Soccer Snacks

It’s Saturday morning in October which means a soccer game! I love these early fall mornings at the field with happy kids, the best families, and the aroma of soft pretzels wafting from the concession stand. We have been blessed with the best church soccer program in our little community which runs from preschool to 8th grade. The pastor of the church heads up the whole program with volunteers from the congregation. It’s fantastic! Our children participate in this church program until they age out and then play on our homeschool academy team for their high school years.

The moms take turns providing game snacks and today is my day! I’ve packed my son’s favorite that he requests every time: chilled orange wedges! Are you surprised he doesn’t ask for cookies or chips? Yep, me too! And, what’s more, he says his friends always say they’re glad we brought oranges. But I can’t take credit for this idea. A few years ago, my friend Rivers told me that when she played soccer in high school, the most refreshing snack was chilled orange wedges. So, we gave it a try and it has been a hit every time.

The night before the game I cut oranges into wedges and then slice off the tough white membrane that’s left from the central core so that the kids can just sink their teeth right into the orange wedge and bite out the juicy pulp without the membrane getting in the way. I package the wedges in baggies for individual servings and then chill these in the fridge overnight.

I like to add a small snack bar of some sort just for a little carb option for the kids, and we’re also asked to provide an sport drink or juice as well. The morning of the game, everything goes in a small cooler, and we’re set to hit the field!

Chilled orange wedges are also great as pool snacks, hiking snacks, and just everyday playing in the yard with neighbor snacks!

Ok, now that I have my son’s game snacks packed, I have a confession to make. I won’t even be at today’s game! My daughter and I are headed to Birmingham for the day to visit one of her friends who’s home from college for the weekend. I HATE missing a game and this is only the second one I’ve missed in all his soccer years so far. But hopefully he’ll know his mom is supporting him through some good snackage!

Have a great Saturday, my friends!