You know, your mom was right after all – failing to plan is planning to fail.
When you’re short on time and your days are hectic, plan ahead! Prepare a travel pack with snacks and beverages that support your performance eating plan. Items that travel easy and meet the nutritional needs of an athlete are trail mix (nuts, dried fruit, & seeds), fresh fruit & pre-cut vegetables (shop the salad bar), low fat string cheese, yogurt, and bagel with nut butter. Hydrating beverages to include in your travel pack include water, sports drink, electrolyte supplement water, and 100% fruit juice.
Recipe – Week 2: Trail mix
Not your mom’s GORP
- 1 ½ c roasted pistachios
- 1 c dried cherries
- 1 ½ c Emerald® Cocoa Roast almonds
Makes 16 ¼ cups servings
Fruit, Nuts, and Flakes, oh my!
- Walnut pieces
- Dried apricots
- Toasted coconut flakes
Sugar And Spice Trail Mix
- 3 c oat squares cereal
- 3 c mini pretzels, salted or unsalted, as desired
- 2 Tbsp tub margarine or butter, melted
- 1 Tbsp packed, brown sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 c dried fruit bits or raisins
- Preheat to 325̊ F
- Combine the oat squares and pretzels in a large zip-top plastic bag or container with a lid. Set aside.
- Melt the margarine (or butter).
- Add the brown sugar and cinnamon to the melted margarine (butter) and mix well.
- Pour the cinnamon and sugar mixture over the cereal and pretzels, and seal the bag or container. Shake gently until the mixture is coated. Pour onto baking sheet and spread evenly.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring once or twice.
- Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and then mix in the dried fruit.
- Store in an airtight container or single-serving zip-top bags.
Makes 10 servings
Sugar & Spice recipe adapted from Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook, 4th Ed. Permission for use from Nancy Clark, MS, RD. Recipe adapted from the American Heart Association. www.deliciousdecisions.org
About Andrea Rudser-Rusin, MA, ATC, RD, CSSD
Andrea Ruder-Rusin, is a registered dietitian, board certified as a sports dietitian, and a certified athletic trainer (the sports medicine type). Andrea practices in the private sector under the title of SportWise Nutrition & Consulting LLC. Clients of SportWise include athletes and non-athletes as well as groups associated with both for-profit & not-for-profit organizations.
Andrea has Bachelor’s degrees in Athletic Training and Nutrition & Dietetics from The University of North Dakota. She holds Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from The University of Minnesota. Her nutrition expertise includes sports nutrition, weight management, pre- & Post-bariatic surgery nutrition & lifestyle counseling, and behavior modification. Her sports medicine skills are maintained and put to good use with ongoing work for the United States Swimming national team and traveling with other USOC sponsored teams and competitions.
Her athletic career began some 30 years ago as an age-group swimmer under the instruction of internationally known swimming & stroke expert, Mike Stromberg. Ander continued her swimming career through college, splitting her time between The University of Minnesota and The University of North Dakota. While at UND she was NCAA champion in the 100 and 200 yard butterfly and was awarded All- American status at both universities in a variety of events and distances. Andrea has participated in 5k &10k open water swimming events, ironman & ½ ironman distance triathlons, and various running events ranging from 5k to marathon distance. She has completed 3 sub-12 hour ironman races and has placed 1st in her division in the 2.4mile swim portion of the ironman triathlon. She is also a member of team Go Dog Go!, 12-time co-ed relay champions at the Chicago Triathlon.
Words to live, train, and race by: “The pain of not trying your hardest lasts a lot longer than the pain it takes to push yourself to the limit” and advice learned early on from Coach Stromberg – “Just have fun, don’t sweat the small stuff.”