During the last 20 years, I’ve worked as a strength and fitness coach to more than 10,000 Valley kids. So I’ve seen how busy families struggle with the demands of long days filled with after-school activities. When you’re hungry and crunched for time, it’s tempting to pull into the local drive-through for a quick, fast-food refueling. I’d like to propose a different solution.
In just 40 minutes, you can complete the prep work to provide a week’s supply of healthy, protein-packed food choices for use at home or on the road to practices, games and other extracurricular activities. Involve the kids in planning, shopping and food-prep tasks.
First some facts:
• Kids need 10-20 grams of protein per meal (about one gram for each pound of body weight per day) to keep blood sugar levels and energy consistent.
• No one needs more than 400 to 500 calories in a single meal.
• Food should be consumed four to six times a day (meals and snacks) for a total of 2,000 to 3,000 calories.
• There are four calories in each gram of protein or carbohydrate, and nine calories in each gram of fat.
Here’s my formula, which is designed to add protein to meals and snacks you can quickly prepare at home:
Set aside 40 minutes each week. I usually choose a Sunday.
Have on hand: Three pounds of chicken breasts (and some chili powder, lemon pepper or your favorite marinade), two dozen eggs, broccoli, peas, shredded cheese, wheat pasta, black olives and plastic food storage bags in sandwich, quart and gallon sizes. Your shopping list should also include lettuce, fruit and corn tortillas.
Start by baking the chicken. Use plain or marinated chicken or simply coat each piece with chili powder or lemon pepper. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
Put two pans of water on the stove to boil. One pan will be used to boil eggs; the other for cooking pasta.
Heat a frying pan to scramble a dozen eggs. Discard all but four yolks to cut fat and cholesterol. Put the cooked eggs in a gallon-size plastic food-storage bag and refrigerate. They will keep for a week. When you need a quick breakfast, scoop some eggs into open-face corn tortillas. Roll it up with some shredded cheese and you’ve got a breakfast burrito.
Hard-boil the other dozen eggs so you have them ready for eat-alone snacks or a protein boost in salads.
Cut the cooked chicken in slices. Toss half of the slices with the wheat pasta and peas, steamed broccoli and olives. Put the pasta combo into single-serving plastic containers and refrigerate. Pull it out for dinner or after-school snacks—or carry it (and some plastic forks) in a cooler when you’re picking up the kids from school and going straight to practice or lessons. Include some fruit and you’ve got a balanced meal.
Refrigerate the rest of the sliced chicken and use it throughout the week to add to salads or put into a tortilla for a sandwich-on-the-go.
This article first appeared in the August 2009 issue of Raising Arizona Kids magazine. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, broadcast or redistributed without permission of the publisher. For more information, write to editorial@raisingarizonakids.com.
