Food Thoughts From an Athlete
FOOD, who doesn't love food? As an athlete sometimes its tough to make good decisions in this area. You may be thinking it's really not that hard to eat right, but lets be real. Eating right is a struggle.
At my school, I believe almost all of our athletes are on meal plans. We get 5 meals on campus a week. These meals are available at Chick-fil-a, Papa Johns, SONO (Mexican cafeteria food), and the dining hall. Only a couple of these places provide healthy options.
Something I strongly recommend is meal prepping. This is seriously a life saver! When you are doing grocery shopping in the beginning of the week, plan out a couple meals you can make and have ready to reheat and eat. Crock pots are seriously the best when it comes to meal prepping. You can make a whole bunch of different meals in there that can produce a lot of servings. When meal prepping you still want to consider healthier options. An easy crock pot recipe I like to make, is chicken tacos. I will normally make this around the middle of the day on Monday. This way I can cook it on slow and the meat will be ready to enjoy after practice. It may be taco meat, but you can still make it healthy. You can make a chicken taco salad, or chicken tacos, but replace the tortilla/ shell with lettuce. Don't forget to add some vegetables to your meal. I find it helpful to always have canned veggies in my pantry. That way if I run out of fresh veggies during the week, I can still get a vegetable in with my meal. Having a pre-made meal to come home to after practice is such a great feeling. The last thirty minutes of practice you can feel your stomach eating itself because you are so hungry and knowing that you do not need to go out to eat or prepare a whole meal that night, you can rest assure that you will be eating good and in a timely manner.
As far as snacks go, it's okay to indulge every now and then but timing is everything. You would not want to eat lunch and then stuff your face with cookies and chips right before practice because there is a strong chance you will probably upchuck. If you want to fit those cookies and chips into your diet, it would be best to probably do it earlier in the day or after practice. It is seriously the worst feeling when you're running at practice and you regret things you ate. Before practice I try to eat a piece of fruit such as an apple. I find it gives me a little boost of energy to keep me going for a couple hours. I also like to eat protein bars, granola bars, or bananas.
This year SUU athletics has provided our athletes with a nutrition station in the weight room. In the morning after weights there is a table set up with a lot of goodies. The first option you can choose is either protein powder or milk. They have chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, cookies and cream, and root beer flavored milk. The next section is the option between a protein bar, a granola bar, or a Stinger waffle. The waffles come in a lot of flavors like strawberry, caramel, chocolate, vanilla, lemon, honey, and orange. The lemon waffle is my favorite. Uncrustables are another option on the table, strawberry and grape flavored. The next section consist of apple sauce, fruit cups, and string cheese. Lastly there is a box of fruit, normally bananas and apples. It is such a treat to have this nutrition center in the weight room. It is handy when weights finish at 8 and you have an 8:30 class. It provides the essential nutrients needed to build up our bodies after a hard work out.
SUU athletics also provides Stinger nutrition for games. On game days we will get a waffle for before games, Stinger fruit snacks for during games, and a Stinger protein bar for after the game. In season however, we play two games on Friday and one game on Saturday, so we will need a little bit more to fulfill our tummies in between games. Our coaches normally order Jimmy Johns sandwich platters. This is a healthy option, when kept to appropriate portion size.
Talking about sandwiches.... I don't think I will be able to eat another sandwich for a while after I graduate college. I choose to eat sandwiches everyday for lunch during the week because it is an easy healthy option, but we also eat them quite a bit when we play. Depending on what time we travel and how far the trip is, we will get Jimmy Johns for our bus ride. We will also get sandwiches before or in between games. After trying many big name sandwich companies and a lot of small local companies I have tried just about every turkey sandwich that's offered. My personal favorite is a #4 Turkey Tom from Jimmy Johns or a roast beef sub from Fire House Subs. As I mentioned above, timing is important when you consider what you are going to eat. When coach asks for our sandwich order, it is important to know when you will be eating this sandwich. If you want a meatball sub, it might be best to order it when you know you will not have games within a couple hours. Timing and food choices are very important.
Hotel breakfast can be tricky. When you wake up in the morning and you and your roommate are walking to the elevator, my team has a saying. If you can smell breakfast from a higher floor in the hotel, it is not going to let you down. Most hotels we have stayed at have A LOT of options. Hotels offer eggs, with some kind of meat which normally is sausage or bacon. Some hotels offer a type of hash brown. Almost every hotel breakfast has a waffle machine.
Most hotels have a section with bagels, bread, and muffins. I would say on average, hotels normally carry about 4 types of cereals. These cereals are typically Cheerios, Frosted Flakes, Fruit Loops, and Raisin Brain. Hotel breakfast normally have a mini fridge that is full of yogurt, boxed milk, and hard boiled eggs. On the counter you can find oatmeal and hot chocolate packets. As for drinks, you can get coffee, milk, apple juice, orange juice, and cranberry juice. Fresh fruit can also be found at hotel breakfast. There are so many healthy choices you can make, or you can really indulge in the buffet breakfast. Remember, you will probably have games shortly after breakfast so make a decision that will energize you and keep you going without making you feel slow or sluggish.
