Fuel is key for any soccer player, no matter the age or skill level. So how do you pack easy snacks for a soccer game, especially in the heat of summer? We’ve got a few recommendations (beyond the usual options) to keep your athlete revved and ready to play!
If you’re looking for healthy snack ideas for soccer players, focus on protein, complex carbohydrates (think bananas, whole grains, etc) and nuts for fiber and great minerals. But how to pack all of these without using a million plastic bags and finding walnuts under your car seats? Enter, protein snack bites.
There may be a million and one ways to make these delicious, portable, nutrient-dense snacks, but we’re offering our top two favorite snack bite recipes. We love these for their simple ingredients, ability to withstand humidity and heat (if frozen and then packed in a lunch bag or cooler), and their taste. Kids love them, teens will get actual nutrients, and adults certainly don’t complain. So enjoy, and if you make variations or have other ideas for flavor combinations, leave us a comment below!
Chocolate-Oat-Banana Protein Bites
Prep time: 10 minutes
Makes about 20 protein bites
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 6 Medjool dates (you can buy them at Trader Joe’s or Kroger’s, they’re affordable, naturally sweet, and they help the protein bites stick together!)
- ½ cup peanut butter (you can also use cashew or almond butter, just make sure it’s a drippy kind)
- 1 scoop whey or pea protein powder
- 1 banana, mashed with a fork
- ⅓ cup milk or almond milk
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup chocolate chips
- Toss your dates into a food processor and let a paste form.
- Add the rolled oats and pulse a few times until they’re a finer consistency.
- Scrape into a bowl, then stir in the peanut butter, protein powder, and banana
- Add the milk and honey and stir, if the mixture is crumbly or dry, add an extra teaspoon of water or milk until it’s a smoother consistency.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Roll the mix into balls in your hands, and place in a large plastic bag or tupperware in your freezer (they can last 3 months in a freezer, or 2 weeks in the fridge!)
Apple Cinnamon Raisin Protein Bites
We like these because there’s no food processor! Just a spoon and a bowl.
Prep: 10 minutes
Makes about 20 bites
- 1 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup peanut butter (or cashew, or almond…just make sure it’s drippy!)
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
- 2 Tbsp raisins
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- Put all ingredients in a large bowl, and stir to combine.
- If the mixture is dry, keep stirring…you may want to use your hands to help it come together.
- Roll into balls, or use a cookie scoop.
Let us know how you like these energy bites, we have a few more recipes and we are always happy to share. Have a great summer of snacking and soccer!