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Nutrition is Not a Punishment!
Cross country runners expend between 750-1,000 calories during a typical workout. Their lean muscle mass requires a lot of energy, even in a resting state. Nutrition should be considered another facet of the training regimen, aimed at fueling and refueling in equal measure.
It’s important to re-frame what nutrition is and is not.
Food doesn’t have to be bland to be nutritious. Likewise, food that tastes good is not necessarily nutritious.
The key is to train yourself to feel the difference healthy foods make in your life. Increased energy and less brain fog are indications that your diet is meeting your body’s needs. No food is “bad” but there are “better” options. Eliminating all foods that don’t meet an arbitrary criterion can lead to eating disorders (no thank you!) so consider this eating plan a guide of what to add, not what to eliminate.
A note about caloric intake. Runners should be eating a substantial amount of food throughout the day. Skipping meals is ill-advised, the body reacts to caloric deficit by convert food to fat rather than maintaining lean muscle mass. Essentially, dieting during rigorous cross country training will lead to the loss of the muscles athletes work so hard to build.
TLDR; They need a lot of really nutritious food!
Cooking Strategies to Keep Your Sanity
Cooking all of these foods is a challenge, both in time and effort. Cross country season feels like nonstop cooking, cleaning and buying more food.
Planning for the week of cooking goes a long way in making the season easier to manage.
This is my usual schedule but understand it’s only my plan; you should do whatever works for your family.
Sundays are my major prep days. I start the day by setting a menu for the week and identify all the necessary ingredients. I organize my grocery list by section of the store (produce, grocery, meat/dairy) so that I can grab all the items in one section and move on. I also find that creating a cohesive menu makes for an efficient use of food.
Next up is finding space in the house for all of the food! Once everything is stored, I make the week’s lunch, practice snacks and electrolyte fluid. Having food pre-made makes the weekday mornings slightly less hectic and has the added benefit of being way healthier than school lunches.
On days with meets or invitationals, I make dinner in the slow cooker. Bison chili and chicken chile verde are my favorites. A little prep in the morning translates into a welcome dinner at 7pm when everyone is "hangry".
Spending the time to prep the menu in advance simplifies mealtimes.
A week's shopping list; 6 breakfasts, 6 lunches (school lunches and leftovers at home), 5 dinners.
Going the Extra Mile (pun absolutely intended)
If you can boil water, you are halfway to making an outstanding broth.
Chicken bones, vegetables, a few strips of seaweed – basically whatever you have left in your vegetable crisper will suffice. Broths are an excellent way to add vital minerals and nutrients to a diet with the added bonus of hydration. Consumed on their own or as an additive to soups and stews (slow cooker dinners!), these broths are economical to make, easy to prepare and a cinch to freeze for future use.
A typical set of broth vegetables would include onions, carrots, celery, with garlic, parsley and a few whole peppercorns. Other additions could include: beets, sweet potatoes, ginger, leeks.
The process is simple. Fill a pot with water, add the vegetables, kombu (seaweed), a pinch of salt and the optional chicken bones. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1-2 hours for vegetables alone and 4 hours with chicken. Only add more salt (if at all) after cooking. Allow the stock to cool then portion into 2-cup portions and stash in the freezer.
Know what else is great? Drink a hot mug of broth straight from the pot! It’s hands-off cooking with major nutritional payoff.
