Fuelling the football finals

So this week is FINALS week! My husband’s team will take on Brisbane Roar at Adelaide Oval on Friday night for the semi-finals of the A-league.

I often get asked what Nigel likes to eat before games and during a  training week. You just have to look at Instagram to know this one, and many people close to us know how much I dislike spaghetti bolognese after 10 years of having this the night before a game! But I did get asked if this had changed being such a big week, so I thought that I would share.

When I was planning our evening meals for the week, I did have FINALS WEEK in the back of my mind. I wanted to make sure that every night we had good quality protein (and a good variety of sources), lots of vegetables for immune support, healthy fats and carbohydrates at every meal. This is pretty standard, although I often ask Nige which nights we need more carbier meals and what nights we can go easy (this depends on his training load).

This week, being a heavy week and nearing the end of the season when fatigue starts to set in, I made sure every meal had a decent amount of carbs.

So this was our weekly menu:

Sunday night

• Vegetable soup for entree
• Spiced lamb back-strap with a zucchini, pomegranate and almond couscous salad for main
• Honey and cinnamon baked pears with ricotta and pistachios for dessert

Monday night

• Baked eggs in a kidney bean and vegetable mix served with zesty guacamole and corn wraps

Tuesday night

• Cumin spiced salmon with sweet potato chips and stir-fried greens

Wednesday night 

• Chicken and vegetable curry with brown rice for main
• Baked pears for dessert

Thursday night (you guessed it)

• Spaghetti Bolognese (I’m having leftover curry) for main
• Ice-cream for dessert (part of the tradition)

There is also lots of weet-bix, fruit, sandwiches, yoghurt and a couple of pasta lunches to fill in the gaps.

GOOD LUCK BOYS!

What is your favourite pre-game / competition meal?

Dietitian's - do we deserve a special day...

So today is National Dietitian’s Day. Apparently this is a whole day dedicated to recognising and acknowledging awesome Accredited Practising Dietitians. But do we really deserve it?

YEP I think we do.

Food, nutrition and eating is complex and emotive. We eat for many MANY different reasons. The obvious include (but are not limited to) eating for health, enjoyment, culture, religion and to celebrate. We also eat differently day-to-day depending on a range of physical, environmental, psychological and societal reasons. 

Think about the many reasons you may eat. Think about how this may differ each day. 

If you consider the many reasons why we eat, you can respect that there is no one-size fits all approach when it come to eating for health. Unfortunately we live in a world where ‘freedom of speech’ via online forums is socially (and legally) accepted. This means there is now an abundance of nutrition information available EVERYWHERE. This may sound like a good thing, and for most of the time it is - think about all of the qualified food and nutrition bloggers featured on storehouse. However, with an abundance of information and the ability to talk to the masses via online platforms, has come more unbalanced and inaccurate OPINIONS around food and nutrition. Much of this information has lead to many people believing that they MUST eat a certain way or cut out certain foods or nutrients. This hasn't been helpful. At all. 

In my job as a dietitian I am seeing more and more people totally confused about what to eat. More and more people being afraid of certain foods and eating patterns. More and more people forming unhealthy relationships with food, increasing their risk of disordered eating. People are more confused that ever - this CANNOT be healthy.

Much of this confusion has stemmed from  society and online experts who want us to demonise specific nutrients and foods, and label our approaches to eating. BUT this is not the answer to eating for health - no, not at all. 

As a dietitian I strive to help people find their own PERSONAL healthy balance, and most importantly, help them build healthy relationships with food so they can eat for both health and enjoyment. A very challenging task these days...so yeah I think we deserve a day of recognition. What do you think?

Knowing my dietitian friends well, they are probably all celebrating with colleagues over a coffee and some cake….YEP dietitian's eat cake because all foods have a place in a healthy balance.

Check out the rest of this website for online and face-to-face nutrition services available or email me at kerryn@thewholesomeco.com.au if you would like to talk to me about your personal food and nutrition project or goals.

HAPPY DIETITIAN’S DAY!