in the kitchen
in the kitchen
by BRANDI GIVENS
RD, CPT
BACK TO BASELINE: A WINNING ONE-DAY MEAL PLAN
Y
You may have watched the after-match interview of an adorable young pro player who openly admitted to having an“ awful” diet. It caused chuckles across our pickle-munity to hear that this top athlete is flourishing despite his not-so-golden health habit. I think we all appreciated his honesty, but how is this possible?
The truth is that humans can adapt to eating just about anything temporarily. That’ s how we’ ve managed to survive famines, wars, and now the barrage of tempting, ultra-processed foods ambushing us like an Anna Leigh Waters shake and bake.
The other side of the paddle is that if we consistently choose nutrient-poor foods, we become malnourished, preventing our bodies and brains from reaching their full potential.
It’ s not just the questionable ingredients in some foods that hold us back. It’ s also what they are missing. We function best when we regularly get ALL of the recommended micronutrients( vitamins and minerals) and macronutrients( protein, carbohydrates, and fat). Choosing to eat a wide variety of nutrient-dense foods most of the time gives us the best shot at thriving throughout our lifespan.
So what does it look like to eat all of the nutrients required in a day? Here is a sample meal plan that is rich in all of the micros and macros. Of course, you may need to increase or decrease your serving sizes based
60 TO SUBSCRIBE, CALL 412.914.8294 OR GO TO PICKLEBALLMAGAZINE. COM