This post was sponsored by a2 Milk® as part of an Ambassador Program for Influence Central. I received complimentary products to facilitate my review.
I cannot believe we’re already gearing up for another school year! It seems like summer just started! It’s that time to start thinking about doing homework and back to the daily routines. We haven’t even begun to think about getting that list of school supplies ready, but we’re already thinking about healthy ideas for lunches, healthyy after school snacks, and after sports snacks. I’m going to share some of my favorite snack ideas for my kiddo. She’s a competitive swimmer and during the school year, we need to really think about great ways to fuel her growing body with good food that can be eaten on the run!
One of our favorites is fruit smoothies. Especially when the weather is warm in Southern California, we LOVE our smoothies before school, after school, or after swim. Her swim coach always recommends a serving of milk or chocolate milk after swim practice. It’s a great way to get a quick protein and help replenish all the calories, nutrients, and it’s fantastic for recovery.
We previously used soy or almond milk, but we’ve recently discovered that a2 Milk® contains about 6 times the calcium as soy milk and 8 times more protein than almond milk. Additionally, a2 Milk® has more potassium than rice milk beverages. We love that we get all the nutrients for our little athlete and it doesn’t upset our stomachs the way regular milk used to.
We feel good that we’re giving Allie something that provides the best for her. We learned that the A1 protein, found in other milk, is the cause of the stomach upset. That’s why with a2 Milk® we don’t have that experience, because a2 Milk® doesn’t contain the A1 protein. Now, we can enjoy smoothies, glasses of milk or chocolate milk at our leisure. Allie loves her snacks! Chocolate milk and smoothies are her favorites! The a2 Milk® Company™ has teamed up with East Coast and Midwest dairy farmers to expand the a2 herd, which means a2 Milk® will be here to stay for us, here in California! a2 Milk® is only made from a2 cows, which are carefully selected.
We’re always looking for the least processed snacks that we can put together quickly and can be taken on the go. We try to stick to healthy snacks, as much as possible. Once the school year starts, it seems like everything gets so busy! It’s helpful to prepare what we can in advance, but sometimes, we just need to grab things and quickly through them into a lunch bag! There’s so many great choices that are quick and easy!
Here’s some of our favorite QUICK after school snacks with a2 Milk®:
baby carrots, celery, or other veggies with hummus
apples
trail mix
smoothies made with strawberries, blueberries, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 yogurt, ice are one of our very favorites! If you have a thermos, it can keep a smoothie cold for a long time and take it to go!
chocolate milk
hard boiled eggs (we make a batch on Sunday for the week)
peanut butter with crackers or pretzels
fruit salad in a mason jar. Take a look on Pinterest for some inspiring ideas!
fresh veggie salad in a mason jar. Take a look on Pinterest for some inspiring ideas!
tuna salad with crackers, tortilla, or pita
lettuce wraps with chicken or salmon
assorted raw nuts
dried fruit
cheese with salami or pepperoni
string cheese
yogurt—we like to add fresh or frozen berries or freshly cut apples to ours!
whole grain cereal
oatmeal
home cooked soup, such as chicken noodle or vegetable soup
peanut butter smeared on some apples
Connect with a2 Milk®:
a2 Milk® website: https://www.a2milk.com/
a2 Milk® Microsite: http://www.trya2milk.com
a2 Milk® Store Locator: https://a2milk.com/find/
a2 Milk® Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/a2milkUSA/
a2 Milk® Twitter: https://twitter.com/a2milk
What’s your favorite after school snacks? What would you add to our list?
The post Top 20 Back to School Healthy Snack Ideas appeared first on Laura Lohr.