Top Five Easy-to-Make Snacks for Swimmers

6/21/2012
CHRIS ROSENBLOOM, PHD, RD, CSSD

If you are like most people, you like the convenience of canned foods* but don’t think they are very nutritious. The truth is that many canned foods can be as nutritious as fresh food (unless you pick the vegetable from your garden). Many fruits and veggies travel great distances and sit in cold storage before getting to your grocery store shelves which can diminish the nutrient content. Swimmers are always hungry, and even a young swimmer can be taught to make an easy, healthy fourth meal with a simple can and a plan. Here are my top five easy-to-make snacks:Refried Beans

1) Open one can of vegetarian fat-free refried beans and place in microwave safe dish. Add salsa, stir and microwave for a minute of two. Serve with baked tortilla chips…or for the budding chef, toast or grill pita bread and cut into triangles. Beans are higher in protein than most veggies and protein can make you feel full in between meals.

 

2Vegetable Soup) Open a can of your favorite broth-based soup (chicken noodle, chicken and rice, vegetable, etc.) and raid the vegetable bin in the fridge. Broccoli, green beans, baby carrots, asparagus, spinach, or whatever is in the fridge can be washed and steamed in the microwave for a few minutes and then added to soup. Top with some Parmesan cheese for a filling snack.

 

 

3Chick Peas) Open a can of garbanzo beans (also known as chick peas or those round beige beans on the salad bar) and pour into a colander to drain; then rinse. Put the beans in a bowl and mash with a fork; drizzle some olive oil into the mashed beans and season with salt and pepper for a quick hummus. For the more adventurous chef, add chopped garlic or roasted red peppers. Spread hummus on crackers or use as a dip for veggies.

 

4) Open a can of tuna (try white, Albacore or light tuna canned in water) and make a healthy tuna salad with chopped celery and carrots and Tuna Salada touch of pickle relish. Mix with light mayonnaise and spread on a toasted mini-bagel. Tuna is a good source of healthy omega-3-fatty acids or “fish oil.”   

 

 

5) Open and drain a can of your favorite fruit (look for fruit canned in juice). Add fruit to cottage cheese, vanilla yogurt or Greek yogurt and top Pineapple and Cottage Cheesewith chopped nuts for a sweet, healthy snack.

     

    * There is some controversy around a chemical called BPA in some canned foods. The FDA has not banned it from food containers but there are many companies who use BPA-free cans. A search of a company’s website can answer any questions you might have about BPA in canned foods.

    Chris Rosenbloom is the sports dietitian for Georgia State University Athletic Department and is the editor of the American Dietetic Association’s Sports Nutrition Manual, 5th edition, 2012.

    Article from USASwimming.org

    Nutrition Tips for Young Athletes

    From the American Youth Soccer Organization

    http://www.ayso104.org/parents/nutrition.html

    Nutrition and Performance

    It is important that young athletes eat well-balanced meals and remain hydrated in order to achieve optimal health and performance. Bodies need to be fueled by eating proper types of foods, such as 3-5 cups of fruits and veggies a day. Doing so will ensure that young athletes play at their best. The following sites contain nutritional guidelines and food suggestions to help improve your health.

    A Few Resources

    MyPyramid, Steps to a Healthier You

    The MyPyramind plan can help you choose the foods and amounts that are right for you. My Pyramid Tracker provides an assessment of your food intake and physical activity level.

    BAM! Body and Mind

    The BAM! web site answers your questions on health issues and recommends ways to make your bodies and minds healthier, stronger, and safer.

    Parents Magazine

    Parents Magazine has an excellent article, Healthy Snacks From A to Z, which provides you with some healthy snack suggestions.

    Heath and Nutrition for Kids

    The students of Green Mountain Central Schools in Vermont suggested the Health and Nutrition for Kids page from CulinarySchools.org, which has some great information about eating right and being healthy.

