Installment 9 - Pre and Post Practice/Workout Meals

Pre and Post Practice/Workout Meals

What to eat before practice?

It is best to eat before you leave.  Depending upon the time of day you will want to choose an appropriate meal or snack.  See below for ideas. If you must eat while driving to practice your best options are:

1.      Having a protein drink that was made before you leave and drinking it in the car.  This is also a great recovery drink.  That drink should include:

a.       A high quality protein mix from undenatured whey, brown rice protein, or pea protein, or combination of them.  No soy protein. 

b.      Use water or organic fruit juice.

c.       Add one cup of blueberries or strawberries (frozen is fine).  You may add ½ of banana.

d.      Optional: flax seed oil, ground flax seeds, or chia seeds.

e.       Optional: raw (not roasted) nuts or nut butter (almond, walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds).

f.       Optional: powdered greens, celery, cucumber, ½ an avocado.

g.      Best mixes are those you need to blend that have fewer ingredients. 

h.      Watch out for artificial sweeteners, specifically aspartame, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium. These are hidden in the long ingredient lists of many protein powders.

2.       

      Whole grain bread (sprouted bread is best) with nut butter or hummus.  Again, almond is better than peanut.  If use peanut be sure only ingredients are peanuts and oil.  Organic peanut butter is best.  Have some veggie sticks on the side: carrots or celery.  For additional protein add hard boiled eggs or jerky.

What to eat after practice (i.e. while driving home, right when they get home)?

This is a good time for a Recovery Drink (when get home).  During the drive have a snack from the healthy snack list.

Other tips:

1.      Add green drink to recovery drink.

2.      Add fresh lemon to water when possible.

3.      If you drink coffee – reduce or eliminate.

4.      Have recovery drink within 30 minutes.