DS9 and football club

[moresorbet]

DS9 does football one night a week. What would you give him to eat before and after?

Breakfast 8am - pancakes/cereal

Lunch 12:30 - usually hot school dinners but today is school packed lunch so sandwiches/yoghurt/fruit (he doesn't eat fruit though).

After school 3:30- really hungry. He loves a peanut butter and jam sandwich which is good as not too heavy. Is this too much bread after a packed lunch?

Leaves house at 4:30pm for training to start at 5pm.

Home at 7pm - usually give him his main meal when he gets back which is often pasta and nuggets with hidden veg sauce as it's his favourite and he's tired and hungry after football.

As the weather is getting colder, my DS will probably have instant porridge with various mix-ins as a pre-sport snack. Over the summer, he tended to have oat, peanut butter and banana smoothie if I had time to make a batch. If not, it was something like a chicken wrap or sausage roll or banana + malt loaf or rice cakes with cream cheese.

When DS was a bit younger, I often just used to give him a very early dinner, and then a substantial snack when he got home - but we had quite a long drive for his activity. Even now, i often do things that are easy for him to sort of eat half before/half after - eg we'll have tacos or fajitas and he'll eat one before training and one (or two - he's 13 now) after!

Things in wraps are great options, especially if you want him to be eating on his way - so fishfinger/crumbed chicken wrap, fajitas were good choices here. I did sometimes do pasta pots. Also bagels with cream cheese and salmon, chicken/tuna mayo sandwiches.

Another trick that works for us is anything that can be cooked in advance and quickly served up - sports days are the days we often use the slow cooker so we can have something almost as soon as we get through the door (and often a small bowl before). Similarly, the air fryer - fish cakes, individual spanakopita etc.

What will he happily eat? I struggle to get mine to eat before activities as they claim they aren’t hungry (even though if they are home all afternoon, they will eat and eat).

Any sort of sandwich
Bagel and cream cheese
Beans on toast
crackers and cheese or with hummus
Fruit and Greek yoghurt

Can you cook on the weekend?

Zucchini slice https://www.womensweeklyfood.com.au/recipe/dinner/zucchini-slice-6436/. Light and nutritious.

Easy chicken nuggets. Dice chicken breast, stir over 1 sp mayo, cover with flour, bake or fry for 10 minutes. These keep in the fridge for wraps or whatever.

Savoury mince of your choice, potato in the slow cooker all day (doesn’t need to be a big one), top with microwaved mince and eat.