What's for Dinner?

Date: Mon May 19 8:24 AM, 2008

What's for Dinner?

Date: Mon May 19 8:30 AM, 2008

This is a constant battle in our house. My daughter does not like to eat anything heavy before practice, and is usually straving afterwards. This is when the battle of over Taco Bell starts.

Date: Mon May 19 9:04 AM, 2008

I go through the same thing too! My daughter would rather stop at Starbuck's then actually eat some food. I try and make something so they can eat after school so at least they're eating something before practice and still have time to digest. & then bring a granola bar or some other type of snack for after practice.

Date: Mon May 19 10:19 AM, 2008

JAMBAJUICE

Date: Mon May 19 12:09 PM, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

Let's turn this board around and start getting some useful info from each other.

My daughter leaves for the gym at 6:00 and doesn't come home until after 10:30 (with commute time and all). She doesn't want to eat dinner before going to the gym and just wants to shower and go to bed after the gym. What do you guys do about dinner for your athletes? What's a good light meal to have before going to the gym?

I would make her a romaine salad (tomato, cucumber, and coutons) with sliced chicken breast on those nights...this is light ,but you have most of the food groups covered, you could add a dannon light and fit french vanilla yogurt with blackberries on top for dessert.....very healthy, but don't tell her

Date: Mon May 19 12:16 PM, 2008

Jamba Juice, Just saw my 1st on on the East Coast. what kind of drinks, like protein with all the different vitamins and stuff you can have added. Like a health drink when you go to the gym?

OC Mom · GURU

Ok, I had THIS one down to a SCIENCE...

First off, they need energy and need to replace their lost electrolites.. (bad spelling I know) So this is how we solved it.

I watched a special on ballerinas. Mainly for the stretching techniques (which most gyms do incorrectly but that's ANOTHER subject) Well, these girls practiced for 4 to 7 hours PER DAY.

YES, PER DAY

They ate carbs and carbs and carbs. Ever see a fat ballerina? Nope. The sugar that pasta and carbs created kept them going. On top of that, they ate their veggies. But they NEVER ate big meals. It was tough for them to practice and eat big meals. They saved the fast food for the weekend. Eating a bowl full of pasta then sitting in front of the TV is what MY mistake is.

So what I did was this... I made pasta. Lots of it. Then I seperated it in to small individual portions. I did the same with salad. I also added whatever veggies she liked to the salad and I even snuck them in to the pasta sauce. Then, while in the car, she would eat reheated pasta and salad and or vegies. And VIOLA, a home cooked meal that was good for her, small in size, tasty and it kept her going.

As for her drink, she never drank straight water. It hurt her stomach but she felt she needed to drink a lot, especially during the hot summer months. So we experimented. We found that she liked orange Gatorade the best and I split it with 1/2 Gatorade and 1/2 water. Neil Armstrong did a test on this and found that the energy drunks just had too much sugar, but if you watered it down, it was good for you, gave you the electrolites you needed and it didn't hurt the tummy.

You can alter this any way you like, especially for the picky ones. But it worked wonders AND I could make her dinner for a week at a time!!!! I just froze them when I made them, popped one in the micro and we were off!!!! And remember, you can add things to this. Turkey sandwiches, (ham has much too much sodium) peanut butter on their celery is great for protien, get pita chips instead of regular chips (I AM ADDICTED TO THOSE) and more! It's not tough once you find what she/he likes. And once you make it, you're done for the week!!!

One quick tip... you know the bags of stuff and cereal and whatever else that sits in the cubboard and eventually gets thrown away? I put them all in individual baggies when they are too empty for a full snack or not getting eaten any longer. Then I throw the baggies in a basket at the bottom of the cubbord. When we are running, I will say, "Grab two baggies and lets go!" or "Pick two baggies for your lunch!" This gives them choices and they are already ready to go and quick!

PS REMEMBER THAT STARBUCKS IS NASTY NASTY NASTY. The coffee will make them CRASH and the sugar is astronomical. Salads are ok but just not enough. Meat in them is really good but if you add beans, then you're taking. Just know that salad alone doesn't create energy. And that's what they really need.

