummus

What about keeping healthily hydrated?
Invest in a nice 1 gallon water cooler, re-useable thermos (I love the Yeti brand) and straw cups tumblers (choose BPA-free) so that you are prepared to bring your own hydration.  Bonus time…it also helps the environment with less single-use bottles as well.  What are my favorite fill suggestions?

For the youth athlete:
1. Ice-cold water is the best (I know not exciting, but truly it’s what they need) Get a cool bottle and they might not notice it’s just water.
2. Build your own sport drink (this helps hit the right amount of natural sugar, electrolytes, and nothing artificial) There are lots of recipes out there for healthy homemade sports drinks.  This lemon-lime recipe is one of my favorites. But the basics are 1/4 – 1/2 of the recipe is fruit juice, the rest of the liquid is water or coconut water, and a 1-2 teaspoons of salt depending on the volume of sports drink you are making. Key is it shouldn’t taste too salty.

3. Chocolate milk, coconut waters, lightly sweetened teas can be a solid additional recovery beverage choices to the ones listed above.

What athletes don’t need is soda, sugary coffee drinks, or energy drinks. 

For the Adult Cheering Squad:

1. Part of out of town tournaments can be pre and post event cocktail hours.  Many nights in a row can add up to lots of calories and headaches. Take your thermos and find some favorite green or herbal teas. Most hotels will have coffee pots of places to get hot water. Bringing hot teas to the rink is perfect for this hockey mom.

2. Flavored sparkling water.  Grab a case or two and they can be low calorie mixers or stand-alone healthy hydrators.

3. Always bring cut up fruit slices and mint to throw into drinks.  Sparks up water and light cocktails.

Plan ahead on destination restaurants, hotels, and grocery stores
1. If you have a choice, plan on restaurants that have a healthier options.  The Healthy Out app for smartphones can make finding them easier. Otherwise many restaurants provide their nutrition information online.  

Have a plan…it makes a difference in your choices.  If there aren’t healthy options available at the restaurants, having the meal packs that you bring help to give you a healthy option.

2. Find a hotel with mini-fridges! That will allow you to store fresh foods for longer and for you to store leftovers from restaurant visits.

3. If your tournament is in a small town with limited grocery stores, it’s a good idea to bring an empty cooler that you can fill up at a larger grocery store along the way.  This summer we flew across the country for a baseball tournament and I checked a cooler at the airport.  Perfect for picking up healthy options and enjoying them at the destination. 

Great non-perishable snacks for before or after

I’m all about fueling the fun for both the youth athlete and the adult cheering squads.  The main goal is to have tasty snacks that help you feel your best the next day.  This is my family’s backpack and sport bag go-to’s:

1. Way Better Snack Chips (fantastic flavors, better for you ingredients)
2. Lorissa’s Kitchen Jerky (high protein, great flavor, simple ingredients)
3. Angie’s Boom Chicka Pop (high fiber, good carbs, lower calorie)
4. Kind bars (good fats, great flavors, clean label, good fiber)
5. Go Raw Sprouted Sunflower Seeds
6. Viking Waffles…no joke 20 grams of portable tasty protein
7. Trail Mix…have too many favorites. Mostly going for ones that have nuts, dried fruit, with a little bit of sweet.
8. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oatmeal Cups