Wednesday Guest Post: Nutrition with Women's Professional Soccer

We are on a serious health kick and it helps that we are loving the way our body is transforming as we change our diet. As we embark on this journey for healthier eating and pumping up our exercise routine, we welcome the newest addition to our blog. Soccer has been one of those long lost dreams that we wish we had played during our childhood years and developed into a super athletic adult soccer player. A dream deferred but not too far. Thanks to Gloria Averbuch, writer and creator of Food Guide for Soccer—Tips & Recipes from the Pros, each week there will be a post on JKGF highlighting nutritional advice from the best of Women's Professional Soccer. Now that we have filled you in on this new addition, let the games begin:

Welcome to Women’s Professional Soccer—eight teams around the country that feature the best national and international players in the world. Teams entertain on the field and educate off the field. Their contributions are part of the helpful information offered below. For the nearly 20 million soccer players in the U.S., most of them under the age of 18, learning good nutrition is helpful for sports, and for life. Check out more on Women’s Professional Soccer here.

Tips for Parents, Managers and Coaches when Traveling with the Team

• Remind each player to bring her personal supply of emergency food and fluids. For insurance, request each player bring an extra filled large water bottle.

• If flying, have each player pack one or two empty water bottles to be refilled after going through airport security.

• If the team will be eating as a group, order a buffet-style meal, so each player can choose the foods she wants, and to be able to get the desired quantity.

• Find restaurants immediately after arriving to your destination. Ask if they can prepare to feed a large group (so you don’t have to wait forever for service, give them a heads up) and if they can accommodate your group’s sports food needs.

• Request pitchers of water be put on each table.

• Locate the local supermarket. Find a volunteer to buy snacks for the group. Ask for volunteers to organize team meals or snacks at game sites, if necessary.

• Provide fresh fruit, yogurt, granola bars, and juice boxes for snacks to be available in hotel rooms.

• Remind players to pack their plastic zip lock bag of non-perishable snacks in their soccer bags, so it is with them at all times. And then, not to forget to eat those snacks!

*Food Guide for Soccer—Tips & Recipes from the Pros, by Gloria Averbuch and Nancy Clark, RD, is available on www.nancyclarkrd.com or www.amazon.com.

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