Top 10 tailgate food swaps

This week, enjoy a guest post from my intern, Ashley!

Be Extraordinary,

RDKate
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It’s that time of year again; football is back in full swing! Everyone enjoys the cooler weather and cheering on our favorite teams with our friends and family. Tailgating goes along with football season, which usually means a variety of tempting foods within an arm’s reach. If you are training for a race you might think that you need to avoid these parties so you don’t ruin all the hard work you have put into your training. The good news is you don’t have to! You can enjoy tailgating with your friends and family while sticking to your training plan.

Here are 10 typical tailgate foods with perfect healthy swaps perfect for a person in training:

Appetizers

1. Wings are a delicious and messy appetizer that everyone loves, but are typically fried and high in fat. This baked chicken wing recipe is lower in fat, but still provides full flavor that you love.

·         Using Greek yogurt in the blue cheese dip lowers total fat and provides protein and calcium.

·         Make it your own: substitute hot sauce for a sweeter BBQ sauce if you don’t like spice.

2. Nachos usually contain excessive calories and fat, but if done right can be healthy. This recipe of chicken and bean nachos are an appetizer everyone will enjoy.

·         Chicken: great source of lean protein, which can help protect against muscle damage during a workout

·         Beans: good source of protein and fiber that will keep you feel full longer

·         Shredded cheese: provides calcium and is lower in fat and sodium content than processed nacho cheese

·         Swap Greek yogurt for sour cream again!

·         Offer fresh pico de gallo, salsa or guacamole on the side and serve over corn chips. 

Dips

3. Fresh salsa or pico de gallo are great choices.  Both are a good source of vegetables, which contain vitamins essential for athlete’s immune systems and helpful to reduce muscle soreness post workout.

4. Swap Greek yogurt for sour cream in dips like spinach artichoke dip, buffalo chicken dip or French onion dip. This spinach artichoke dip recipe is full of flavor and sure to be a hit!

·         Artichokes and spinach are high in iron, which is essential for providing oxygen for your muscles during a workout.

·         Serve fresh cut veggies like carrots, celery, cucumbers, or snap peas with your dip instead of chips.

Tiny nutrition tricks for big workout gains

A few weeks back, I blogged about tiny nutrition tricks for big weight loss (check it out here). But what if you don't want to lose weight? What if you are just looking to improve your workouts to see better results overall? Here are few more "tiny tricks", but this time for big workout gains....

1. Stay hydrated
Hydration is the number one nutrition-related reason for poor performance. Being hydrated means the entire day, not just right before and during the workout. During the day, drink to stay ahead of thirst (thirst  = already a 1% dehydration; performance deficits occur at 2%). Also check your hydration status by assessing pee color (lemonade color is best). Not sure you hydrate enough during workouts? Weigh yourself before and after a workout. If your weight decreases, you didn't drink enough; an increase indicates too much fluid intake; a nearly same number means you hydrated well.

2. Eat to your workout type
Not all types of athletes are the same, so nutrition needs are also not the same.

Football: Fueling for the Playoffs

Happy November!

One of my favorite fall sports has got to be football. Whether it’s high school, college, or professional-level, I just can’t say no to the smell of burgers at the tailgate, the sounds of crunching pads, and seeing amazing plays in person like The Little Giants in 2010’s infamous MSU-Notre Dame game (sorry - had to throw in my alma mater there - click on the link to watch).

This time of year, most high school and collegiate players are looking toward regional and state or conference and bowl games. It’s not too late to use performance nutrition to play your best during these important games. Here are some tips to help you arrive at these last practices and games ready to finish the season strong:

1.       Drink up! No matter what your position, you’ll be more focused and energized if you are properly hydrated. Try carrying your own water-filled sports bottle during day, then fill with your preferred flavor of sports drink during practice so you know you will actually drink it. Take at least a couple gulps of fluid on each break or whenever it is offered by your staff. Weigh yourself before and after practice and drink 20 ounces of fluid for every pound of weight lost during practice (and with all those pads on – total weight loss through sweat can be high!). Your goal should be straw-colored urine THROUGHOUT the day.

2.       Eat at regular intervals. Many football players go to class all day and don’t practice until the afternoon or evening. Don’t arrive to practice with hungry muscles. Try to eat every 3-4 hours. Your plate should be 1/3 filled with sources of carb such as bread, pasta, rice, or potatoes; 1/3 filled with sources of carbs such as veggies and fruits; and 1/3 filled with lean proteins such as poultry, lean beef, tuna, soy, fish, eggs, nuts, and protein. Be sure to eat a snack consisting of carb and protein prior to practice (try a bagel with peanut butter, yogurt with a banana, or handful of pretzels and a cheese stick) and eat within 30 minutes of finishing practice: try an energy bar, banana, or tortilla chips with a sports drink.

3.       During games, along with following pre- and post-workout guidelines before and after games, be sure to refuel at halftime – even if it’s just a sports drink. If you can take in food, stick to foods you tolerate – good ones often include crackers, pretzels, bananas, or raisins.

Think a supplement will give you the extra edge? Think again! Most supplements have shown no performance edge in clinical studies and some may actually cause harm due to dangerous ingredients not always indicated on the label. Before you reach for a pill or a powder, make sure you are following the guidelines above.

Be Extraordinary,

RDKate

Sports Dietitians Fueling Top Football Programs

An amazing article was released yesterday highlighting some of the sports dietitians across the country that guide their college football teams to success through carefully planned nutrition recommendations. Because I wanted to share this with you, I have decided to forego my planned blog and instead refer you to the link for the short but awesome article. Since college football season starts tonight for many universities, it also seemed rather fitting!

Read to learn what sports dietitians at Nebraska and Alabama do on a daily basis to assure their football players are ready for the game and why what they do is so important: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=ncf&id=6913432

Be Extraordinary,
RDKate