Sample meals to eat in match day

Here are some sample meals that you can prepare for your child in a competition day:

Before match

Breakfast (ex: eaten at 7:oo a.m. for a game played at 10-11:00 a.m.):

Option 1

Whole wheat toast with low fat cheese

Low fat milk/yogurt

Fresh fruit or fruit juice

Option 2

Breakfast cereal with low fat milk/yogurt

Fresh fruit or fruit juice

Option 3

Pancakes

Low fat milk/yogurt

Fresh fruit

Lunch (ex: eaten at noon for a game played at 3-4:00 p.m.):

Option 1

Chicken breast

Rice

Stir-fried vegetables

Jello

Option 2

Pasta with poultry kabobs (chicken, turkey, tomato, green peppers)

Fresh salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, etc)

Fruit Sorbet

Option 3

Rice with raisins, cinnamon, and applesauce 

Turkey burger

Grilled vegetables

Chicken noodle soup

Sliced fruit with vanilla yogurt

Afternoon snack (ex: eaten at 5:00 p.m. to play at 8:00-9:00 p.m.):

Option 1

Crackers with jam

Low fat yogurt

Fresh fruit

Option 2

Whole wheat bagel with jam and low fat cheese

Fruit juice

Option 3

Oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar

Low fat milk

Lighter snacks (to eat 1h before a game):

Option 1

Toast with honey

Option 2

Raisins or other dried fruits

Option 3

Banana/grapes/figs/mango

Option 4

Granola bar

Option 5

Pretzels

Option 6

Crackers

During match

Provide sports drinks during the whole match.

Provide at interval:

Option 1

Fresh and/or dried fruit

Option 2

Crackers or pretzels

Option 3

Energy bar/sports gel

After match

Lunch (ex: eaten at 1-2:00 pm, after a match that started at 10-11 a.m.)

Option 1

Pasta with spinach, tuna and feta

Sautéed mushrooms

Jello

Option 2

Turkey meatloaf

Mashed potatoes

Steamed vegetables

Sliced fruit with yogurt

Option 3

Thick-crust Pizza with low fat cheese, tomato sauce, ham, pineapple, yellow peppers, oregano

Fresh fruit

Afternoon snack (ex: eaten at 5-6:00 p.m., after game at 3-4:00 p.m.)

Option 1

Low fat milk

Muffin

Fresh fruit or fruit juice

Option 2

Chocolate-milk

Graham crackers with jam

Fresh fruit

Option 3

Low fat yogurt

Cereal

Fruit juice

Dinner (ex: taken at 22-23h, after game at 20-21h)

Option 1

Seafood Lasagna

Minestrone soup

Salad (lettuce, beets, tomato, etc)

Fruit Sorbet

Option 2

Spaghetti with meat sauce

Steamed vegetables

Fruit salad

Option 3

Lean pork chop

Rice with almonds and raisins  

Stir-fried vegetables

Salad

Custard

Hope you enjoy my suggestions!

Learn more at:

• Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook (http://www.nancyclarkrd.com)
• Food Guide for Soccer: Tips & Recipes from the Pros   (http://www.nancyclarkrd.com)

Don’t hesitate to ask your questions!

You may leave it in the form of a blog comment or you can contact me directly through my e-mail: diogoalvercaferreira@gmail.com

Wishing you the best performance ever,

Diogo Ferreira, RD

Sports Nutritionist, Lisbon, Portugal

“Promoting best health and performance through nutrition”

Nutrition on match day

As a sports parent, you may be unaware of how much good nutritional strategies can optimize performance.  Here are some nutritional goals and tips for match day to help your child eat to win!

Nutrition before match:

Main Goal:

• Enhance recovery from a week of hard training sessions and fuel for the game;

Specific goals:

• Replenish and further increase glycogen (carbohydrate) stores in muscles and liver;
• Consume sufficient protein to enhance the building and repair of muscle;
• Maintain an adequate hydration status;
• Assure a good gastrointestinal tolerance of food eaten (avoid too much fat and fiber).

