As an athlete, I’m always looking out for nutritious food options available at competitions and tournaments. Red slushies, blue gatorade, twizzlers, skittles, cheetos, and hot dogs are not the fuel I’d like when I’m in the middle of a tournament or meet. Athletes need better options.
Over the years I’ve learned to be prepared and pack my own meals and snacks for big meets and weekend competitions – but I often wish that there were healthy options available at concessions too. My teammates always depend on me to bring homemade oatmeal-banana cookies, dried fruit, protein balls, trail mix, nuts, apples, and anything else I can think of to prepare our team with fuel for competitions. It would be awesome to have these choices at concessions so all the athletes and families have good options.
I recently asked the gym owner of our USAG Club team if I can plan a concession stand take over for the home meets that we host in this upcoming year and he said yes! I worked with the CMGA board of directors and we decided to offer 10 planet-friendly, health-wise options (which I selected) and then continue to offer the traditional items that are already a part of the consession stand as well – but the good thing is that we will make the healthier options cheaper and raise the price on the other items. We are flipping the system upside down! I was given half of the concession budget to purchase the healthy foods and this is a list of what is included in the offerings for the 21/22 season:
- Mini meals that vary by meet and choice of the group of volunteer parents that are cooking each time – options include sushi rolls, casseroles, stir fry, loaded baked potatoes with vegetables and seasonings
- Warm gluten-free whole grain pretzels that range from sweet to salty (which we baked onsite)
- Popcorn – drizzled with olive oil and a few seasonings
- Field-fresh produce (supplied by a gym parent who is a farmer)
- Sandwiches – Smoked chicken, roasted turkey, honey ham, avacado and grilled chicken
- Wraps – Avacado with turkey seasoned with everything but the bagel seasoning
- Veggie burgers
- Fruit salads
- Yogurt parfaits with granola and berries