    Fueling the Young Athlete

    Nutrition plays a key role in athletic performance. Failure to provide the calories and carbohydrates that young athletes need to fuel their bodies, the fluid to maintain hydration, and the vitamins and minerals to support metabolism and tissue growth and repair will result in poor performance and an increased risk for injury and/or illness. The following nutritional guidelines will ensure that every young athlete is fueled and hydrated for optimal health and performance.

    Calories

    Physically active children and adolescents have calorie requirements that are 12-15 percent greater than those of their sedentary peers. The precise calorie and carbohydrate requirements will vary depending on the type, intensity, frequency and duration of exercise in which they engage.

    Carbohydrates

    Carbohydrates provide the primary fuel for exercising muscles. It is essential that young athletes consume lots of complex carbohydrates (i.e., whole grains, fruits and vegetables) on a daily basis. In addition, it is important to ensure that young athletes get the proper amount of carbohydrates before, during and after exercise to support optimal health and performance.

    How Much to Eat and When

    Before Exercise

    Make sure your young athletes arrive to practice well-fed. They should eat a well-balanced meal that contains 75-200 grams of carbohydrates, 2-4 hours before the practice session or competition. A snack 30 minutes prior to exercise may also be beneficial, particularly if an athlete was unable to consume an appropriate meal 2-4 hours prior. The snack should contain approximately 20-50 grams of easily digested carbohydrates.

    During Exercise

    Consuming carbohydrates during exercise may be beneficial if:

    • The exercise session is more than one hour.
    • The exercise session is very intense.
    • The athlete did not eat anything before exercise.

    After Exercise

    Replacing carbohydrates that were used during exercise within 2 hours of completing the exercise session is essential for speeding recovery and preparing for the next athletic training period. The post-exercise meal should contain approximately 150 -200 grams of carbohydrates.

    Keeping Kids Hydrated

    A number of factors place young athletes at an increased risk for dehydration and various heat illnesses. First, the higher energy expenditure of young athletes means that they produce more metabolic heat. In addition, young athletes don't sweat as efficiently as older athletes and thus cannot cool their bodies as effectively. Finally, young athletes are not as diligent about drinking fluids and their body core temperature during dehydration tends to increase faster. For these reasons it is essential that young athletes be encouraged to drink frequently even when they are not thirsty.

    Research studies have shown that providing a cooled and flavored beverage produces greater fluid consumption among children and helps prevent dehydration. Parents should make sure that athletes arrive at practice sessions, games or competitions fully hydrated. Coaches should enforce drink “pauses” every 15-20 minutes even when athletes do not feel thirsty. Parents, coaches and the athletes themselves should watch for the “warning signs of dehydration:”

    Warning Signs of Dehydration

    • Thirst
    • Irritability
    • Headache
    • Weakness
    • Dizziness
    • Cramps
    • Nausea
    • Decreased performance

    Guidelines for Optimal Hydration

    The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) provides the following guidelines for the maintenance of optimal hydration:

    • Before Exercise: 16 - 20 full ounces within the 2 hour period prior to exercise
    • During Exercise: 4 - 6 full ounces
    • Post Exercise: replace 24 full ounces for every one pound of body weight lost during exercise.

    NOTE: Your child has lots of beverage choices, but the best source of hydration is still good old fashioned water. The problem is getting your child to drink that much. If you can couple your hydration and nutrition efforts, eating snacks like bagels, trail mix, dried fruit, or pretzels will stimulate the athletes' thirst and encourage them to drink more. Alternatively, sports drinks like Gatorade are designed to stimulate thirst, so the athlete drinks more.

    Pre- and Post-Exercise Snacks for Young Athletes

    2-4 hours before exercise

    • Sandwich with lean meat, piece of fruit.
    • Pasta with tomato sauce.
    • Cereal with milk.
    • A bagel with peanut butter and honey, and a piece of fruit.
    • English muffin with honey and low-fat yogurt.