-- Edited by OC Mom at 13:46, 2008-05-19

Date: Mon May 19 3:09 PM, 2008

Any kind of fruit smoothie works well between school and gym - added protein or those made with yogurt or soy milk are also good choices. It's also light so doesn't hinder their performance at the gym.

Also, Odwalla type juices are good to stock if you don't have the time to stop by Jamba Juice or the like. Energy bars are also good, but be careful, they're not all made the same. Stay away from high sugar, low nutrient bars. Better ones are Cliff, Balance or Nature Green Bars. A low fat string cheese and sliced apples are also great to pack along to eat in the car. Trader Joes has a great selection of pre-packaged, washed and cut fruits, veggies w/dip, or yogurt/fruit/granola cups.

And face it, sometimes even with the snacks your kid will be starving when they leave the gym. No harm in stopping for fast food on the way home on occasion, but there's better choices than Taco Bell or McDonalds. El Pollo Loco La Salsa or even Del Taco have higher quality incredients than Taco Bell. A bean burrito or chicken taco is always a better choice than a fatty quesadilla or questionable beef product or nachos. If they have a chicken salad or chicken bowl even better. Chipotle has good chicken tacos that can be low calorie if you stay away from adding cheese, sour cream or too much guacamole, but stay away from their burritos which are packed w/ calories.

The better prepared you are with good choices, the easier it is to keep them away from the garbage.

Date: Mon May 19 3:54 PM, 2008

What great suggestions, thanks so much.

Date: Mon May 19 8:52 PM, 2008

Before practice I have a REDBULL and shot of Absolut Vodka and after practice I have a MONSTER drink and a shot of PATRON to chill biggrin

Date: Mon May 19 9:15 PM, 2008

This must be a parent!! biggrin

Date: Mon May 19 9:30 PM, 2008

Or maybe a Coach! smile

COmomof2 · Senior Member

In my house that is the worst question in the world to ask!

All I ate tonight was Lumpia.. mmmm... nummy

You know.. work til 6 , cheer til 9, rush home to see house and try to eat, clean and get the kids fed and bathed for school tomorrow. Hopefully bed by 10:30.

DivaPrincessTwinkleStar · Senior Member

if i can catch a break.. or get ahold of someone then i usually ask people to pick a small salad up for me.. it usually tides me over until practice is done.. but i coach right before practice.. so i get a good 10-15 minute break.. depending on my coaches mood.. lol.. i might get a lil longer.. but our new gym isnt too close to any food places.. so i usually pick up something small before work.. then when i have a break i can eat it.. like a pop tart.. or a small bag of chips.. or i can get a $5 Footlong, eat half of it before work, half of it later..

CheerTyme Owner · Senior Member

Anonymous wrote:

Or maybe a Coach!

Can't be a coach, remember the new USASF rule about drinking!!! hahaha, Just kidding!!

LadyW · Senior Member

Great idea oc mom -- D moved up to Junior elite this year (with 5 ~ 8 PM ) practices now. Short of packing a "dinner" (which she really won't eat before practice) I think I will just pack "snacks". Then I will create those separate pasta bowls heat it up as I leave work, throw it in thermas, and as soon as she gets in the car, she can eat her dinner on the way home.

Plus its a lot cheaper on the wallet, then hitting micky d's, baja fresh, carls, or the italian place next door.

Date: Thu May 22 3:13 PM, 2008

I live in San Ramon and we usually stop at A Sweet Affair bakery in Walnut Creek. I can call in an order and she eats a sandwich on the way.

Date: Thu May 22 3:39 PM, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

I live in San Ramon and we usually stop at A Sweet Affair bakery in Walnut Creek. I can call in an order and she eats a sandwich on the way.

Thats the diff between No.Cal & So. Cal, Northern Cali needs to call & pick up, where So. Cali we have someone else call & deliver biggrin

Tamara · cheergyms.com Master Poster

Anonymous wrote:
Thats the diff between No.Cal & So. Cal, Northern Cali needs to call & pick up, where So. Cali we have someone else call & deliver

Is this true? You all get to call places other than chinese food or pizza and they deliver? I...AM...SO...JEALOUS!!!

NOSEBAG · Senior Member

What's for dinner ? Well I will tell you what I tell my husband and kids.

What ever is in the fridge that you want to make just don't forget to give me some.