Parents Food before meets

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I drove my gymie to an early morning meet Saturday and we had to leave home at about 6:30am. She can't eat that early, but she obviously needs nourishment before competing, so our intention was to stop along the way on our 2-hour drive. All she kept talking about was getting a hamburger somewhere which I would not allow even if it was possible to get a hamburger that early in the morning. She didn't want an egg, and any breakfast food I suggested didn't sound good to her. So, we went to the meet and fortunately they had bagels there. It's not what she wanted but it was something. Of course, she needed something later that day and the only food ever served at meets are junk. You know the gig...walking tacos, nachos, pizza, etc. (Why do meet hosts not serve nutrititious snacks when these kids are there from early morning til like 3 in the afternoon?) I went out and got her a sandwich at Subway and had it cut up into small pieces so that she could eat a little at a time. This was a high school meet and they are a little more laid back as far as allowing the kids to have a snack during the day and talk to parents. Also, there was a lot of time between rotations. My dd is like me...she needs substantial nourishment with a carbohydrate source and protein all through the day. She's not a big eater, but she eats often, which is better for you anyway. So, my question is: when you are on the road, what kinds of foods work for your gymmies? Subway used to be the magic meal for her when we were on the road but it's not working anymore. It makes her sick... even limited amounts. Please don't suggest that I pack something. I pack stuff all the time for practices and she's sick of anything I could possibly come up with. I need suggestions. Thanks in advance!
 
Cliff bars, boost shakes are easy and good protein carb sources.

If you need to buy then an egg Mcmuffin or grilled chicken wrap with milk, also a fruit parfait is a good quick snack.

Here in Quebec we have TIm Hortons (I don't think they are many places in the States) my DD loves to get 2 pieces of wholewheat toast with cheddar cheese, that with a small hot chocolate starts the meet out well. Youngest loves a bagel with a fruit yougourt from the same place.

I know it is really hard to eat well at meets, all ours have been junk fests. The one meet our club ran was good though, the head coach and I sat down and planned ahead what we could get that had some nutritional value but what was also fast. It is not easy, and boy we got lots of flack for not selling soft drinks. You cannot win!
 
Cliff bars, boost shakes are easy and good protein carb sources.

If you need to buy then an egg Mcmuffin or grilled chicken wrap with milk, also a fruit parfait is a good quick snack.

Here in Quebec we have TIm Hortons (I don't think they are many places in the States) my DD loves to get 2 pieces of wholewheat toast with cheddar cheese, that with a small hot chocolate starts the meet out well. Youngest loves a bagel with a fruit yougourt from the same place.

I know it is really hard to eat well at meets, all ours have been junk fests. The one meet our club ran was good though, the head coach and I sat down and planned ahead what we could get that had some nutritional value but what was also fast. It is not easy, and boy we got lots of flack for not selling soft drinks. You cannot win!

I should have stopped and gotten an EggMcMuffin anyway. I'm sure she would have eaten it. Eggs are such a good source of protein and don't fill them up too much. Grilled chicken wrap...hmmm...now that's a thought. Do they sell them early in the am?
I think I would have sold soft drinks at your meet anyway- for the non-gymnasts of course. There is such a huge profit margin in soft drinks. But, you guys are smart to plan nutritious foods. We don't at ours. I felt so badly for the gymmies coming up to the concession stand, obviously starving, and all we could offer was either a hot dog or pizza.
One time we were at a meet and dd saw a big glass container full of milk at the concession area to be used for coffee. She wanted a glass of milk so badly after seeing that. I was thrilled because she usually doesn't drink much milk and onece again...a great protein source! They sold me a glass anyway.
Maybe we should bring this up at those meet meetings. Plan for the gymansts! They need food! Thanks for the suggestions.
 
My girls love bagels, thank goodness! They are a staple, eat part and keep rest in the bag for nibbling during the meet. I also freeze Gogurts and they will snack on them before I allow them to buy some meet-junk, lol. Big dd will eat granola bars, etc. Little one has food allergies so usually I pack her snacks. Big Dd also recently developed adversion to Subway, wonder if something changed...
 
Just a quick question.... why was your meet so long? early am to 3? Our meets are much shorter. The early am session is usually over by lunch, so a bagel normally holds them over. But yours was really long and spanned breakfast and lunch.

Other ideas are pack a pb&J or other type of sandwich. My dd has a hard time eating in the am. Things just don't feel right on her stomach. She is a picky eater and not a big fan of breakfast foods. So I give her whatever sounds good to her and has some nutritional value before a meet.
 
Just a quick question.... why was your meet so long? early am to 3? Our meets are much shorter. The early am session is usually over by lunch, so a bagel normally holds them over. But yours was really long and spanned breakfast and lunch.

Other ideas are pack a pb&J or other type of sandwich. My dd has a hard time eating in the am. Things just don't feel right on her stomach. She is a picky eater and not a big fan of breakfast foods. So I give her whatever sounds good to her and has some nutritional value before a meet.


The meet was so long because they had to be there 2 hours before the meet actually started for stretch and warm up. Being a high school invitational, there were 16 teams meaning about 200 gymnasts. It was held at a high school gym so there was only one competition floor, one set of bars, one beam, and one vault. There was a warm up gym, but still, when that many kids compete, it takes awhile. The best part about high school meets is that the awards are MUCH shorter. No age groups! So when my gymmie places, it is out of 200 gymnasts, not the 20 or so that were in her age group in club competition. It's harder to place or even win, but what a thrill when it happens! Thanks everyone for the ideas.
 
One team parent we had used to order the party trays from costco the night before a meet. She has 5 kids and didn't want to deal with cooking the night before. She got the little croissant ham sandwiches, and these amazing turkey wraps, and fruit tray. They'd go crazy on them the night before and she'd bag the rest and bring them for the girls. The turkey wraps were turkey, lettuce, cream cheese, and cranberry sauce in a tortilla, and they were so good! The ham sandwiches were mayo, tomato, lettuce, and ham in the croissant.

I know you said you didn't want to pack, but this parent always stuck out for her food genius to me lol. No cooking the night before, and the food packs very well. I can't stand hot dogs or plastic-like nacho cheese, so paying $5 at a meet for them out of desperation is nuts!
 
How about some trail mix? It's something you can make any time during the week and have a bag left over for the 2 hour drive. Or, make a stop at a WaWa and grab a wrap or a grilled sandwich. I think they're pretty much open 24/7 and will make anything, anytime of day. They also sell fresh fruit there and yogurts, and milk! ;)

Our gym tries to have fresh fruit available as well as salads. Not to say they don't have the typical hot dogs and pizza. But, they also have yogurts and such. I'm thinking about suggesting turkey BBQ in a crock pot for next year. Give the same recipe to enough people to bring in their crock pots. Darn, wish I would've thought about that earlier!
 
My DD likes Cliff Bars, Trail Mix and Beef Jerky... We also have a long drive to most of our meets, so on the way we stop and she gets a Fruit Parfait... it is hard to find appropriate food at 7 am..
 
My daughter does not like to eat early in the am ecspecailly before a meet. Some meets we have a 3 hour drive and then we get there and she refuses to eat I think alot of it is nerves I try to bring snacks and she picks but I worry that she is going to pass out while competing! After the meets she is always starving!
 

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