Showing posts with label healthy food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy food. Show all posts

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Best Breakfast for Sporters

As an athlete, if you want to perform at a high level and get the most out of your workouts, you need to fuel your body properly. It all starts with what you eat for breakfast. Failing to start you day off on the right foot can lead to making poor decisions about your diet for the rest of your day. The breakfast of champions doesn’t have to be hard to prepare or even require any cooking at all. Some of the best breakfast foods are those that you can eat on the go, even when you are in a big hurry to get your day started. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, because it gets your metabolism going and helps to provide your body with the energy it needs to perform at a high level. Don’t skip out on this meal.

Here are some easy breakfast foods that you can pair together for a great start to your day:

What equates to a good breakfast varies, but the broad guidelines to follow include a meal that is at least 500 calories with half from carbohydrates and about 25 percent from protein. You should mix together fruits, vegetables and whole grains to form a complete morning meal. There are so many different foods that you can choose from, you should have no trouble finding food options that are pleasing to your taste buds.

Breakfast Meal 1:
If you like nuts, you can always begin your day with a breakfast that includes a handful of nuts and seeds combined with a low fat yogurt. Best is to make your homemade yogurt in a machine so you can maker enough yogurt every day (check these yogurt makers). Good yogurt makers are Cuisinart and Dash for instance. You can wash this down with a glass of milk (extra protein) for a full breakfast meal that provides the nourishment that you need to perform your sport of choice at a high level. This meal (recipe) is over 600 calories, so it is well within the guidelines.

Breakfast Meal 2:
An apple a day is supposed to keep the doctor away, but it can also be great breakfast fuel for sporters. Try pairing some apple slices with peanut butter along with whole grain toast. If you drink a glass of milk along with these breakfast foods, you have a complete meal that is just under 500 calories, but will leave you feeling fuelled and ready for your day.

Breakfast Meal 3:
Why not try making your very own breakfast sandwich. Instead of stopping off at a fast food restaurant you can make your very own healthy breakfast sandwich from the comfort of your own kitchen. Start with a whole grain bagel and add an egg and cheese paired with a side of orange slices for your very own breakfast happy meal (ideas). These breakfast foods paired together equal just over 600 calories, but will keep you going until you crave a late lunch after your grueling workout.


As an athlete, you need to make breakfast a priority and can start your day of right by mixing and matching these healthy breakfast foods.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Healthy Nutritious Foods for Sporters

Our whole family sports a lot! That involves team sports, boxing, running and more. We know that eating healthy nutritious food is very important. Of course we eat some fries once in a while but mostly we eat healthy food. It tastes better and you have more energy. Energy we can use again for our sports!

As an athlete, the foods that you choose to put in your body matter. If you want to stay in top condition and give your body the fuel that it needs, you need to be careful with the foods that you choose. Some foods are simply more nutritious than others. There are plenty of foods that sporters should keep stocked in their refrigerators and pantries. The right meal can be the difference between performing at a high level in the sport of your choice or being less than your best. It is no secret why you don’t load up on a meal of pasta and bread before you head to the track and get in some laps.
Here are some of the most nutritious foods that athletes can use to give them a much needed edge:

Oatmeal
If you want to indulge in the breakfast of champions, you might want to start your day with a big bowl of oatmeal and yogurt. An oatmeal/yogurt breakfast is packed with fiber and protein, which provides your body with the fuel that it craves. If you want to have sustained energy that gets you through your workout, this is the type of food that you need to eat first thing in the morning. Not only is it a good source of Vitamin B, but it also is jam packed with antioxidants (more here). Eating oatmeal has even been proven to help your regulate cholesterol levels within your body. This is a must-have food item on any athlete’s grocery list.

Cherries
Fruits are great for sporters, but some are better than others. If you are an athlete that needs endurance, cherries should be the food of choice for you. This fruit is filled with antioxidants that give you access to many different health benefits. Not only is it a food that will help you perform better, but it will also aid with recovery. Research shows that eating cherries can be especially beneficial for runners (see here). Runners that consumed cherries 2 times a day for at least a week were much less likely to experience muscle pain during training than those that did not. A cherry a day might keep you up off the ground and from writhing around in pain.

Kale
It seems like many athletes are joining in on the latest health craze involving kale. Kale is a food that is a lot like cabbage, but it contains high amounts of vitamin A, K, B and also calcium. This vegetable is said to be especially helpful with reducing inflammation in the body. You know that staying active can put stress on different parts of your body, but eating kale can help aid with recovery. Much like oatmeal, kale is also known to help lower cholesterol levels. 

Milk
Milk does a body good and this is true for athletes as well. There are a wide variety of milk products on the market including soy and almond that offer wide ranging health benefits to sporters, but traditional milk and yogurt also does the trick.