After-Game Snack Ideas for Youth Sports Leagues

With enrollment in youth sports leagues comes the responsibility of practicing, commitment and teamwork. It also gives parents the responsibility of bringing the after-game snacks. Being a soccer mom, I have had my fair share of experience of bringing after-game snacks for the children. I have come to figure out what most kids seem to love and what most kids seem to hate as far as after-game snacks.

The first thing you need to consider when it comes to after-game snacks is any food allergies children in your child's sports league may have. Make sure to read the ingredients on the labels of snack foods before purchasing if there are any allergies on your child's team. Some food products will not contain any of the foods that trigger allergies but, they may be made in a factory that produces food that does contain those food items. This information is usually printed on the box in bold type beneath the ingredients.

Another thing to consider is the age group of the children in your child's youth sports league. Younger children and older children will likely have different snack preferences. While some snacks can be perfect for any age older kids may not like all of the things that the younger group of kids like.

For my 10 year old daughter's youth sports league the children liked the following:

1. Cheese and Peanut Butter Crackers (Keep in mind any dairy or peanut allergies before considering this snack.)

2. 100 Calorie Pack Chex Mix (There are Ritz Snack Mix packs as well but we found them to be overly salty.)

3. Cheez-It Crackers

4. Chips (Not the healthiest choice of snack. If you decide to bring chips to the game at least purchase the ones which are baked.)

5. Granola Bars

So far for my 7 year old daughter's youth sports league the kids have enjoyed:

1. Teddy Grahams (One parent brought along chocolate flavored teddy grahams which the kids really enjoyed. However not all parents will be happy with chocolate or sweet flavored snacks being given to their children.)

2. Graham Cracker Snack Packs

3. Sun Chips (This was one of my daughter's favorite as we don't allow our children to eat chips often in our house.)

Other snack ideas which would work well for after game snacks for your child's sports league include raisins, packages of sliced apples (you could always slice the apples yourself but not every parent will allow their child to eat something that is homemade due to food poisoning concerns), pretzels, wheat thins snack packs, goldfish crackers, and Gogurts (if you freeze them ahead of time and bring them to the game they will remain cold without use of a cooler).