Be the garden...: Out Fueling Your tennis partner

Working as Nutritional advisor this summer at Game Face Systems Tennis Academy I had the opportunity to feed 50 women over two weekends, It was a really fun opportunity to show ladies how whole, organic, food could be prepared and served while looking and tasting delicious!

The chef at Havana Resturant in Walnut Creek delivered some really spectacular Cuban food that was nutritious and delicious!

When you are playing tennis, you are spending several hours sprinting on hot hard surfaces to hit a little ball, then sprint to the other side of the court, and repeat until you miss a shot, or put one away on your opponent. You know you have done your job when everyone ends up a sopping sweaty mess!

During your two hours of sprints, hits, lunges, and high fives, your body demands more fuel for the additional energy you are spending. You will recover faster, have more energy and stay focused longer if you stay hydrated, eat whole natural foods in healthy proportion, timed properly.

Let your opponents fill themselves up with processed, boxed, and frozen foods, you will be able to out play them every time if you work on developing your "nutritional fitness" along with your physical and mental tennis skills.

Keep the balance right: You can add a FuelingYou Nutritional advantage to your bag of tricks the next time you are on the court.

October weather is still warm in Northern California. On hot day your body demands more fluid to keep nutrients flowing through your body, as well as flushing out waste, and damaged cells. Go easy on the when your rehydrating- ice, if your liquid is too cold it will take a little longer to “uptake” into your system.

What are your best beverage choices?

COCOANUT WATER (look for -0- sugar on the label).

OPTIONS for your court side bottle: to your 1/2 bottle filled with water add 1/2 green tea, OR 1/2 cocanut water, OR- Sliced cucumer, or watermelon, or orange. Wake up your taste buds with something interesting and you will want to drink more too!

Enjoy lunch with the girls-
Try to minimize or even abstain from alcohol, and caffinated beverages, caffine and alchohol act as a diuretic which will dehydrate you further. If your over 40 your risk for this increases even more. If you must inbibe, have 1 glass of red wine- which has much less sugar than white wine- THEN have a glass of water, OR enjoy unsweetened beverage like ice tea.

Hard liquor- has no nutritional value, and it help pack on the pounds, slowing down your response time, ability to recover. You can enjoy lunch after practice and take home left overs for a light dinner later!

Between Match Snacks:

Between matches have a zip lock baggie in your tennis bag filled with one of these snacks- Having “just a bite” provides you with a little burst of energy which will help keep your blood sugar stabilized- until you get to your next meal. This will also help improve your reaction time, and focus.

*TIME SAVER TIP: Make up a weeks worth of snack bags on Sunday night so everyone can “grab and go” during the week.

- 6 carrots and 2 tbs hummus (in Tupperware)

- Apple slices w/ 2 tbs Almond Butter

- Handful of trail mix (Toasted unsalted walnuts, cashews, Pumpkin seeds almonds, and dried cranberries, NO PEANUTS)

- Granola bite- Kale Bite, or Breakfast bite (Tennis Academy recipes)

Serving up Seasonal Food:

You have probably noticed the squash and pumpkins appearing in your local grocery stores? The seasonal vegetables are mother natures way of telling us we need to gather some additional vitamins and minerals as our days become shorter, Living on the west coast, I love to take kids and visitors, to the local farmers market so they can learn the value of what grows from our earth.

I hope you enjoy these recipes which utilize the seasonal squash and the wonderful spices of the southwest, Plus, who doesn’t like pumpkin seeds!

Chipotle-Squash Soup

w/ toasted pumpkin seeds

2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive oil in a large skillet

Sautee 1 chopped onion for 5 minutes (until transparent)

Add 2-3 cloves of smashed / chopped cloves of Garlice chiles,

1-2 canned chipotle,

4 cups of Chicken stock

Cook 1 1/2 lbs cubed winter squash (cover and stir) in mixture until the squash is tender about 15 minutes Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds * TIP: Double the batch, freeze to enjoy later (keeps frozen for up to 30 days)

Fennel-Jicama Salad w/ Queso Fresco

Dressing: 1/3 c EVOO (extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbs lime juice, and 1 tbs minced jalapeno.

Salad: SLICE 1 lb Fennel and 1/2 lb Jimaca add crumbled queso and garnish with chopped cilantro. * You can also add sliced apple to this slaw for a sweet twist.

If you or your family needs help with nutritional fitness, schedule your Initial Assessment today- It’s just You, me, and your kitchen- I meet people all over the country face to face or via facetime, where ever you are! Together I can show you how to enjoy delicious, nutritious meals, snacks and beverages eaten in healthy amounts, and appropriate timing -while you learn how FuelingYou works for you-Your body adjusts to it’s naturally healthy weight.