The answers to yesterday’s assignment were so good, I’ve modified today’s training camp to summarize your answers. Keep up the great work!

Remember that nutrition is a tool that you can use to get a big advantage over your competition. If you really want to be a top athlete, you have to CONSISTENTLY eat a healthy diet. Eating better will give you:

• Improved strength, power and speed
• Higher energy levels
• Improved recovery time
• Better body composition
• Improved focus
• Improved resistance to sickness

When you’re going through the sample meals, remember…

The 7 Commandments of Nutrition for Athletes

Source: Waterloo Warriors High Performance Program – Athlete Nutrition

1. Eat lean protein with every meal.
2. Eat vegetables or fruit with every meal.
3. Eat carbohydrates from whole, natural sources.
4. Eat healthy fats every day.
5. Drink at least 3 litres of WATER every day.
6. Have a post-workout recovery shake.
7. Minimize consumption of food and drink (alcohol) that disturbs recovery and regeneration.

Breakfast Ideas

• 2-3 eggs
• 2 pieces of multi-grain toast with almond butter (almonds only)
• 2 pieces of multi-grain toast with avocado
• Greek yogurt with oats and berries
• Granola type cereal (avoid sugar bombs) with almond milk
• Sliced banana
• Fruit smoothie with protein powder
• Protein pancakes - rolled oats, protein powder, cinnamon, banana, salt, and almond butter. Topped with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.
• Oatmeal with nuts and/or berries. Topped with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.
• Green supplement with water
• 1% milk
• Water

Lunch Ideas

• Grilled skinless chicken breast (or try frozen pre-cooked chicken strips)
• Chicken Caesar salad (lettuce, croutons, grilled chicken and parmesan cheese)
• Quinoa salad with tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, onions (any other vegetables of choice)
• Sandwich (whole wheat toast, veggies, avocado and grilled chicken)
• Sandwich (sprouted whole bread, grilled lemon chicken or tofu, pesto, avocado, arugula and goat cheese)
• Tuna melt
• Barley salad mixed with quinoa and other vegetables
• Ferro salad with tomatoes cucumbers and vegetables
• Green salad with olive oil based dressing
• Falafel wrap (tzatziki, feta, falafel, veggies)
• Thai chicken lettuce wraps, with peppers and onions
• Spicy tofu soup with lots of vegetables
• Brown rice with beans and salsa
• Raw vegetables with hummus
• Fruit salad (melons, grapes, berries, etc.)
• Cooked or vegetables
• A handful of nuts
• Almond milk
• Water

Dinner Ideas

• Chicken breast
• Salmon or white fleshed fish
• Roasted vegetables (sweet potato, broccoli, asparagus, brussels sprouts)
• Protein bowl - Chicken or tofu, jasmine rice or quinoa , spinach, chick peas, black beans, your choice of homemade dressing. This is a great way to use leftovers.
• Pasta bolognese (whole grain penne pasta, lean ground beef, tomato sauce, romano cheese)
• Burrito or rice bowl (brown or cauliflower) with cooked vegetables, chicken breast, rice, beans, salsa, avocados or )
• Thai chicken rice bowl (peanuts, red cabbage, shredded carrots and grilled chicken)
• Stir fry with chicken or beef, rice, carrots, broccoli and other vegetables
• Stuffed peppers (black bean, sweet potato, and quinoa)
• Shrimp tacos (shrimp, taco shell + variety of veggie toppings)
• Steamed vegetable mix
• Spaghetti squash with meat sauce
• Chili (vegetarian or with ground turkey) - Add lots of beans, vegetables and chopped avocado
• Garden salad (iceberg lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, onions and balsamic vinegar as dressing)
• Green salad with olive oil based dressing
• Water

Snacks

• Protein shake (made with milk or water)
• Leftovers from lunch or dinner
• Fruit and vegetables (peppers, watermelon, orange, carrots, cucumber, strawberries, mango)
• Fruit salad (melons, grapes, berries, etc.)
• Greek yogurt with granola, honey and raspberries
• A handful of unsalted mixed nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans)
• Sliced vegetables with hummus
• Smoothie bowls with lots of frozen fruit and some almond milk
• Rice cake or crackers with nut butter and bananas
• Sliced apple or banana with natural peanut butter, cinnamon or yogurt dip
• Greek yogurt with nuts
• Protein balls (oats, organic chocolate chips, chia seeds and lots of almond or peanut butter)
• Strawberries dipped in melted dark chocolate
• Protein bar
• Chia pudding (chia seeds, almond milk, drizzle of honey and any berries)
• Hard boiled egg with pickled peppers
• Water

Today’s Assignment:

1. Go through the list of meals above and create a shopping list. It should be just long enough for 3 or 4 days of meals. Remember, we only want to buy what we’ll actually eat and not waste. What other things do you like that are healthy that you could add? Share this list with your parents or whoever does your grocery shopping.
2. DRYLAND TRAINING TONIGHT: Wednesday, July 13th, 7:00pm Location: Far back parking lot at Morgan Firestone Norm McDonald (Tyler's dad) is bringing equipment for group station training (tire pulls and flips, sandbag carries, battling ropes, plyo boxes, etc.). You'll have a chance to compete with your teammates. We'll be training rain or shine. However, we won't train in lightning or dangerous weather. Be sure to bring a filled water bottle. See you tonight.
3. If you can’t make it tonight and aren’t doing other sports today that include a substantial cardio component, you should be repeating the for the interval training workout we did last Sunday. Here it is… Interval Training Workout You should also spend a few minutes stickhandling and shooting pucks.
4. Be sure to fill in your RSVP in the Team RAMP app for tonight, Sunday and next week.
5. Come up with one additional meal idea and one additional snack idea that isn’t already on the list above (and that hasn’t been posted today already). Post your answer with a food icon to the team WhatsApp group. I’ll add your ideas to the list.