What's Cooking in Sports Nutrition: Recipes for Athletes

Next Level Podcast with Host Tavis Piattoly, MS, RD, LD

Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC
Registered dietitian, certified athletic trainer, and nutrition and fitness consultant. She specializes in culinary nutrition, recipe development and sports nutrition.

Dana White specializes in fun, easy, and quick recipes for athletes. Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC is a registered dietitian, certified athletic trainer, and nutrition and fitness consultant. She specializes in culinary nutrition, recipe development, and sports nutrition.

Dana works closely with chefs and authors to develop creative and healthy recipes for cookbooks, magazines and menus. She is the nutrition expert for Food Network.com and founding contributor for Food Network’s Healthy Eats blog. She has worked as nutrition consultant for Follow Productions on seasons 2 and 3 of Bobby Deen’s show Not My Mama’s Meals. She has worked as a media spokesperson for Cooking Light Magazine and has made appearances on Good Day Street Talk, Food Network.com, Access Hollywood and GMA Health. In October 2013, Dana was named to Sharecare’s list of Top 10 Social HealthMakers on Nutrition.

Dana is the sports dietitian and assistant clinical faculty in the department of Athletic Training and Sports Medicine at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. She also conducts workshops and cooking demonstrations for fitness organizations, corporate settings and schools.

Dana’s recipes and articles have been featured on Food Network.com, Cooking Light.com, Diet TV.com, VarsityParenting.com, Today’s Dietitian, SHAPE, SEVENTEEN, Prevention and Maxim magazine. She has created meal plans and recipes for books including Energy To Burn: The Ultimate Food and Nutrition Guide to Fuel Your Active Life, Extra Lean and Extra Lean Family by Mario Lopez, and Tell Me What To Eat If I Am Trying To Conceive.

 A farmers’ market junkie and local food aficionado, Dana worked with Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment to create the Healthy Harvest Food Regional Guides, to educate consumers on purchasing and preparing seasonal foods.

As a practicing Certified Athletic Trainer, Dana provides emergency medicine and rehabilitation services to high school, college and professional athletes. She is also a CPR and First Aid instructor for the American Red Cross.

Dana earned her master’s degree in nutrition education from Teachers’ College-Columbia University and bachelor’s degree from Quinnipiac University in Sports Medicine. She resides in Fairfield, Connecticut with her husband, two daughters and Boston Terrier, Violet Pickles.

In this podcast you will learn:

1. Dana’s passion for cooking and creating healthy recipes.
2. Strategies to make meal prep easy, healthy, and convenient.
3. Challenges athletes face with meal preparation.
4. The advantages of preparing your own meals, especially as an athlete.
5. Easy breakfast recipes that take less than 5 minutes to prepare that are also considered nutritious.
6. Her favorite shakes that her athletes have enjoyed that are quick, simple, and nutritious
7. 3-4 ingredient recipes she recommends.
8. Strategies busy athletes can use to save time on meal preparation so they don’t have to spend much time cooking when they get home.
9. Simple tips to make meal preparation easier or quicker for mom or dad in order to avoid eating out, especially for High School athletes.
10. Her new series of recipe eBooks on topics such as Breakfast Made Simple, Quick and Simple Recipes for Athletes, Lunch, Dinner, and Healthy Shakes for Athletes.
11. Sample recipes from each book.

Links and Resources Mentioned in this Episode

Podcast Transcript

0:00 Tavis Piattoly Introduction

3:00 Dana’s passion for cooking and creating healthy recipes.

She has always looked to cook.
Creating recipes developed while in academic and into her professional career.
She found culinary nutrition while getting her masters.

5:52 Strategies to make meal prep easy, healthy, and convenient.

Get some fundamental skills down to help you prepare meals.
Plan ahead

Take 10 minutes to make a grocery store shopping list.
Think: what are some staples I need to make these meals?

Scheduling could be a problem so plan ahead.

9:25 The advantages of preparing your own meals, especially as an athlete.

You have control of ingredient quality
Can think of more meals to prepare and actually prepare them faster than you calling take out and it being delivered.
Make double batches and freeze the other batch

12:07 Easy breakfast recipes that take less than 5 minutes to prepare that are also considered nutritious.

Microwaved egg and cheese sandwich. This recipe is in the recipe book!

14:12 Her favorite shakes that her athletes have enjoyed that are quick, simple, and nutritious.

She broke shakes down in the recipe book into categories.
Blueberry blast → could use any fruit

1 cup frozen fruit, non-fat, plain Greek yogurt, and orange juice
This gives you fruit, protein, and calcium!
Could add protein powder if using as a recovery drink.

16:50 3-4 ingredient recipes she recommends.

Use leftovers
Make a bunch of rice and use it for a couple different methods
Stir-fry = rice, chicken, veggies, and soy sauce
Power bowl = rice, protein (chicken/steak), cheese, salsa, avocado
Quesadillas = whole grain tortilla, cheese, and leftover fridge items (broccoli, turkey, etc.)

18:25 Strategies busy athletes can use to save time on meal preparation, so they don’t have to spend much time cooking when they get home.

Any prep you can do earlier in the day can help with busier times
Prep day doesn't have to be on Sunday
Grill a bunch of different meats at one time
Cut up fresh fruit before you’re ready to eat it

21:52 Simple tips to make meal preparation easier or quicker for mom or dad in order to avoid eating out, especially for High School athletes.

Use a slow cooker. Throw in all ingredients in the morning and it will be ready in the afternoon.

Soups, stews, and pulled pork

24:17 Her new series of recipe eBooks on topics such as Breakfast Made Simple, Quick and Simple Recipes for Athletes, Lunch, Dinner, and Healthy Shakes for Athletes.

She created these because she had these recipes for her athletes and now could put it on paper.
These are catered to active athletes

25:30 Sample recipes from each book.

No cooking involved → no bake breakfast cookies and overnight oatmeal
Shake book = Very cherry → has tart cherry juice. Good for post-workout

Cookies and cream shake

These recipes use healthy and simple ingredients
Home-made coconut granola
Breakfast book = waffles, pancakes, egg dishes
Kale caesar salad, slow cooker options, fish tacos, and a few healthy pasta dishes with veggies and protein