    30 minutes before exercise snacks

    • Honey-Energy Bars.
    • Honey Applesauce Swirl: To make, stir 2 tsp. honey, or more to taste, into a single serving unsweetened applesauce snack pack.
    • Honey Pretzel Dipping Sauce: Whisk 1 tbs. of your favorite spicy mustard together with 1 cup honey. Makes enough dip for 8 servings of 20 small pretzel twists.

    Post-exercise meals

    • Sandwich with 3 ounces lean meat, piece of fruit, pretzels, juice or milk.
    • Pasta with tomato sauce, whole grain bread, skim milk.
    • Cereal with milk, piece of fruit, toast with honey.
    • Bagel with peanut butter and honey, piece of fruit, skim milk.
    • 3 ounces lean meat, potatoes, cooked veggies, skim milk.

    Food & Drink Ideas for the Team Cooler

    • Bagels.
    • Honey-Energy Bars.
    • Breakfast bars.
    • Crackers and peanut butter.
    • Pretzels.
    • Chex mix.
    • Fresh fruit (e.g., bananas, grapes, apples) or dried fruit.
    • Yogurt.

    TOP 5 RECOVERY SNACKS

    5/23/2012
    BY CHRIS ROSENBLOOM, PHD, RD, CSSD

    Recovery is a hot topic for swimmers and for good reason. A long pool and/or land workout burns muscle fuel and causes muscle protein breakdown. Eating a recovery snack within an hour of a workout speeds needed carbs and amino acids (the building blocks of protein that make up the protein-rich foods you eat) to replenish muscle glycogen and repair and build muscle tissue. Do you need to buy expensive protein shakes? No, because the same amino acids found in shakes can be found in food for less money and more taste. Here are recovery snacks that provide some carbohydrate and about 20 grams of high quality protein…the amount that most researchers agree is the optimal protein dose for recovery. Chocolate Milk

    1) 2 cups of low-fat chocolate milk provides two important sources of protein: whey and casein. Chocolate milk may truly be nature’s recovery beverage because in addition to high quality protein it contains the natural sugar lactose that stimulates insulin, a hormone that helps feed the amino acids into the muscle. Milk also contains as much calcium and 10 cups of spinach to keep your bones strong.

     

    Cottage Cheese.2) 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese with peaches, pears, or pineapple…or any fruit you like. Cottage cheese is rich the amino acid leucine which is thought to be the trigger for muscle protein synthesis. Although cottage cheese doesn’t taste salty, it has a higher sodium content than other dairy foods and this might be a good thing if you are a salty sweater (if you see white, salty streaks on your clothing or cap after it dries, you are probably a salty sweater.)

     

    Turkey Sandwich.

    3) 3-ounces of turkey breast on a wheat bagel. Meat and fish provide about 7 grams of protein per ounce, so a 3-ounce portion gets to the needed 20 grams of protein. A three-ounce portion of meat is about the size of a deck of playing cards or a computer mouse.

     

    Peanut butter sandwich.4) 4 Tablespoons peanut butter and strawberry jam on wheat bread. This is an especially good recovery snack for those who are trying to gain weight. Peanut butter is higher in fat than other protein foods so means higher calories, but not to worry, the fat is the heart-healthy kind of fat.

     

    5) 7-ounces of Greek yogurt with granola or fruit. Greek yogurt is higher in protein Greek yogurtthan regular yogurt and has a thicker consistency. Because it tastes a bit more like sour cream, sweeten it up with fruit or granola to add the carbs. Greek yogurt also makes a great topping for baked potatoes or cheese nachos as a substitute for higher-fat, lower-protein sour cream.

    To get the most out of your training, practice good recovery by eating within the hour after exercise. You will be strong and ready to go for the next workout, which is most likely tomorrow!

    Chris Rosenbloom is the sports dietitian for Georgia State University Athletic Department and is the editor of the American Dietetic Association’s Sports Nutrition Manual, 5th edition, 2012.

    Article from USASwimming.org

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