As a college student going out to eat happens quite frequently. It is a way to socialize and eat some great food. When we go out to eat as a team at Texas Roadhouse we go through almost 3-4 rolls per person. Then we stuff our faces with a delicious steak, some greasy veggies, and mashed potatoes. If you know you are going to get a big meal, maybe save some calories by only eating 2 rolls. Also remember that it's okay to be different and order a salad every now and then, even when the other food looks so good. Your body will thank you.
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| Jambalaya - New Orleans Feb. 15, 2018 |
At my school, I believe almost all of our athletes are on meal plans. We get 5 meals on campus a week. These meals are available at Chick-fil-a, Papa Johns, SONO (Mexican cafeteria food), and the dining hall. Only a couple of these places provide healthy options.
Something I strongly recommend is meal prepping. This is seriously a life saver! When you are doing grocery shopping in the beginning of the week, plan out a couple meals you can make and have ready to reheat and eat. Crock pots are seriously the best when it comes to meal prepping. You can make a whole bunch of different meals in there that can produce a lot of servings. When meal prepping you still want to consider healthier options. An easy crock pot recipe I like to make, is chicken tacos. I will normally make this around the middle of the day on Monday. This way I can cook it on slow and the meat will be ready to enjoy after practice. It may be taco meat, but you can still make it healthy. You can make a chicken taco salad, or chicken tacos, but replace the tortilla/ shell with lettuce. Don't forget to add some vegetables to your meal. I find it helpful to always have canned veggies in my pantry. That way if I run out of fresh veggies during the week, I can still get a vegetable in with my meal. Having a pre-made meal to come home to after practice is such a great feeling. The last thirty minutes of practice you can feel your stomach eating itself because you are so hungry and knowing that you do not need to go out to eat or prepare a whole meal that night, you can rest assure that you will be eating good and in a timely manner.
As far as snacks go, it's okay to indulge every now and then but timing is everything. You would not want to eat lunch and then stuff your face with cookies and chips right before practice because there is a strong chance you will probably upchuck. If you want to fit those cookies and chips into your diet, it would be best to probably do it earlier in the day or after practice. It is seriously the worst feeling when you're running at practice and you regret things you ate. Before practice I try to eat a piece of fruit such as an apple. I find it gives me a little boost of energy to keep me going for a couple hours. I also like to eat protein bars, granola bars, or bananas.
This year SUU athletics has provided our athletes with a nutrition station in the weight room. In the morning after weights there is a table set up with a lot of goodies. The first option you can choose is either protein powder or milk. They have chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, cookies and cream, and root beer flavored milk. The next section is the option between a protein bar, a granola bar, or a Stinger waffle. The waffles come in a lot of flavors like strawberry, caramel, chocolate, vanilla, lemon, honey, and orange. The lemon waffle is my favorite. Uncrustables are another option on the table, strawberry and grape flavored. The next section consist of apple sauce, fruit cups, and string cheese. Lastly there is a box of fruit, normally bananas and apples. It is such a treat to have this nutrition center in the weight room. It is handy when weights finish at 8 and you have an 8:30 class. It provides the essential nutrients needed to build up our bodies after a hard work out. SUU athletics also provides Stinger nutrition for games. On game days we will get a waffle for before games, Stinger fruit snacks for during games, and a Stinger protein bar for after the game. In season however, we play two games on Friday and one game on Saturday, so we will need a little bit more to fulfill our tummies in between games. Our coaches normally order Jimmy Johns sandwich platters. This is a healthy option, when kept to appropriate portion size. Talking about sandwiches.... I don't think I will be able to eat another sandwich for a while after I graduate college. I choose to eat sandwiches everyday for lunch during the week because it is an easy healthy option, but we also eat them quite a bit when we play. Depending on what time we travel and how far the trip is, we will get Jimmy Johns for our bus ride. We will also get sandwiches before or in between games. After trying many big name sandwich companies and a lot of small local companies I have tried just about every turkey sandwich that's offered. My personal favorite is a #4 Turkey Tom from Jimmy Johns or a roast beef sub from Fire House Subs. As I mentioned above, timing is important when you consider what you are going to eat. When coach asks for our sandwich order, it is important to know when you will be eating this sandwich. If you want a meatball sub, it might be best to order it when you know you will not have games within a couple hours. Timing and food choices are very important.
Hotel breakfast can be tricky. When you wake up in the morning and you and your roommate are walking to the elevator, my team has a saying. If you can smell breakfast from a higher floor in the hotel, it is not going to let you down. Most hotels we have stayed at have A LOT of options. Hotels offer eggs, with some kind of meat which normally is sausage or bacon. Some hotels offer a type of hash brown. Almost every hotel breakfast has a waffle machine.
As a college student going out to eat happens quite frequently. It is a way to socialize and eat some great food. When we go out to eat as a team at Texas Roadhouse we go through almost 3-4 rolls per person. Then we stuff our faces with a delicious steak, some greasy veggies, and mashed potatoes. If you know you are going to get a big meal, maybe save some calories by only eating 2 rolls. Also remember that it's okay to be different and order a salad every now and then, even when the other food looks so good. Your body will thank you.
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