Parents Sources of protein

[hannahsmom]

My dd recently just went from 1.5 hrs twice weekly to 3 hours a day 3 times a week when we switched gyms. She is a very active little 7 year old, even outside of gym. Each summer she tends to lose weight...not drastically, but does lose some simply due to being so active during the summers. Recently, she has been eating like a grown man and while I know it's because of the amount of gymnastics and other activities, she has also been complaining of stomach aches at night, which I think are due to overeating. We are due to see the doc in a couple of weeks for her yearly physical and I am going to talk to them about some of this, but I was hoping to get some ideas from other parents that I can take with me. I know that she probably needs to eat smaller, more frequent meals, but even more than that, I think she needs to consume more protein as well to help hold her over, especially on practice days. However, she isn't a big meat eater. If I "force" her to, she'll eat some chicken but complain the entire time. She'd prefer a huge bowl of fruit over anything else. Have any of you used protein shakes or powders for any of your kids? Any other high protein snack ideas, especially that are portable? She's not a huge fan of peanut butter, but will eat it sparingly, so I do some "ants on a log" on occasion. She loves cheese, but does tend to get constipated from the dairy and then with the heat and workouts, it only makes it worse. Any other creative ideas?

 

[Granny Smith]

I'm big on protein for dd to help sustain her over 4 & 6 hr practices.

If she is ok with dairy you can try Kefir (my dd drinks this for breakfast because she is not a big breakfast eater), which is like a smoothy type drink. It's organic and there is like 11g of protein in it.

Greek yogurt has a ton of protein.

Beef Jerky - the one I buy has 14g of protein in it

Z Bars - which are kids form of Clif Bars, they are organic and have lots of protein in they.

My dd does like peanut butter, so we do use that too.

I also give her lunch meat rolled up (like 3 slices) and then cube cheese for her and she eats them together.

 

[nettyinpa]

Does she like eggs? Scrambled eggs for breakfast are a good option or even hard boiled eggs in her lunch bag (with a freezer pack, of course). How about granola bars? There's a lot out there with extra protein. I'm sure if you search this site some more you'll find tons of ideas.

 

[Mariainlv]

Thank you for asking this! I was actually going to do the same today! I have no good advice, but will read with interest.

 

[my4buffaloes]

String cheese, yogurt, eggs, etc are all good sources of protein, but are not meat. My daughter is allergic to dairy and eggs, so those aren't options for us. I try to push whole grains and nuts and it seems to work well for her. Good luck!

Jennifer

 

[bogwoppit]

I go for hard boiled eggs, cheese, nuts, milkshakes made with yougurt and frozen fruits. Hummous with veggies to dip in is also a fav around here. Youngest loves turkey, so that works with lots of things, oldest is vegetarian and she will eat vege pate.

I think the key is eating more often, if posiible, six smaller meals might help.

Another possibility is to look at complex carbohydrates, like oatmeal and whole grain foods, they stay in your system longer and therefore stave off hunger longer. If you can serve her 6 meals with the five food groups in them she will probably do better. Eating alot before bed is hard on anyones digestive system.

She may also be going through a growth spurt and just needs to eat!

 

[Shelovesthebars]

Granny Smith- where do you buy the Kefir and greek yogurt?

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

I make a quesadilla with a whole grain wrap or flatbread &.shredded cheese.

 

[gym monkeys mom]

I have the same issue about protein with DD.

She absolutley loves Luna Bars. they are similar to cliff bars but made for women.

Good luck. I feel your struggle here too.

 

[Midget's Dad]

Luckily midget does not have this problem, though she does have the issue with her stomach that seems to be mostly heat related and I personally think comes from eating cheese crackers and drinking too much cold water or gatorade.

I am a big believer in room temp liquids during workouts.

But what I have found works really well for me at least is some type of soy protein shake. I wish I could say they taste great, but they do the job.

 

[mariposa]

You can find Greek Yogurt in the area with other yogurt products. It is getting popular now. My kids prefer it in a smoothy. I put the Greek Yogurt, some fresh fruit (usually strawberries, blueberries or banana), milk and ice, sweeten to taste with xylitol and that is it. If you take out the ice, you can freeze it as popsicles and they have a yummy popsicle that is good for them!

If she doesn't like peanut butter that much, have you tried other nut butters? Almond butter is yummy and I have heard good reviews on Sunflower seed butter (usually can find this at health food type stores).

I struggle to get my DD to eat enough, sometimes I have to fight with her to eat, but giving her choices helps, especially when making the grocery list.

I was shocked at how many calories she supposedly needs. I found this calculator online a few years ago and I am still shocked. I am almost sure she doesn't get this many calories a day, but who knows. 2050 calories seems like soo much to get into her. Here is the calculator if anyone is interested. Children's Calorie Needs Calculator

I used to do protein type shakes when she was younger and really didn't eat well, not all the time, but once a week or so. I don't anymore. Though sometimes all I can get her to eat in the morning before practice this summer has been Carnation Instant Breakfast or a smoothy.

 

[Granny Smith]

Like mariposa said, you can find greek yogurt basically at any grocery store. In 1 store I did find it in the organic section, but otherwise I find it by the other yogurts.

I live on the East Coast so I can only talk to my area.

I can not find it at Acme (Albertsons). I have found limited flavors at Shop Rite. I have found the most flavors at Wegmans in their organic dairy section. Dd loves Peach, Blueberry, Raspberry and Pomegranite.

Granny Smith- where do you buy the Kefir and greek yogurt?

 

[ginnymac]

We love the Greek yogurt here...I, too, am on the East coast and there are 2 popular brands sold in the supermarkets, Fage and Chioban.

Actually, my son loves the plain Fage and we use it instead of sour cream in anything that sour cream would taste good on (mexican, baked potato...). Yum!

 

[staceyb]

Things like seeds (Hemp Seeds, Pumpkin seeds, Sesame seeds, Sunflower seeds) and green veg (kale, cabbage, broccoli, watercress and salad leaves) and coloured fruits (honeydew melon, papaya, banana, watermelon) and brown rice, oatmeal, eggs and fish and shellfish are all high in protein.

 

[emandelsmom]

We have been slowing uping dd's protein to help her gain weight. I am really careful when I shop to make sure I buy brands that have more protein. She drinks milk with choc in it, scrambled eggs with cheese, whole grains for bread, yogurt, ice cream, lean meats, and I keep count of how many grams she gets when she is looking too skinny. I make sure a meal has around 18 grams. She has gained 2 pounds since Jan. She is on Vyvanse for her ADD. So we go into the dr for weight checks every 6 mos.

 

[staceyb]

One thing I used to like when I was going to gym was wholemeal pittas filled with tuna or chicken with salad leaves.

And if you get her to look at the current "Behind the Team" episode it shows Bridget Sloan eating her high protein breakfast of a cheese, broccoli, and egg white omlette. If its good enough for the world champion I sure little gymmies would be willing to try it.