Here are some tips to help meeting their nutritional goals much easier.
- Learn how to prepare your own meals or parts of meals, e.g., side dishes – take accountability for your future!
- Prepare meals in quantities that can be warmed up for leftovers.
- Prepare and pack your meals for the next day the night before.
- Make two sandwiches at a time – one for lunch and one for a snack
- Begin dinner preparation in the morning in a slow cooker/crock pot
- Keep food on hand – e.g., cases of water or quality drink in the trunk of your car; high quality granola bars in the car and your school bag.
- Prepare grab ‘n go food – e.g., pasta salads, fresh fruit, bran muffins, trail mix, fruit smoothies with packaged vegetables and/or whey protein
Here are two super healthy meals that any athlete can learn to make for lunch or dinner:
Loaded Baked Potato:
- Wash a medium potato and slice the ends off of it. Poke 5-6 knife holes into both sides of it
- Microwave the potato on high for 5-6 minutes
- Slice open and mash the potato with a fork
- Cover potato with thin layer of cheddar cheese
- While potato is cooking in microwave, warm a can of Amy’s Organic Chili in small pot on low heat until hot
- Cook a cup of microwave brown rice in microwave on high for 1 minute and mix in with chili (the meal can be prepared without the rice or with rice and without the baked potato too).
- Pour ½ of chili/rice mix on top of cheese on potato – save the other half of the mix for another meal
- Add ketchup and/or sour cream on top of rice/chili mix
- Top with a small handful of packed mini tortilla strips
- Top with shaved carrots, chopped lettuce, and cherry tomatoes chopped in half
Chicken – Vegetable - Rice – Pineapple/Mandarin Oranges with Sweet & Sour Sauce:
- Warm-up or grill pre-cooked packaged chicken (season with Mrs. Dash or other seasoning) or BBQ chicken and slice it into bite-sized pieces
- Cook microwavable cup of brown rice for 1 minute
- Drain packaged cup of chopped pineapple and/or mandarin oranges
- Chop ½ cup of cauliflower or other vegetable of choice into bites sizes, season with margarine and salt. Microwave with 2 tablespoons of water on 60% for 1 ½ - 2 minutes.
- Mix chicken, rice, cauliflower and pineapple/mandarin oranges
- Add 1/3 cup of sweet & sour sauce & stir so everything is coated with sauce
Follow these tips and recipes and you will have a much easier time achieving your nutritional goals!