Nutrition For Young Athletes: They Are Not Small Adults, Part 2
Dropping Part 2 of our series “Nutrition for Young Athletes” with Strategy #3. Catch up on Strategies 1 & 2 with here. Strategy #3: Protein,…
Month: September 2020
Nutrition for Young Athletes: They are not small adults, Part 1
Nutrition requirements for young athletes, defined as age 5 to 18 years, are unique in that energy and nutrient needs must meet the essentials for…
3 Ways to Get More Vegetables into Your Diet
You would have to agree that eating vegetables and fruits are a crucial part of health and longevity. It’s hard to achieve repeated high levels…
Vegetables often get a bad rap as past experiences fall short of exciting and enjoyable due to taste, texture, smell, or appearance. As we, humans, grow and mature, so do our palates, and the reintroduction of once cringe-worthy foods is essential as vegetable dissatisfaction improves with exposure. It may take up to four times to begin liking something you previously had written off on your "no chance" list.
Make it easy. One of the most significant barriers to getting enough vegetables in is time. If you have the financial means to purchase food kits where entire meals can either come fully prepared or you can prepare these meals from scratch at home. Our favorites for convenience are microwavable vegetables and pre-cut vegetables you can find at most grocery stores.
Other meals you can add vegetables into are: Eggs, Soups and chilis, Lasagna, Pancakes, Muffins, Guacamole, Salsa, and Your burger (trust me – mushroom burger with 90/10 lean ground beef is a game changer).
https://youtu.be/fpi-xxuGZb4
Make it taste good. Learning how to cook and prepare vegetables and meals at home has been a considerable barrier for many of our athletes and especially if they don't taste great. From frozen vegetables prepared in the microwave to cauliflower macaroni and cheese – building up your skills not only on the field but in the kitchen is an essential for long-term success. Steaming, sautéing, roasting, and grilling vegetables can all bring out different flavors from the same vegetable – try them all!
During spring training, we started a series of cooking classes that incorporate at least three different colored vegetables into every dish. The most popular are adding vegetables such as zucchini noodles or sautéed spinach into their pasta or making "Powerhouse Pizzas" by adding sliced bell peppers, mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes.
What about juices? Check us out later this week on where juices fit into the equation.
Training demands and competition schedules are demanding. Lacking the necessary nutrition to support these demands can lead to poor performance and missed opportunities if sidelined due to injury or illness. For you or your young athlete, good nutrition provides the energy and micronutrients essential in meeting both the demands from training and competition as well as for proper growth and development.
missed opportunities if sidelined due to injury or illness. For you or your young athlete, good nutrition provides the energy and micronutrients essential in meeting both the demands from training and competition as well as for proper growth and development.