Everyone’s a chef, don’t you think?
Everyone’s a chef, don’t you think?
By Marie-Hélène Bourbonnais, R.D. M.Sc. ISAK 1
Registered Dietitian
So, you’ve decided you wanted to work on nutrition. It’s the right time, your kitchen is one of those things that may not have been affected by this panedmic. You know it’s your fuel and eating well will make you perform better as an athlete, recover better, etc. That’s great! But now what…
I find a lot of my athletes don’t know where to start. They’d like to food prep, stop eating transformed foods and make every meal a home cooked one, choose all organic, plant-based, oh and vegetarian, no even better, VEGAN!! And while we’re at it, let’s start posting these meals on Instagram. It will help us stay motivated as our friends comment and “like” our posts. But then, those pictured meals need to look pretty, pretty perfect actually…
Woohoo!! That’s quite an ambitious goal to start with! I’d say that setting expectations too high is probably the #1 mistake. It will make this goal feel like a mountain and there are chances you may give up.
Here are a few tips to consider to SET ACHIEVABLE GOALS.
#1 Schedule
Schedule set days when you will be cooking. Start with one to two new recipes per week, and the rest of the time, you can eat leftovers, or support a local restaurant. It’s okay not to cook homemade meals all the time. Once this new habit is integrated, then you can increase the amount of new recipes you cook per week.
#2 Few ingredients
Pick recipes with fewer ingredients. You can make great things with 4-5 ingredients. Like this one: https://sportivore.ca/en/recipe/berries-overnight-oatmeal/
And if you don’t have, for example, garlic or onions then just skip this step! It may affect the taste of the recipe slightly, but I’m sure it will still taste good.
#3 Substitute
If you don’t have all ingredients, sometimes they can be substituted. For example, if you don’t have parsnip, use carrots (same texture, similar shape). In this homemade bars recipe https://sportivore.ca/en/recipe/sportivore-bar/, you can use dates instead of prunes, chopped apricots instead of raisins or cranberries, chopped almonds instead of pumpkin seeds, etc.
#4 Keep it short!
Most recipes have a set cooking or preparation time. Do yourself a favour and pick something short.
#5 Fewer dishes!
Try one-pot recipes or cook with your crockpot. Fewer dishes = happy athlete!
#6 Cooking or no cooking?
This will of course affect the preparation time. Salad versus cooked veggies, pan fried versus oven baked, bake or no bake (like the Sportivore bars recipe mentioned above)
By following these steps, you will realize it is not so difficult after all. You will be proud you achieved your goals because they will be achievable. Which means you will be motivated to keep going!
Starting a new nutrition habit is not difficult. Successfully intergrading it in your daily routine is more challenging. Therefore, set yourself up for success!
Follow McGill Athletics on Instagram for more sport nutrition tips. And in the meantime, if you’d like a little help on how to get started with your new cooking goals, feel free to contact me at info@sportivore.ca
Bon appétit!