Summer Sports – Kids and Smoothies

There are moments we think we will never forget as parents, and yet we do, as we move on to the next thing.  I love Facebook, not so much because I can keep in touch with my 20 first cousins scattered across the world, but because it helps to remind me of the best times of my life.  At one point I was not such a manic FB poster, and only shared a few photos per season.  I guess I was a shy poster, but now I think of Facebook as a family photo album and I love looking back at the photos from the past.

The other day I was looking at this photo of Siena after the IM in 2013.  This was the summer she got her gold time.  It was a giant achievement for her as she is not a natural swimmer and it took so much hard work and determination for her to achieve it.

As many of my followers know, Siena is mostly a vegetarian, so making sure she gets enough protein is always a high priority for me as a mother, and especially when she plays multiple sports as she did in 2013.   As a result, I made her blackberry smoothies almost every day.  Blessed to have them growing through our fence in the backyard or easily available at most grocery stores, I would then meet her at the pool with an insulated cup and she could drink her smoothie on her way to soccer.  As per Healthy Eating SF Gate, eating a snack or small meal, such as yogurt, within an hour of a workout functions to replenish your glycogen stores and provide protein for the small muscle tears incurred during an intense workout. Fat-free Greek yogurt contains the most protein, between 17 and 20 grams for a 6- to 7-ounce serving.

At the time I thought it was pretty much child abuse to pick a kid up from a one and half hour swim work out and then drop them off at a 2 hour soccer practice, but honestly, it was what she wanted to do and would still do if she could fit it in this summer.

High Protein Blackberry Smoothie

Ingredients

1 cup fresh blackberries

1/2 banana

6 oz. fat free plain or vanilla greek yogurt

4 ice cubs

1/2 cup lemonade

Preparation:

Add all ingredients and blend.  Make sure you have enough liquid or you can blow up your Bullet (sadly, I learned this the hard way).  You can add a little sugar or low fat milk to get it a little sweeter and creamier.  My kids like theirs tart, so the lemonade works perfectly for them.