After the Springfree Trampoline, Comes the Healthy Snacks

When the kiddos spend the afternoon bouncing on their Springfree trampoline instead of the walls of the house, it’s important to welcome them back to the great indoors with a bit of extra hydration and a snack to replenish all that spent energy. The following snack suggestions can help replenish your child’s H2O levels by sneaking in a bit of extra water in the solid foods.

1. Frozen Yogurt Cups

You’ve probably run across some easy frozen yogurt recipes on Pinterest. Just take a popsicle stick, punch it through the lid of your child’s favorite yogurt cup, and pop it into the freezer to harden. It doesn’t get much easier.  But these simple frozen treats aren’t just good for heat relief, they’re also full of hydration. According to the American Dietetic Association, a single 1-cup serving consists of 85 percent water. This healthier alternative to sweet ice cream will help replace fluids that your busy bouncers have sweated out on their Springfree trampoline.

2. Frozen Grape Necklaces

Grapes were made for snacking. Their convenient rind-free design and sweet flavor make them a great grab and go option when the kids are clamoring for something to nosh on. And their high water content (81 percent) means that they also freeze beautifully. While you could just throw a bunch of grapes into the freezer and be done with it, a fun way to present this post-jump snack is on a wooden skewer as fruit kebabs. Just thread the grapes on a string before freezing. When the kids need to escape the heat, just tie a frozen necklace around their necks. Consider it nature’s version of an icy candy necklace.

3. Coconut Water Fruit Pops

As a child, I would freeze orange juice in ice trays and use toothpicks as the popsicle stick for my mini frozen treat. While this still works in a pinch, many juices can contain hidden HFCS and sugars. Bloggers Arena and Jet from thenerdswife.com had a great idea for swapping out coconut water instead of sugary juices. Coconut water, not to be confused with coconut milk, often has much less sugar than juice and ounce per ounce offers more electrolyte replenishment than sports drinks. Their recipe features a variety of chopped fruit, placed in a popscicle mold and then topped off with coconut water. You can try different assortments of fruit to suit your child’s taste. For example, a combination of orange wedges and pineapple chunks sounds delicious and super hydrating!

4. Watermelon Wedges

For summertime, there are few things more iconic than sweet chilled watermelon slices. Containing 92% water, it’s no wonder that this melon variety got its watery name. With this cool character, classic is the way to go. Keep kid-sized wedges in the fridge all summer long, and your son or daughter will always have a refreshing and hydrating post jump snack ready and waiting for them.

5. Starfruit, Strawberry & Blueberry Skewers

The Fourth of July may be a distant memory at this point, but that doesn’t mean that your cool post-jump snacks can’t have a patriotic flair. Starfruit and strawberries both have a 91 percent water content and blueberries are 85 percent water. Together the bright colors of the strawberries and blueberries, along with the fun shape of the starfruit, makes for an impressive red, white and blue arrangement. Just slice the starfruit width-wise to reveal its five-pointed white star shape. Thread the starfruit along with the berries on a skewer, and you are good to go.

Why Post-Jumping Hydrating Snacks are Needed

Jumping on a Springfree trampoline for just ten minutes provides the same amount of exercise as a 30 minute run. You wouldn’t take a run in the Texas summer heat without hydrating, so don’t let the fact that jumping on a trampoline is fun fool you into thinking you don’t need to reenergize and rehydrate.

A post-workout snack can not only help replenish lost energy, but it can also help tired muscles repair and recover. For an extra dose of protein, we recommend pairing these super hydrating options with a bit of your favorite nut butter.