Tips:

• The young athlete should always eat a consistent meal 3 to 4h before and, if possible, include a lighter snack 1h before the game.
• Carbohydrates are the best fuel for muscles, so your child has to make sure s/he eats lots of them the day before each match, as well as the day of the match, as tolerated! Good sources of carbs include: pasta, rice, whole grain bread, breakfast cereals, oatmeal and fruit (fresh or dried). Most of these foods have also a low to moderate quantity of fiber (maintains sugar levels stable in bloodstream over time) and digest easily. 
• In terms of protein, lean meats like chicken and turkey are good sources to eat at lunch in match day. Another good way to include enough protein in your child’s pre-game meals is adding skimmed/low-fat milk or yogurt to his/her cereals, or else you could include them in a fruit shake. Besides the benefits of protein, you add the benefits of calcium (important to his/her bones, as well as to muscular function).
• Eating fried eggs or fatty hamburger before a match is a risky idea, as these have too much fat, which can upset your child’s stomach. S/he might end up purging right before or during the game! The same applies to french fries, fatty sausages, and so on. Peanut butter, in small doses, may be a well-tolerated exception if you spread a little bit on a slice of whole grain bread. PB has healthy fats and adds protein.
• Being well hydrated will always be important for good performance in a match. So, first thing in the morning, your child must check his/her urine color. If it has a dark brown color, s/he is surely dehydrated and will need to aggressively rehydrate before the match by drinking extra fluids. But if the urine is a pale yellow, s/he probably is well hydrated and just needs to maintain it.  Either way, be sure s/he starts drinking fluids soon before the contest, ideally 4h before, so there is time to assess urine output again. If it keeps darker than normal, it means your child still needs to drink some more. (I will soon provide more information on this topic).

Nutrition during match:

Main goal:

• Minimize energy and water and electrolyte losses

Specific goals:

• Provide an additional source of carbohydrates to fuel the muscles and preserve glycogen stores
• Avoid excessive dehydration accumulating during match

Tips:

In a field sports match, there are very few opportunities to accomplish these goals. So, it is a good strategy for your child to take any stoppage in game as an opportunity to refuel with a sports drink, as it will provide him/her water, fast absorbing carbohydrates and electrolytes. Also, don’t forget about the interval: tell him/her to drink sports drink or water and enhance his/her fueling with carbohydrate from fruit, crackers, sports bars or gels, as tolerated. Eating while listening to the coach won’t stop him/her from being focused, right?

Nutrition after match:

Main goal:

• Recover as quickly  as possible

Specific goals:

• Rehydrate and replenish electrolytes
• Replace  depleted muscle and liver glycogen
• Rebuild muscle tissues

Tips:

The first 30 to 120 minutes after a workout are crucial to a rapid recovery. It’s the so called “opportunity window”, in which your child’s body is better able  to absorb carbohydrates and store  them in his/her muscles as glycogen as well as take up protein to repair and rebuild muscle tissues.

As so, s/he must start refueling immediately after the final whistle. Sports drinks are a good first choice, as they contain water and carbohydrates, but after the first bottle s/he may choose more common foods (ex: crackers or cereals with yogurt, whole grain bread with jam and a slice of low-fat cheese) and accompany them with plain water. Keep your little warrior focusing in a high intake of wholesome fruits, grains and vegetables during the next 24h, to fully replenish his/her stores.

Following these tips will help the child feel more energized and promote a better performance!

But remember, with better training practices comes the best performance in competition, so your son/daughter must fuel adequately before, during and after each training session as well! Make sure s/he tests new strategies in training sessions before putting them in practice on match day.

Recommended reading for more information: 

• Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook (http://www.nancyclarkrd.com)
• Food Guide for Soccer: Tips & Recipes from the Pros   (http://www.nancyclarkrd.com)

Wishing you and your child the best performance ever,

Diogo Ferreira, RD

Sports Nutritionist, Lisbon, Portugal

“Promoting best health and performance through nutrition”

Welcome to my New Sports Nutrition blog!

Welcome!! As a devote parent, I’m sure you concern with every aspect of your child’s life, including his sports performance, which relies a lot on nutrition.  

Based in the most recent scientific research and in practice from the field, this blog will provide you fine-tuned information. Hope you enjoy it. Diogo Ferreira, RD

Sports Nutritionist, Lisbon, Portugal

“Promoting best health and performance through nutrition”